A terrifying medical emergency nearly took a young woman’s life, and for months, she didn’t even know cancer was the cause.
Frida Sofia was just a high school senior when routine health checks for her Certified Nursing Assistant program in June 2023 revealed something was wrong.
Doctors discovered she was severely anemic, requiring weekly iron infusions throughout her senior year.
“They found that I was severely anemic, so I had to get iron infusions every Friday of my senior year,” Frida said.
By March 2024, doctors believed her condition had stabilized enough for her to scale back treatment.
But just two months later, what should have been one of the happiest nights of her life took a sudden turn.
“At prom, I threw up blood,” Frida said. “That night the ambulance took me to the hospital.”
Her condition quickly became critical.
“My blood pressure was 60-something or 40-something, and I was dying,” she says. “They had to do a bunch of blood transfusions and plasma. They told me I was going to die.”
Doctors performed an emergency endoscopy early that morning and discovered three tumors in her stomach.
Frida was bleeding internally and diagnosed with Stage 3 gastrointestinal stromal tumor, along with Von Willebrand disease, a rare blood disorder.
Surgery successfully removed all three tumors, but recovery was long and painful.
Through it all, Frida’s mother never left her side.
“My mom has really been the only one there for me,” Frida says. “She was there holding my hand when I was dying.”
With constant hospital visits and recovery appointments, Frida’s mom couldn’t hold a traditional job.
Instead, she found another way to support her family and stay close to her daughter.
From their home, she began making chamoy gummies and turned it into a small business called Frida Sofia’s Gummies.
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Each bag sells for about $10 to $12, helping cover medical costs and keep the family afloat while allowing her mom to be present for every appointment.
Today, Frida is cancer-free. She still undergoes MRI checkups every four months, and her mom is still right there beside her, made possible by every bag of candy sold.
“I’ve been through a lot, but I’m still here,” Frida says. “I was told I was going to die. I was told that was it for me. But now I don’t have cancer anymore. I’m in school to be a doctor. I want to be an oncologist so I can help patients who have what I had.”
The business has gained attention online.
A TikTok video sharing Frida’s story has already received more than 43,000 views.
Frida Sofia’s Gummies are available on TikTok, Facebook, and Instagram.
Contact Information: You can also place orders at (559) 545-8861.
Instagram Handle: @frida.sofia77
TikTok Handle: @rosysaavedra213