Fundraiser For Sudbury Girl, 5, In Critical Condition From EEE

SUDBURY, MA — Sophia Garabedian was supposed to be practicing the alphabet and making macaroni necklaces in kindergarten this week. Instead, she's resigned to a bed in the intensive care unit of Boston Children's Hospital, battling the deadly Eastern equine encephalitis virus. The 5-year-old Sudbury girl is the latest human case of the virus, but her friends and family are proving she's not in this fight alone.

On Sunday, friends of the Garabedians took it upon themselves to create a GoFundMe fundraiser to help cover the cost of the hospital stay and inevitable treatments Sophia will go through. The organizer of the page, Debbie Moynihan, said funds from the page will be used to pay for neurology treatment, physical therapy and in-patient care.

Sophia's diagnosis was announced Friday. She was the seventh person in the state to contact EEE this summer. Several MetroWest communities canceled outdoor recess for schools as a precaution. EEE virus is transmitted through mosquito bites.

Garabedian was hit with "severe flu symptoms, headaches, and appeared to be having a seizure — She had a very high fever and brain swelling and quickly became unresponsive," according to the fundraising page.

More than $80,000 has been raised and messages of love and support have flooded the page. The goal is $100,000.

"Sophia deserves the best now and ongoing," read one post.

"Thinking of our schoolmate," read another.

The page shows a photo of a smiling Sophia wearing her graduation cap, holding her preschool graduation certificate.

"Prior to this sudden illness, she was a happy, loving little girl who loved playing with her friends and doing gymnastics ... We want to give her every chance in the world for full recovery."

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