September is a time for reset. It’s back to school. Fall arrives. Routines settle in.
And, it’s a time in our childhood cancer community to honor the babies and children battling cancer. That means 15,000 children each year who are diagnosed with cancer in the United States (according to Alex’s Lemonade Stand Childhood Cancer Report).
These are the the kids who have to stay home on the first day of school because their counts aren’t high enough. The parents who can’t go to kindergarten orientation because they’re sleeping next to their sick baby at the hospital. We honor all journeys – not just the happy endings.
We think about the days where you get to feel present. The moments where you get to fly a kite together. When you experience their first food and first words.
And, at the same time, it’s the moments you wish you could forget: when the doctor tells you, “your child, your baby, has cancer.”
In a moment, your world shifts. Priorities change. And, all you can think about is “what can I do to save my child.”
And, that’s why we all need community. To help us through the long, sleepless night. To deliver coffee in the morning with hope and a smile. To encourage us to keep going and never give up. To send that late night text saying, “I’m thinking of you.”
And, this month, we focus on how to advocate to get more funding for better, less toxic treatments for our babies; to honor and lift up families navigating treatment options; and to remember those we have lost.
Join us in a month of turning purple to gold for all of our fighters!
Maddy Double Waves,
Jackie & Dan & Hannah
(featured below at the Phillies Childhood Cancer Game. Always representing her sister, Maddy).
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