It's every parent's worst nightmare, and a Brampton couple are living it every day.

When doctors at Toronto’s Hospital for Sick Children told Miriam Arriaga, 39, and her husband Stuart Kirkley, 58, their three-year-old daughter Carissa had a rare, aggressive type of cancer, the Brampton couple went numb with shock.

Then, their world fell apart.

The distraught parents learned the tumour in their daughter’s brain was inoperable and that Carissa was expected to live a year, maybe little longer.

“Carissa’s cancer (diagnosis) has changed everything for us,” a teary-eyed Arriaga told The Guardian. “There’s fear every day and there’s not a moment when I don’t think about the end. I don’t know if I can handle that. We are embracing every day and making unforgettable memories as the clock continues ticking.”

The diffuse intrinsic pontine gliomas (DIPG) that Carissa has are malignant tumours found at the base of the brain. The tumours are lodged in an area that controls breathing, heart rate and the nerves. The DIPGs are classified into four grades based on their appearance on MRI scans. The Brampton child has grade 4, the most aggressive kind.

Carissa recently underwent her 30th radiation therapy, and with that has exhausted treatment options in Canada.

Her parents want to explore medical trials in Mexico or United Kingdom, and need the community’s help to raise $40,000.

A crowd fund account has been set up to help with the expenses.

It was in April that Arriaga noticed Carissa limping. When she investigated, she realized her daughter was also unable extend her right arm fully. The parents rushed her to Credit Valley Hospital in Mississauga and, from there, to Sick Kids. At the Toronto hospital, the toddler underwent a battery of tests including a high-risk biopsy.