Spreading Good With Lemonade
Campaign kid Chloe and mom, Emily.
After 2 years of unexplained symptoms and multiple children’s hospitals, a doctor finally ordered a full body MRI to determine why our daughter was experiencing such distress. I sat waiting, working on report cards during her MRI that was expected to take two hours. Two hours turned into four and a half and my instinct knew something had been found.
I received a call the next day detailing the findings. I sat in my classroom after school writing down unfamiliar words as the doctor rattled off medical terms. Lymphatic Malformation, Vascular Anomaly, Oncology, Lymphatic System.
My mind raced and the googling commenced after this hospital apologized telling me her case was too severe for them to be comfortable treating her. This was the beginning of her journey.
We have been told since diagnosis how incredibly rare Chloe’s case is. She has endured countless procedures, hospitalizations, and dozens of medications. She is treated by doctors up and down the East Coast. Having a child with a rare and life threatening diagnosis is incredibly isolating.
After an extremely long, complicated stay at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, we were burnt out. We were told options were limited and make best use of our time when we had opportunities to be home. I came across Campaign One at a Time on instagram and was thrilled that they helped not only children battling cancer but other children fighting a life threatening illness. Our first meeting with Nick on Zoom was from our hospital room. It felt like we had known Nick forever. His passion for what he does was apparent and his gentleness chatting with Chloe was exactly what she needed. She smiled that day for the first time in a really long time.
Chloe dreamed of going to the West Coast. She wanted to put her toes in the Pacific Ocean, shop at Stoney Clover, and go to Disneyland. Campaign One at Time made all of the above and more happen for her. It was the trip of a lifetime for our family. Getting to meet Brodi and Nick in person and visit the HQ was one of the highlights of our trip. The trip was perfect timing as shortly after arriving back to VA, Chloe was readmitted to the hospital for 75 days.
Nick and Brodi constantly check in on us and feel like family now. Campaign One at Time changed all of our lives. We feel less alone. We feel loved. We feel joy. We feel all of this in the midst of the hardest season of our lives. Caison (my husband) and I are beyond grateful to OAAT.
We couldn't wait to be able to be involved in helping other families experience what we did. This is why I am so excited to be leading this year’s Cups For Campaigns program, a week long fundraising event happening July 1st-8th, where we are encouraging other campaign kids and supporters from all around the country to host a fundraising stand of any kind for Campaign One At A Time! You can host a lemonade stand, an apple juice stand; we even had campaign kid Kai’s family host a cups of ice cream stand last year! Any type of fundraiser will go towards Campaign One At A Time’s Dream Bank to help more dreams come true!
This opportunity for me to lead the Cups for Campaign program is a dream come true. Our family is stoked to participate in our own lemonade stand to give back to this incredible organization. We can't wait to Spread Good with Lemonade this summer so that we can help pass on the impact that Campaign One at Time left on us.
If you would like to join us this year for Cups For Campaigns to help make more dreams come true for more kids like Chloe, please click below!
