While daughter battles cancer, family creates nonprofit for sick children

While daughter battles cancer, family creates nonprofit for sick children


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EDINBURG, Tex. — For the last year, Aryanna Joy Rodriguez, 4, has been battling a cancerous tumor. But what the family thought was the end of a long battle, turned out not to be over.

"This last MRI in November showed that this tumor had returned," said her mother, Patty Rodriguez.

Aryanna will be back at Doctor's Hospital at Renaissance for more chemo treatments. But she's excited to come back to one of her favorite places: the playroom.

The playroom is a place she feels safe.

"Because of the toys," Aryanna said.

It's there that Aryanna and her family came up with an idea to make the place of happiness even better.

"And we decided as a family to create a foundation or a non-profit that will be able to come back to the hospital and be able to bless children, be able to be with them, be able to give them hope in those times, in those moments that are harsh," said Joe Rodriguez, Aryanna's father.

It's called 'Hope in Joy,' and the non-profit group will be bringing a positive change to the playroom; one of the only happy, stress relieving rooms in a hospital.

The non-profit isn't just stopping at toys. They are actually adding a few more pieces of furniture, a new fish tank and bringing in a few electronics.

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Erin Murray, NBC News
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