Week 12: Worse than Cancer

Do you know what is worse than cancer?  Pediatric cancer. 

Fighting for your life is tragic.  Having a child fight for their life is unbearable.  Yet children and their parents are bearing it every day...and helping others during the battle.  Example:  Emma Rose.

I heard Emma's story for the first time this week and decided then and there it would be this week's Kindness Countdown activity.  Read her story and you'll know why:

"Hi! My name is Emma Rose. I am an 18 year old Leukemia (ALL) patient. I was diagnosed with cancer in January, 2012. It was a tough first year, but I am finally feeling better. I recently finished my treatment. Now I am at school studying to be a pediatric oncology nurse. When I was diagnosed, so many people helped my family and me in many ways. Now, I want to do something to give back. I want to help other kids with cancer who are also being treated at Children's Hospital of Wisconsin.  

I collect soft comfort items and things kids can use during their stay. Right now we are especially in need of gift cards. Our newest Wishlists are on Amazon. If interested in donating gifts to help the Kids at Children's WI, please go to Amazon, click on Wish Lists and then search for Emma Rose. You do not have to order through Amazon! You can send any donations you would like to my PO Box. One of our major donation drives was called "Movie Night". Thanks to the generosity of our followers and WE Energies' donation of 100 copies of Honor Flight- The Movie, we were able to put together 100 movie tubs for the kids. Each tub contained several movies, popcorn, candy and other items for the children and their families. The tubs were given to the children on the HOT Unit, in MACC Clinic, in the BMT Clinic and at Ronald McDonald House. Since the children cannot go to the movie theater, I wanted to bring the movie theater experience to them. Thank you so much!"

Because most of the gifts that are donated to Children's Hospital of Wisconsin are for little kids, Emma's current project is collecting gift cards to Target, Amazon, iTunes, Panera Bread, etc. to give to teens with cancer for Christmas.  My children picked out two and we sent them on their way yesterday. 

Please consider helping Emma reach her goal of 100 gift cards.  Any dollar amount is fine.  Donations can be sent to Emma Rose, P.O. Box 485, Theinsville, WI 53092.

"Some days I had to tell myself, 'Get through the next 5 minutes.  You can make it through 5 minutes.' And I did.  I made it through months of my daughter's cancer treatment, 5 minutes at a time." - Mom of a cancer patient