A local family is looking for a miracle, as they reach out to the community for a possible kidney donor.
Emma Gallegos, 23, is currently at Cooper University Hospital receiving dialysis as she fights end-stage kidney failure.
She is not on the donor list, but a live donor could choose to help save her.
Her family is asking everyone who can to sign up to be tested to see if they are a match for Emma.
Shawn Gallegos, of Galloway Township, started a Facebook page called Emma Strong, the hashtag her supporters started. He's looking for anyway to help his daughter.
Emma has been through a lot in her short life.
It all started on her second birthday when her parents felt a growth. Two days later, the family — who then lived in Hammonton — was being sent to the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, or CHOP.
Emma was diagnosed with neuroblastoma.
Surgery was followed by radiation and chemotherapy that would take its toll on Emma's body.
That was followed hormones to help with her growth that caused issues with her spine, two brain surgeries and then issues with her dialysis port that led to a complication that nearly proved fatal.
"All the medical stuff she has been though, and when something else comes up, she always just shrugs and says, 'Ehh, just another day in the life of Emma, huh dad?'" her father said. "Always wearing a smile, even though she knows she's going in for another procedure."
Like Emma, her support system is strong with her mom, dad, stepmom and her two beloved sisters, 10-year-old Zoe and 19-year-old Claudia, who just graduated Absegami High School.
Recent Absegami graduate Claudia Gallegos has often been by her sister's side. "Her sisters are her best friends, and she loves to be with them more than anything," the proud dad said. "(She has the) biggest heart packed into the smallest body."
Now her loved ones hope Emma can find that missing piece for her body to grow as strong as her spirit.
"She is not active on the transplant list as of right now but, if we can find her a live donor, she can proceed to have a transplant," Shawn Gallegos said.
Anyone willing can fill out the form, or even pass it on so that it may find its way to the perfect match.
"Help us," he father said. "Help her."
