The family of Greta Marofke said goodbye to their little girl on Wednesday morning as she passed away in her parents' arms at the Alberta Children's Hospital mere days before what would have been her fourth birthday.
“The pain we feel is unbearable, and words cannot express how much we already miss her, but we know our girl is no longer suffering. Our hearts are broken and will NEVER be the same. We LOVE you Miss Greta,” said the family in a post on the Greta’s Guardians Facebook page. The posted ended with the hashtag GladiatorGreta.
Greta’s death followed a nearly two year battle with hepatoblastoma, an extremely rare form of liver cancer, that left the Marofke family facing staggering medical bills,. The family beared the cost of a liver transplant conducted in May of 2017 in Cincinnati, Ohio. The cost of the procedure, which was not available in Alberta and not covered by Alberta Health Care, was approximately $600,000 USD not including the associated travel fees, tests and follow-up care. Several fundraisers have been held to assist the family including a GoFundMe account that has raised more than $316,000.
The transplant proved successful but doctors discovered cancer in the young girl’s lungs and the prognosis was dire.
In July, Alberta Health Services encouraged the Marofkes to submit an application to its Out-of-Country Health Services Committee to have the funding of Greta’s procedures reviewed.
