PALM CITY, Fla. — A young girl in Martin County is facing a tall task. Brooklyn Gonzalez, 3, is fighting a rare cancer.
To help her family during this difficult time, the community will honor her Saturday during a walk to raise funds.
The event will take place at the Veterans Memorial Bridge in Palm City, which will be temporarily named the "Brooklyn Bridge" in her honor.
The rare form of liver cancer she is fighting is called hepatoblastoma.
"I've already known what chemo does to people, let alone my 3-year-old kid," Brooklyn's mother, Cybill Morrow-Gonzalez, said. "I could never, I don't know. It's still really hard."
Shortly after Brooklyn started her first two rounds of chemo, she hasn't been able to attend school because of her compromised immune system.
"She's had to sacrifice a lot," Brooklyn's father, Mike Gonzalez, said. "At the end of the day, she's still a 3-year-old kid. She's a 3-year-old kid with cancer, but she's still a 3-year-old kid."
Despite the battle with cancer, it hasn't dimmed her light.
"I got this. I'll get better," Brooklyn said.
"That kid wakes up every day with a smile on her face and all is good," her father said.
Between all the travel to and from the hospital in Orlando, paying for treatment and missing work, the family is struggling financially.
"I pretty much don't work very much at all," her mother said. "I work one day a week if I can, so that's put a huge strain financially on us because we both put in for our family."
Members of the community put together the Saturday walk in Brooklyn's honor to help the family raise money and awareness.
After the event, Brooklyn will head back to Orlando where she will have a tumor removed.
"It's still really hard, but she's kicking its butt," her mother said.
The family is taking the diagnosis one step at a time.
The walk is at the Veteran Memorial Bridge and starts at 9 a.m.
Walkers are meeting at Jock Leighton Park in Palm City before making their way to the bridge. Those who want to participate can register after they arrive.
Click here if you would like to donate to help Brooklyn in her fight against cancer.
