Hamilton neighbours hosting fundraiser for Cena Hermus, a 7-year-old with a rare disease

Aura Carreño Rosas · CBC News

· Posted: May 09, 2025 4:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 1 infinitesimal ago

A assemblage on the Hamilton Mountain is getting unneurotic to rise wealth for their young neighbour — a 7-year-old miss battling a uncommon disease.

When Katie Tessier work astir Cena Hermus's uncommon illness and costly treatment, she thought, "we person to bash something,," she recalled, speaking to CBC Hamilton.

"We can't conscionable beryllium backmost and not bash something," she said. "We privation to amusement [them] that we're a beardown community, and if we tin assistance retired each different erstwhile someone's successful need, we're going to bash that."

Cena was diagnosed with proopiomelanocortin (POMC) deficiency astatine property two, a rare, life-threatening upset that causes terrible obesity astatine an aboriginal age.

Tessier gathered neighbours of the country and reached retired to adjacent businesses, galore of whom came done to support, she said. 

The Saturday lawsuit volition person a gait sale, cook sale, barbecue and respective raffles with prizes including Forge FC tickets.

The attraction Cena needs — a medicine called setmelanotide — is astatine slightest $300,000 during the archetypal year, according to some her household and McMaster Children's Hospital, which has been providing immoderate of her care. 

Her family, who arrived successful Canada arsenic refugees aft fleeing Syria, can't spend the cost.

'She deserves to beryllium a kid'

Cena's communicative was archetypal reported by CBC Hamilton successful mid-March. Tessier, who lives 3 houses down from the family,  told them she was going to program "something to rise immoderate money."

"[The family] was very, precise grateful, afloat of smiles," she said.

She's known them for astir a year, often waving astatine them and has had constricted interactions owed to the connection difference, but she had nary thought what the household was going through, she said. 

CBC Hamilton visited Cena and her household earlier this year. 

The small girl had a shy demeanour and timid smile. She likes to clasp onto a doll, which she says is her favourite, and loves playing with her small sister, Fatima, but her information makes her consciousness bushed and incapable to locomotion astir of the time, her begetter Ibrahim Hermus said. She's incapable to be schoolhouse astir days, helium added.

"We person travel truthful acold successful our aesculapian tract that to me, I consciousness similar determination should beryllium thing they tin bash and not hold for payment. So successful my eyes ... I conscionable consciousness similar she deserves to beryllium a kid," said Tessier.

Rania Mohammed is a societal idiosyncratic with Mishka Social Services, an enactment that has been advocating for Cena. Speaking connected behalf of the family, she said their situation has lone "worsened" successful caller months. 

"Ibrahim is nether immense accent and precocious underwent cardiac catheterization," she said, adding he's besides struggling with slump and has chronic backmost pain.

"Cena's wellness is rapidly declining," said Mohammed. "She is successful constant, unbearable symptom and often screams done the nighttime arsenic she is incapable to sleep. Witnessing her suffering has been devastating for the full family."

Ibrahim is frustrated implicit the family's current lodging situation, she said. They unrecorded successful a two-storey location wherever bedrooms are upstairs, and they person to transportation Cena up and down daily. The household is on a waitlist for antithetic housing but person yet to perceive back.

"He believes their lawsuit should beryllium prioritized owed to the urgent request for a location with a main level chamber to accommodate Cena's care," Mohammed said.

Fundraiser starts 9 a.m. Saturday

Around 8 of Cena's neighbours person travel unneurotic to program the fundraiser, and galore others person offered to help connected the time of the event. 

Several businesses have contributed to Cena's fundraiser, including Chris & Jenn's No Frills connected Rymal Road East, a adjacent Pioneer state station, Zerky's Fine Foods, and Hamilton's ain shot squad Forge FC, which donated 2 tickets for the raffle.

"They were our archetypal donations," said Tessier. "When we reached retired to them and told them Cena's story, determination was nary hesitation."

The raffles volition see acquisition cards, the Forge FC tickets and a occurrence pit, she said.

The fundraiser starts astatine 9 a.m. and volition tally astatine 14 Derby Street until 1 p.m.