A Maryville family is working to raise money and awareness after their daughter was diagnosed with a rare brain tumor a month ago.
Gifts, donations and money have poured in to support 7-year-old Addie Underhill's family as they travel to and from Vanderbilt University Medical Center's Children's Hospital. That includes more than $3,000 raised by friends and coworkers in Sweetwater during the eclipse earlier this week.
The money is a blessing to Addie's family.
"Any money like that is going to any trials we can get her into to buy her some more time," said Addie's mom Kylie Underhill.
Addie's prognosis is not good. Five days a week she gets radiation treatment for Diffuse intrinsic pontine gliomas, or DIPG. According to Boston's Children's, it's an aggressive and difficult tumor to treat at the base of the brain.
"The DIPG tumor has a less than 1 percent survivability rate," Kylie Underhill said.
"Still I can't wrap my head around burying my child. It's a very real possibility," Addie's father Michael Underhill said.
In addition to money, her parents want to raise awareness for the lack of money spent on researching pediatric cancers.
According to the Coalition Against Childhood Cancer only four percent of federally funded cancer research goes toward children.
In the mean time her parents are making sure Addie is loved and spending time doing what she loves most.
The Underhills won't know how the radiation treatment has gone until a month after it's over. Even then the cancer could come back more aggressively.
If you'd like to help, family and friends have started a GoFundMe account.