Finding out you have a rare disease can be a terrifying diagnosis for anyone who receives the news, but it can be especially cruel when it is a young child that suffers.
Little Sophia is a patient in the pediatric oncology ward at the Hospital das Clínicas in Sao Paulo, Brazil. The 17-month-old girl was diagnosed with a rare disease known as Langerhans Cell Histiocytosis and has been undergoing treatment to control the disease.
The Histiocytosis Association explains that "this painful disease occurs when the body accumulates too many immature Langerhans cells, a part of the family of cells known as histiocytes." Langerhans cells are a kind of white blood cell that usually helps the body fight infection.
They say that music heals the soul and what happens when Sophia hears this doctor down the hall is absolutely proof of that!
Clearly little Sophia has been through a lot, but her beautiful spirit shines through when she hears what Dr. Paulo Martins is doing down the hall.
The good doctor knows that there is more to medicine than charts and needles. That day, he brought his ukulele to cheer up his older patients. Little Sophia heard his beautiful music and immediately started looking for him.
Sophia followed Dr. Martins as he walked from room to room singing to his patients. He was charmed by her curiosity and tells the Mirror that he just knew she wanted him to play a tune for her.
Although he didn't know any children's songs, Dr. Martins decided to play her father's suggestion - I Know The Color by Mar lia Mendon, a popular Brazilian country singer.
"When I sang it for Sophia, she danced and sang along and when the song ended she kept on looking at me for more," said Dr. Martins. "So, I played it again and she danced even more. "It was a magical moment, unique and emotional."
"Sophia is a resilient child with a lot of joy and beauty inside her and her dancing was her way of expressing that inner happiness even as she fights against the disease," said her mother, Mayara.
We hope that little Sophia recovers quickly and that she and her family can enjoy many years of dancing to come!