Help and Hope Happen Here

Melissa Rodger's then 9 year old daughter Chloe  had a lingering cold in July of 2022 and was told by a doctor that her cold was just a product of "back to back" viruses. Not too long after that Chloe was dehydrated and this time she was sent to a hospital emergency room where she was quickly diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia. Chloe had to undergo 2 Bone Marrow transplants with first, Melissa, and then her father Luke being her donors. Today Chloe is back in school, doing very well, and hopes to graduate from 6th grade when the academic year ends in December. Melissa will also talk about her own hard fought battles with Anxiety on today's podcast. 

The discomfort that 5 year old Anthony Terrell was suffering from in late 2022 was originally thought to be simple growing pains, but by March of 2023  he was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Lymphoma which was quickly changed to a diagnosis of Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. Anthony is now roughly 40 percent into his Continuation Therapy protocol and he is doing so well that his doctors have put his survival rate chances at 96 percent.

In 2008, Dr. Susannah Koontz left her role as a Clinical Pharmacy Specialist at MD Anderson and started her own Oncology Consulting business called Koontz Oncology Consulting, which she has been at since 2008. Dr. Koontz will first discuss some of the improvements and standards that she initiated at MD Anderson which still are in place today, and then talk about her consulting company and the different interest groups that she deals with and the different facets of Pediatric Oncology that are of prime importance, as she tries to help these kids and the treatment that they receive for their own cancer battles. 

The joy of the birth of Savannah Hansen on July 6th of 2023 was muted as there were bruises all over her tiny body as she was born. These bruises signified Acute Myeloid Leukemia. Savannah's mom Sarah will talk about her ordeal which ended up with Savannah being transferred from her local hospital in Las Vegas to Children's Hospital of Los Angeles where she completed her treatment on January 29th of 2024. Savannah is doing as well as possible health wise.  

Ryan Soileau's son Henry had a heart rate of 250 when he was 6 weeks old in February of 2020 when he was taken to the emergency room by his mom and Ryan's wife Ashley. It was discovered that Ryan was suffering from Bone Marrow failure which has a one in a million chance of happening. Remarkably, Ryan is now well on his way to leading a healthy life as his Bone Marrow has recovered on its own and the Bone Marrow transplant that the doctors at St. Jude thought he would need, has been taken off the table and Henry is feeling as well as possible, some 4 years after his original diagnosis. 

Just 4 months after her 13 day old son passed away from a heart defect in the fall of 2016,  April Standring's 2 1/2 year old daughter Mazy was diagnosed with a high risk form of Leukemia . April will talk about the journey that Mazy and her family have been on which took a very positive turn in July of 2019 when Mazy was able to ring the bell at her hospital, signifying the end of her treatment. Mazy is now 9 years old and living her best life possible. 

The original intent that Chelsea Craigs and Mandi Noland had was to invite stay at home moms to get together for a social gathering.  What happened after that was that this "Social Gathering " became a Non-Profit to help families in Arizona who had children that were battling some type of Pediatric Cancer. This non- profit was named the Copper Rain Foundation, and is really just in its infancy as it becomes more and more involved in finding children and families to focus on and to advocate for in this Pediatric Cancer fight. 

Katie Histing was diagnosed with Ewings Sarcoma as a 17 year old during the Christmas season of 2018. Katie has battled with this form of Pediatric Cancer for 5 1/2 years  and had what was hoped to be her final Chemotherapy treatment 7 months ago, just after her Stem Cell transplant. Through all of her difficult times, Katie is doing what she can to give back to others through her Katie's Collective business which features her beautiful artwork. Yesterday May 1st was Katie's 23rd birthday. In the cruelest twist, Katie found out the heartbreaking news that a recent blood test confirmed that her cancer was back and that there are no curative options for her at this point. Katie deserves all of the prayers and support we can give to her and one way that we could honor Katie and her fight is to consider purchasing a shirt or donating to her shirt fundraiser. The link to that is https://www.customink.com/fundraising/hibiscus-of-hope.

You can also purchase Katie's art products at https://katiescollectiveus.etsy.com

N'Jhari Jackson had 2 polyps removed from his vocal chords when he was 5 years old and has struggled mightily with physical and mental issues for the last decade and a half. Now a University of Florida graduate, N'Jhari will detail his life which has been dedicated to giving back to others in need, and , despite struggling with the aforementioned issues, has accomplished a great deal and won many awards in his still very young life. One of his many accomplishments has been being a member of Dick Vitale's All Courageous Team in which N'Jhari was highlighted in Dick's book UNTIL MY LAST BREATH : FIGHTING CANCER WITH MY YOUNG HEROES.  All of the proceeds from this book will benefit the Dick Vitale Pediatric Cancer Research Fund at the V Foundation for Cancer Research. 

Maurice Ahern and his family were living in China in 2010 when his 1 year old son Micah was diagnosed with Neuroblastoma. Maurice will talk about quickly moving his family to Orlando to have Micah's surgery and his 6 year ordeal fighting this disease which ended with his passing in July of 2016. Maurice will also talk about his love for the Food Industry and for Baking, which he has used for the past 7 years to help honor the memory of Micah and keep his legacy alive.