There are moments which mark your life, moments when you realize nothing will ever be the same, and time is divided into two parts the before this, and the after this. After this my life was “normal” or so I thought, before this my life made a 180 degree turn. Although I will never regret accepting the job at CCBD.

I’ve seen it all and it hits hard. The first patient visits trying to comfort the child saying everything will be alright while the parents are scared out of their minds. Then you see them again a little more calm helping us explain to their child todays procedure. Chemo starts to kick in, you see them losing their hair. They come in tired, nauseated, and crying wishing it would stop. I have to keep a straight face apologizing for them having to feel this way and deep inside I hurt for them wishing I could do more to help. It hits home because I  have kids that age and I couldn’t imagine being in that position. You form a special bond with them they aren’t just patients you find nicknames for them and they play around with you. You start appreciating life and those in it, they will do the sweetest things. You celebrate birthdays, holidays, and many other things that “normal” people would consider weird. Celebrating that the patient finally ate a cheeto and actually kept it in. Celebrating when scale marks 1 pound heavier, and jumping up and down celebrating the last chemo. Then you stop seeing them as often but that’s a good sign. It’s crazy when you call the patients and you walk right pass them because you couldn’t recognize them with their new curly hair a bit lighter than before, their long lashes and that big bright smile. Sadly, this is not everyone’s story, things don’t always turn out the way one planned or the way one thinks they should. There are things that go wrong that don’t always get fixed or get put back together the way they were before. Some broken things stay broken but you learn to be stronger for them.

Help me raise money to fund childhood cancer research. The American Cancer Society directs only 1% of their efforts towards childhood cancers. Let’s stand together and fight for them, no one fights alone.

I'm shaving my head to raise money for childhood cancer research! Did you know that kids' cancers are different from adult cancers? It's true. And childhood cancer research is extremely underfunded. So I decided to do something about it by raising money for cures.

Now I need your help! Will you make a donation? Every dollar makes a difference for the thousands of infants, children, teens, and young adults fighting childhood cancers.