Fun-loving and adorable Merrick, two years of age, finds joy in daily activities. He appreciates every moment of humor and kindness. Merrick’s intense cancer treatment schedule strains his family’s finances. He was diagnosed with a rare brain tumor – infantile high-grade glioma – and one of his parents had to stop working to take him to multiple children’s hospitals.
Jacklyn is a young woman with a beaming smile and courageous spirit. She was shocked to discover she had somehow been exposed to asbestos. (The source of her exposure remains unknown.) A medical emergency with a collapsed lung led to the discovery of mesothelioma and thyroid carcinoma. Her two “Doodles” – Maze and Stella – bless Jacklyn with unconditional love as she undergoes treatment and heals.
Aaron, 16, is surrounded with tremendous family love and emotional support as he receives treatment for Hodgkin’s lymphoma. He is pictured here with his mom, Yanelys, and younger sister, Amaya. A good-natured and well-behaved teenager, cancer was not on Aaron’s mind when he discovered a lump under his arm. He had no pain or other symptoms that anything was wrong. Tests, however, revealed Aaron had stage IV cancer. And financial hardship for his family resulted from his parents’ frequent time off from work to take him from Palm Beach County to Miami for infusion chemotherapy treatments.
Charina has a vibrant personality and shares joyful tears of gratitude. She was a bus driver in Palm Beach County until cancer (B-cell lymphoma) was discovered behind her extremely swollen left eye. Fortunately, her doctors have been able to save her eye with intense medical treatments. But her financial hardship while not working has been severe. Before contacting us, Charina said she would go days without eating.
