Influencer Nara Smith says 2-year-old daughter has cancer
Influencer and cookbook author Nara Smith is opening up about her family's private health journey, revealing that her 2-year-old daughter, Whimsy Lou, was diagnosed with cancer late last year.
Smith, 24, shared the news in an Instagram video on Wednesday, saying she and her husband, model Lucky Blue Smith, 28, first sought medical attention after noticing "something suspicious" on their daughter.
"When we saw something suspicious on her, we took her to the ER, and they didn't quite know what to make of it," Smith said. "So when we took her into our pediatrician, I just remember him going really quiet and calm ... My heart dropped in that moment. I don't know whether it was my gut telling me something or just a mom's intuition, but the first thing that I felt was, 'She has cancer.'"
Smith said Whimsy later underwent X-rays, ultrasounds and a biopsy before doctors confirmed her cancer diagnosis.
"After a lot of X-rays, ultrasounds, and finally a biopsy, they immediately called us and said that she had cancer," she said. "[They] told us it had spread, and that she need[ed] to come and start chemo treatments immediately."
Smith did not disclose what type of cancer her daughter has or provide an update on Whimsy's current condition.
The social media creator said connecting with other parents and families facing similar experiences has helped ease the feeling of isolation she experienced following her daughter's diagnosis.
"All of that combined really brought me a lot of comfort and alleviated the feeling of loneliness for me," she said, adding that "processing this and navigating all of this as a family has been really hard."
Smith also shared that balancing her daughter's treatment while caring for her children, recovering postpartum -- her youngest child was born in September last year -- and keeping up with work has been challenging.
"A lot of you have probably realized that I've been posting a little less and this is the reason why," she said. "Having found all of this out and navigating this while postpartum, also loving and caring for our other kids at home, also being in the hospital with Whimsy a lot and balancing work on top of that has been really challenging."
She said finding a balance remains a daily struggle.
"Some days are a little easier, some days are really hard, and all I can do is try my best and show up in all those areas in the best way that I can," she said.
Smith added that she decided to publicly share her family's experience in hopes of helping others facing similar circumstances.
"We wanted to share this to hopefully bring someone else that comfort [we felt after connecting with others in similar situations] or even incentivize you to go get something checked out that you've been avoiding," she said.
In the video's caption, Smith expressed gratitude for the doctors and nurses who cared for her daughter, writing that she is "thankful for each and every nurse and doctor along our journey who helped us get through and out the other end."
Smith, who has more than 12.4 million followers on TikTok and 4.7 million on Instagram, is known for sharing cooking videos and family-focused lifestyle content.
Her debut cookbook, "Homemade," is scheduled to be released in October.
ABC News has reached out to Smith's representative for comment.
