Daria Marat

This severe cancer has mercilessly ravaged little Daria. In her two short years of life, she has endured cardiac arrest, spent 34 days in intensive care, suffered a brain haemorrhage, and faced organ failure. But now, there is hope to save her life! Please help!

Little Daria was born after eight years of waiting, six rounds of IVF, and countless prayers. Her birth was a miracle that her family had longed for and prayed for. She was a long-awaited daughter and a little sister for Mariam. The first few months of Daria’s life were filled with joy, warmth, and light. She grew up smiling, curious, laughing cheerfully, and reaching out to her older sister. It seemed that all their fears and hardships were behind them, and only happiness lay ahead.
 

But when the girl turned one year and two months old, in June 2025, she suddenly became fussy and had trouble sleeping. Two months later, the baby’s condition deteriorated sharply: her belly began to swell, and her legs stopped working properly. They called an ambulance. An ultrasound revealed nothing, and the doctors attributed her condition to teething. But three days later, things only got worse. Daria threw her head back and cried incessantly. The family called an ambulance again. The girl was taken to an infectious diseases hospital with suspected meningitis. That day, a lumbar puncture and an abdominal ultrasound revealed the terrible truth: a mass measuring 11 by 6 centimetres was found near her left adrenal gland.

The next day, Daria was transferred to the pediatric oncology department of the Centre for Motherhood and Childhood in Astana with suspected neuroblastoma. In Kazakhstan, they declined to perform a biopsy or provide treatment, so on August 13, 2025, they flew to Severance Hospital in Seoul, South Korea. There, the diagnosis was confirmed: high-risk neuroblastoma, cancer with bone marrow involvement and multiple bone metastases.

In Korea, the girl underwent four courses of high-dose chemotherapy. She ended up in the intensive care unit three times. The third time—the most terrifying—Daria spent 34 days in critical condition. Her heart stopped for a full hour. Her kidneys failed. She suffered a cerebral haemorrhage. The little girl was hooked up to ECMO, a ventilator, and dialysis machines. When Daria’s heart stopped, her father never stopped pleading with the Almighty. Every second, while the doctors fought for his daughter’s life, he cried out, “Don’t take her—she’s only just begun to live.” And the Almighty heard him—the girl’s heart began to beat again. Since then, he hasn’t missed a single prayer. Her mother has also started praying. And together they pray that God will give them the strength to carry on. They believe that He hears everyone.

After experiencing severe side effects from the standard treatment protocol in Korea in January, the family began looking for alternative treatment options. They chose Sant Joan de Déu Hospital in Barcelona, Spain—a clinic that specialises in treating neuroblastoma and offers gentler treatment protocols. Since March, Daria has undergone four courses of chemo-immunotherapy there, as well as surgery to remove the tumour and radiation therapy. The tumour in her abdominal cavity was removed, but metastases remain in two vertebrae!

The girl has not been able to walk for 11 months—the tumour has compressed the nerve endings in her spine. She is currently undergoing rehabilitation. The doctors plan to continue treatment. If remission is achieved after the fifth course of chemo-immunotherapy, Daria will have to undergo six more courses. Treatment is expected to last at least until January 2027! It’s a long, difficult, and very expensive journey.

Despite everything she’s been through, Daria remains cheerful. She smiles, watches cartoons about Masha and the Bear, and plays with her toys. Her older sister, Mariam, came during the holidays to support her younger sister. Together, they take walks in the rose garden near the hospital, have little picnics, and try to find joy in every day. Her parents play music, dance with her, and sing—to lift her spirits and keep her active. Daria struggles to move and repeat her movements, despite the effort required. Her parents have already sold their apartment and car and spent all their savings. They’ve done everything in their power. Now, they can only rely on the help of kind-hearted people. As the Kazakhs say: “Birlik bar jerde—tirlik bar”—where there is unity, there is life. These aren’t just words. It’s what they believe in with every fibre of their being.

Today, Daria can’t walk. She can’t run. She can’t play tag. But she believes in her mom, her dad, and her sister. In Allah and in a miracle. And that miracle is us. Those who can help. Those who won’t walk by. Those who remember that the Almighty looks into our hearts and sees how we treat one another.
 

Please help little Daria, who wants so badly to live! And may your kindness come back to you a hundredfold.