Redditors Answer Child Cancer Patient’s Pizza Pleas

By Gilbert Falso :: 9:47 PM

Update: 7/14/13 – 1:11 PM: The hospital has posted this update, asking that no more pizzas be delivered. The family has received 20 orders, and has removed the sign from the window.

A few hours ago, the photo above was posted to news sharing and aggregation website Reddit. In the comments section, the poster explained that the picture was taken outside of Children’s Hospital in Los Angeles earlier today.

Not wanting to deny a sick child some pizza goodness, a few Redditors had pizza delivered to the room.

But this story doesn’t just end at pizza delivery. The Reddit thread quickly rose in prominence to the site’s front page, and details about the pizza request message, and the sick child behind it began to emerge.

The child in the room is Hazel, a young girl who was diagnosed in April with Stage 3 Neuroblastoma, a particularly aggressive form of cancer. Hazel is one of four children in a very young family, and her treatments could take as long as eighteen months.

Hazel’s parents made the sign in the window as a joke, to help lift the girl’s spirits, and never expected to receive as many pizzas (four at last count) as they have.

Although the family probably already has more pizza than they know what to do with, they are also seeking donations to help offset the cost of Hazel’s care and treatments. Redditors flooded the posts comments with information about how to donate to Hazel’s cause, and links to the girl’s condition update blog and Facebook page.

After discovering that their photo had been posted to Reddit, family members signed into the site to offer their thanks, pictures from the inside of the room (see below), and explain Hazel’s condition.

“Hello Reddit Users,” wrote Hazel’s mother. “I am Hazel’s mom and want to just say a HUGE thank you from all of us, we are so surprised by the outpouring of support and are so grateful!”

More information about Hazel, including her treatments and donation specifics, is available here: http://talbertfamilyfoundation.org/pages/Hazel.html

[The sign, as it appears from inside Hazel’s room]