Dear friend,

Talia Smith was diagnosed with leukemia in June of this year. It was curable and the plan was to be cancer free by January of 2017, after completing all chemotherapy treatments. Everything was going as planned until her last blood level tests came back as elevated and showed a 2nd type of leukemia was present. Although the second type is easier to treat than the first, the combination of the two has a much more negative prognosis. Within the last 3 weeks, when they started to treat both cancers, Talia's body had a bad reaction to one of the new medicines and went catatonic, eventually losing consciousness along with her pulse and heartbeat. Her father had to resuscitate her using CPR. This episode has her family in disarray and not knowing what the future will hold. When asked what we could to help them, her father's first request was to write her letters. She is in TN at St. Jude's and everyday goes to the mailbox to see if she received any mail or letters. Unfortunately, the majority of the days she comes to an empty mailbox. Below is Talia's address where letters can be mailed. She is at a collegiate reading level with an 8th grade comprehension level. Again, this is the first thing her father brought up when asked what we could do for her and the family. For example, my aunt is writing her a letter every Monday until she is cancer free. Talia Smith (patient)1811 Poplar Avenue, Apt. # 311Memphis, TN 38104 Here is just a little bit of information on Talia. She is autistic and is in 10th grade at West Broward High School. She loves Zebra popcorn, concerts and has a 6-year old brother and 3-year old sister. I believe she is in chorus at West Broward High School as well. See attached pictures of Talia. Also, below is the link to her gofundme account. Her father is out of work on FMLA. Lastly, Talia's mother, has also been diagnosed with cancer and is currently going through treatment. https://www.gofundme.com/tmndonate?ssid=824538862&pos=4 If it all possible, please write some letters, have the kids write some letters and consider giving to help support them during this nightmare.  Please forward this to anyone that I may have left off. Sincerely,  Angel Nieves