Viviana’s Fight
I’m Katie, Viviana’s aunt, and I’ve created this page on behalf of the Zarganis Family. Witnessing them endure the unimaginable over the last few months has been heartbreaking — and I had to do something to help.
On April 10, 2025, everything changed for the Zarganis family.
Just weeks after celebrating her second birthday, little Viviana “Vi” Zarganis was admitted to UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital following an emergency room visit. Her parents, Vicky and Phil, had been in close contact with her GI specialist regarding ongoing stomach issues, which were still undiagnosed at the time. Due to her abdomen becoming alarmingly distended.
Her doctor had originally scheduled an ultrasound — but sensing the urgency, told them not to wait. “Take her to the ER immediately,” they were told.
That ER visit marked the beginning of a nightmare.
Viviana was admitted right away, and has not been well enough to return home since. After six days of painful uncertainty, she was diagnosed with Rhabdomyosarcoma, a rare and aggressive form of childhood cancer. Chemotherapy was scheduled to start the very next day, with an original treatment plan spanning 42 weeks.
But things took a turn far faster than anyone could have imagined.
Just two days after the diagnosis, Viviana was transferred to the Intensive Care Unit when she began struggling to breathe — the tumor in her abdomen had grown large enough to put pressure on her lungs. On April 18, surgeons performed emergency surgery to remove as much of the tumor as possible. They were able to resect about 90% of it, which they hoped would relieve the pressure on her lungs.
Following surgery, Vi was placed on a breathing tube. The weeks that followed were harrowing. She battled complications, endured multiple attempts to remove and replace the ventilator, and fought tirelessly just to breathe on her own. After over a month in the ICU, she was finally stable enough to be moved to a regular hospital room — a small victory in a long war.
While Vi’s medical battle was unfolding, her family was facing devastation on every other front.
Her dad, Phil, had started a new job only two months prior — too soon to qualify for family leave. But losing the job meant losing the health insurance they desperately needed. Her mother, Vicky, had been unemployed for nearly a year after being laid off from a job she’d held for over five years. Incredibly, during the week Viviana was hospitalized, Vicky was waiting to hear back from a long-awaited job offer — one she’d hoped for after more than 20 interviews and repeated heartbreak.
When the offer finally came, she had no choice but to accept, starting work on May 20, just weeks into Viviana’s treatment. With Phil still trying to hold down his job, the couple had to take shifts — one in the hospital with Vi, the other home with their 8-year-old daughter, Zoe, who was desperate for normalcy in a world that had suddenly become anything but.
And then, another blow: Phil lost his job less than two weeks after Vicky returned to work.
In just two months, this family experienced more crisis and loss than many do in a lifetime. They had already depleted their emergency savings during Vicky’s long job search. Now, they were navigating the high cost of medical care, commuting between home and the hospital, and relying on takeout meals just to survive the day-to-day.
Viviana remains in the hospital. She is still unable to keep food down, requiring continuous IV medication. Her medical team is working around the clock to stabilize her, and while there is hope that she may eventually be well enough to go home, her treatment plan will continue for the better part of a year. Even then, her immune system will be too compromised for daycare — meaning the family will need in-home nursing support or a private nanny so both parents can work.
The emotional, physical, and financial toll of this journey is immeasurable.
We’ve set the fundraising goal high because the needs are urgent, ongoing, and wide-reaching. Between uncovered medical expenses, lost income, home care requirements, and the day-to-day costs of simply surviving while living at the hospital, the financial pressure is staggering. Every dollar raised will help ease the burden on the Zarganis family so they can focus on what matters most: helping Viviana heal.
Vi is a fighter — fierce, funny, and full of light. Even now, between rounds of chemo, she wants to play, laugh, and snuggle. She is our warrior. We are asking for your help so we can keep giving her the strength she needs to beat this.
