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Photo courtesy of Michael Nerone via GoFundMe.com

GoFundMe Set Up For Family Who Lost Mother To Cancer After Giving Birth At Henry Mayo

A GoFundMe page has been set up for a young family of healthcare workers who recently lost their mother to cancer shortly after giving birth to their first child at Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital.

On February 21, 2020, Sunday “Sunny” Noelle Zacharia was born at Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital, weighing only four pounds. She is the first child of Mike and Sarah Zacharia, a paramedic and O.R. Clerk respectively. 

However, things got more complicated for the couple after Sunny was born.

“Sunny was born early via cesarean because Sarah was experiencing terrible abdominal pain,” wrote Michael Nerone, a friend of the couple who organized a GoFundMe page five days after Sunny’s birth. “The doctors say that it appears she has advanced stage cancer.”

Several days later, Sarah began chemotherapy while her daughter was looked after in Henry Mayo’s NICU. 

As everyone knows caring for a child is hard enough when everyone is healthy. Now Mike is caring for two patients,” Nerone wrote at the time. “Both are in good spirits, and staying strong to their christian faith.”

For several weeks, it appeared that Sarah was recovering. She began immunotherapy roughly one month after Sunny’s birth, her hemoglobin count was rising, and her white blood cell count was lowering to stable levels.

Then, one week later, tragedy stuck. 

“Sarah passed peacefully on Saturday evening at 10:30 p.m. at Henry Mayo Hospital. Mike, family, and close friends were at her side,” Nerone wrote. “She really fought hard, but the cancer was too aggressive and did not respond to the treatments.”

While no definitive diagnosis was ever given, doctors believed that it was “most likely pancreatic or gastrointestinal cancer.”

Money raised through the GoFundMe page is still set to go to the Zacharia family, and the initial goal of $20,000 has been raised to $40,000.

As of 3:45 p.m. Saturday, over $25,000 have been raised.

“(Mike) sends his thanks and love to everyone who has reached out to him and his family,” Nerone wrote. “His family and community has been great support assisting him and Sunday through this most difficult time.”

To donate, click here.


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GoFundMe Set Up For Family Who Lost Mother To Cancer After Giving Birth At Henry Mayo

One comment

  1. May God bless and comfort Mike and baby Sunday and the extended family through this great loss. Sarah trusted Christ as her Lord and Savior and we know that because of that faith, she is in the presence of the Lord. I saw the health care workers and administration at Henry Mayo caring for Sarah and they were so wonderful, caring, and compassionate for Sarah and her family. The compassion extended to this wonderful family by their friends and community is also a great source of comfort. May God bless each of you!

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About Michael Brown

Michael Brown has lived in Santa Clarita his whole life. Graduating from Saugus High School in 2016, he continued to stay local by attending The Master’s University, where he achieved a Bachelor's Degree in Communication. Michael joined KHTS in January of 2018 as a news intern, and has since gone on to become the News Director for the KHTS Newsroom. Since joining KHTS, Michael has covered many breaking news stories (both on scene and on air), interviewed dozens of prominent state and federal political figures, and interacted with hundreds of residents from Santa Clarita. When he is not working, Michael enjoys spending time with his family, as well as reading any comic book he can get his hands on.