KRGV.com

Hospice care usually means little hope remains for recovery. It means giving up for the family of a 9-year-old girl living with a brain tumor. The family says they just can't do that.

An out of control brain tumor threatens to end the life of 9-year-old Estrella. She can no longer eat or speak. Her family won't give up.

In a small exam room, Hiram Ramirez and her husband share their daughter's story. A tumor changed their lives from one day to the next. It's growing inside Estrella Mendo's brain.

"It's very hard to see your daughter growing up fine and then from one day to the next she's very sick," says Ramirez.

Estrella may mean star, but Ramirez says her little girl is actually a fighter.

"Yes, there's hope because she's still alive and she's still fighting, still breathing and eating and conscious," says Ramirez.

The entire family spent the last two years fighting to beat this illness. Ramirez moved with her husband and two other daughters to the United States after doctors in Mexico told them they couldn't do anything.

That was in 2009. More than two years later, doctors at M.D. Anderson in Houston stopped giving Estrella chemotherapy. They've recommended hospice.

"Yeah, hospice usually means you're at the point of no return. You're basically there to live out your final days. That's hard for a mom to hear. That's hard for a mom to hear. She sees there has not been enough work done on her daughter at all," says Tony Cisneros.

Cisneros works as an orthopedic physician's assistant. He's also the president and founder of the Valley's paranormal research group, Valley Ghost Hunters Society. Along with chasing ghosts, the group of researchers takes up good causes through their Facebook page.

The parents reached out to the group. Ramirez didn't know where else to turn. The group called CHANNEL 5 NEWS. The family hopes someone out their can help.

"I would like the best for my daughter. I would love to see her shine in a wedding or a quinceanera," says Ramirez.

It's a wish that seems far away now. Estrella is in the hospital. She's just nine years old and battling against the odds for a chance at life.

Cisneros says he plans to send Estrella's medical records to St. Jude's Children's Hospital. They're hoping she will qualify for a research program. Until then, they don't know where else to turn.