Like most 2-year-olds, Chantilly’s Rachel D’Andrea loves to color, dance, swing and watch cartoons. But unlike most children her age, she’s currently in a New York hospital battling stage IV neuroblastoma and recovering from heart surgery.

Making matters worse, her parents are acquiring a mountain of medical bills and — at a time when their child’s fight for survival is worry enough — they’re also facing the loss of their health insurance in a few months, just when they need it most. So Chantilly resident Ginny Grivas has organized a huge fund-raiser for them — even though she’s never met the D’Andreas.

"My youngest daughter is the same age as Rachel and both attended Gymboree in Chantilly," said Grivas. "When I heard about her illness, it touched me deeply and I wanted to do something to help. I’ve spoken to her mom, Rebecca, on the phone and know they need a lot of money. And I thought, ‘What if something like this happened to us?’ I couldn’t bear it."

Called a Charity Children’s Concert, the fund-raiser will feature three children’s entertainers and is geared for those in elementary school and younger. It’s on Saturday, Nov. 14, from noon-4 p.m., at Chantilly Bible Church, 4390 Pleasant Valley Road in Chantilly.

The fun includes face painting and raffle prizes, and everything will be indoors, except the moonbounces. At 12:15 p.m., Kidsinger Jim and Guitar Greg will take the stage. "Jim’s a former middle-school teacher who sings his own songs," said Grivas. "And he’s donating a portion of his CD sales at the event to Rachel."

At 1:45 p.m. is the children’s band, Rocknoceros, followed by "The Funny Guy," Paul Hadfield, at 3 p.m. "He’s a clown who does silly, physical comedy, juggles and rides a unicycle," said Grivas. "He always gets great laughs."

The event and refreshments are free, but Grivas hopes attendees will open their hearts and donate generously to the D’Andreas because all proceeds will go toward Rachel’s care.

THE FAMILY lives in the Cub Run community off Pleasant Valley Road and parents Jon and Rebecca run a small, accounting and bookkeeping firm. Rachel has two older siblings, Kaitlyn, 11, a sixth-grader at Virginia Run Elementary, and brother R.J., 13, in eighth grade at Stone Middle. But since Rachel’s illness, Rebecca D’Andrea’s been a full-time caregiver and Jon D’Andrea’s only worked part-time.

Their COBRA health insurance from Jon D’Andrea’s previous job only lasts 18 months and will soon expire. After that, the premium costs will triple and, said Jon D’Andrea, "We don’t know what we’re going to do, at that point. So donations and fund-raisers are all we’ve got."

That’s why Grivas hopes the children’s concert will attract a large number of people. "My goal is to get 1,000 families out there," she said. "I’d like to raise $20,000 and, hopefully, $50,000 over the next six months. If people can just give a little, here and there, it’ll really help."

Donations payable to The Rachel D’Andrea Fund may also be sent to the fund, c/o Chantilly Bible Church, 4390 Pleasant Valley Road, Chantilly, VA 20151.

A neuroblastoma is a malignant tumor that grows from nerve tissue, usually in the adrenal glands atop the kidneys. It accounts for about 7 percent of all childhood cancers, with some 650 new cases a year in the U.S. And it’s usually not discovered until it’s already metastasized. Grivas hopes the fund-raiser will also raise awareness about it, so two doctors from South Riding Pediatrics — one of the event’s sponsors — will be there to answer parents’ questions.

Unfortunately, though, the D’Andreas are learning about it firsthand. But since Rachel’s only a toddler, they’re not telling her anything’s wrong with her. "I don’t want her to know she’s sick," said Rebecca D’Andrea. "When we’re at home and go to the hospital for chemo, I tell her she’s going to go play in the playroom there. And it’s amazing — she doesn’t cry. I know what’s coming, but she doesn’t. During the treatment, she watches her movies, colors and reads. She doesn’t get upset; she just goes with the flow."

DESCRIBING RACHEL as "always a happy, easygoing baby," Rebecca D’Andrea was tenderly rubbing her head, one night, around June 1, while putting her to bed, when she noticed a hard, white knot on one side. Next morning, she called the doctor, who didn’t think it was anything serious, but ordered a CT scan.

"It was scheduled for July 3, but it looked like the knot was getting bigger, so we returned to the doctor and he measured it," said Rebecca. "Within a week, it had doubled in size." Rachel soon developed a fever and, on June 6, Rebecca took her to Inova Fairfax Hospital’s emergency room.

Rachel immediately had a head CT scan and a tumor was discovered in her skull. After transferring her to the hematology/oncology floor, doctors did more tests and learned that tumor was one that had spread. The primary one was in her abdomen, above her kidneys.

"They took Jon and I into a conference room and said, ‘She has stage IV neuroblastoma in her bone marrow and in at least 20 bones and, if left untreated, she’ll die,’" said Rebecca D’Andrea. "You just go into shock; you don’t want to hear that. Then the nightmare of decision-making begins because there’s no cure — only medical trials — and you do all the research you can."

Rachel was in surgery, June 15, to install a central line for medication and do a bone-marrow biopsy. "But there were too many veins around it and the risk of bleeding was too high, so they closed her up and didn’t do it," said her mother. But she has had five rounds of chemotherapy, losing her long brown hair in the process, but remaining cheerful.

She’s now in New York’s Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. Through research and information from other parents whose children had neuroblastoma, the D’Andreas learned of Dr. Michael La Quaglia there and his work in this field.

Then on Monday, Rachel underwent a five-hour operation to remove a tumor from her heart. "It was wrapped around her vena cava [a blood-carrying vein] a couple times," said Rebecca. "Doctors also took out lymph nodes and adrenal gland and peeled the tumor off of wherever it had attached."

By Tuesday, Rachel was off the ventilator and getting morphine every three hours for the pain. "This is the toughest on her so far because she’s so uncomfortable," said Jon D’Andrea that night. "But she should be out of ICU [Intensive Care Unit] on Wednesday and remain in the hospital through Sunday or Monday. Then they recommend she have round six of chemo, Monday or Tuesday, because speed is of the essence."

But, he added, "Every doctor has said her vitals are great and she’s doing beautifully." However, said her dad, "She’s got tubes in her arms and lungs and in her side. She keeps calling, ‘Mama, mama,’ and all we can do is hold her hand, so it’s difficult."

"I tell here I’m here and I’m proud of her and everything will be all right," said Rebecca D’Andrea. "I tell her she’s strong and is getting better."

NEXT, THE D’ANDREAS will see if their insurance will cover radiation and antibody therapy for Rachel, but they’re glad they went to Sloan-Kettering. "The minute we walked in here, last week, we knew this was the place to be," said Jon D’Andrea. "Everybody knew exactly what to do, when, like clockwork, and we didn’t have to worry about anything."

Still, he said, things are tense: "I’m not able to do as much work as I should be doing, so it’s a stressor, on top of the stress of Rachel’s surgery and recovery."

But the family is grateful for all those praying for them and appreciates the work of everyone involved in the upcoming fund-raiser. "Rebecca and I in our hearts feel wonderful that strangers would do this for us," said Jon D’Andrea. "I can’t even express the gratitude we have for them. We send a huge thank-you to the community, but words aren’t enough to convey how we feel."