A young girl who thought she had an abscess on her tooth was diagnosed with an aggressive cancer after doctors found a tumour half the size of a baseball in her cheek.
An oral surgeon insisted the family seek medical help after Adelaide Bay Coderre, eight, started complaining that her tongue felt "spikey" and said her jaw ached.
The rhabdomyosarcoma cancer mostly found in children and teens has since spread beyond the youngster's face to other parts of her body, the Liverpool ECHO reported.
Adelaide's grandmother Kathi Dumaine-savage, 63, broke down in tears when she heard the news this summer.
Kathi arrived home to see her husband with their son Keegan, who was waiting to tell them that Adelaide has cancer.
She told the ECHO: "Instead of supporting him when he told me, some kind of beast came out of me, and I wailed and made animal noises.
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"I just, it brought me to my knees. I couldn't have imagined this. So I felt terrible that I was not able to comfort my child while I was in my misery."
Despite being from Connecticut in the US, the youngster is mad for Liverpool FC. Her family said she lays exhausted in front of the Liverpool poster above the hospital bed they've set up in front of their living room TV.
Mo Salah is "her guy", and his 11 is her lucky number. Kathi told the ECHO : "After her last chemo treatment, she could barely keep her eyes open.
"Liverpool was playing. With her eyes closed, she was listening and cheering the team on. About half way through, she just nodded off.
"First thing she said when she woke up was, 'Who won?' She's a crazy avid fan."
Adelaide's parents are taking time off work to care for their daughter, and to spend precious time with her as she goes through chemotherapy with a 60 percent chance of survival.
For the next year, they must travel between Connecticut where they live, for weekly treatment in Boston in the neighbouring state of Massachusetts.
Dad Keegan's job as a STEM teacher is guaranteed, but he only gets paid for the sick days he has saved up.
His mum Kathi told the ECHO : "After Thanksgiving (November 25), he has no salary. They have no salary. And they will have to pay for their insurance.
"They need to be with her this year. So it's astronomical. We're just trying to keep this little family afloat so they can be together. It's inhumane."
The family is now raising funds to allow them to continue to make the costly trips to be by Adelaide's side as she goes through treatment - click here if you can help.
