I am a senior at Badger High located in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin and for my senior project, I decided I wanted to do more than the standard community service; I wanted to make a difference to people who need it the most. For my senior project, I am going to raise at least $500 to donate to the Children's Hospital of Milwaukee for toys and crafts for the children in various parts of the hospital to play with while they are undergoing their treatment in the hospital. My project and this webpage were inspired by my sister Michaela (as seen in picture). Last year, my sister was diagnosed with Neuroblastoma and it was a blow to the family. Neuroblastoma is a rare form of cancer in the sympathetic nervous system, the system that relays messages through the body. There are over 700 reported cases on a yearly basis of this cancer and the cause is unknown. While my sister was under treatment, many people sent her gifts of toys and crafts to work on while she in the hospital. Neuroblastoma is a cancer that occurs among young children particularly infants, and there is a very high rate for relapse in those children's lifetimes. To me this means that when a child is diagnosed you need to be strong and have a ton of hope for the child going through the treatment. I am thankful for all those people who sent my sister those gifts of toys and crafts; they really made her feel better besides the medicine in my opinion. To have someone who cares about you, especially when you are fighting for your life with a life threatening illness is really something special. I want those children in the hospital to know that someone is thinking about them and wants to see them smile, especially when it is so hard to smile on some particularly hard days. That’s why I chose Children's Hospital of Wisconsin to donate to for my project. My sister was one of countless children that have been treated at that hospital and that means a lot to me. Donating money to them isn't even enough, I feel, because they treated my sister and gave her a new lease on life.
Michaela's Story:
On April 2nd of 2008, an otherwise healthy and vibrant 7 year-old went to the doctor for a sore throat. The new doctor was being thorough in his examination of Michaela when he noticed that she seemed to have an enlarged spleen. He did some lab work and ordered her to have a CT scan done. We took her to have the scan done about 5 days later, and heard back later that day that Michaela had a large tumor in her abdomen that needed to be removed quite soon. She was admitted to the Cleveland Clinic later that same day. Three days later, April 10, Michaela had a large tumor removed from her abdomen. The surgery was successful in that the surgeon was able to remove the entire mass without having to take any of the surrounding organs. In the days preceding her surgery, more scans and tests were done to see whether or not the tumor was malignant. The news was not good. Michaela's tumor was diagnosed as a Neuroblastoma Cancer that originated in her Adrenal Gland. The doctors ordered more tests to see what stage of cancer we were looking at. Meanwhile, Michaela was recovering quite nicely from her major surgery, and quickly returning to her happy, hungry, energetic self. Further scans and bone marrow biopsies revealed to us that Michaela did have Stage 4 Neuroblastoma. This means that the cancer had spread to her bones in her left hip bone, a lumbar of her spine, and her left parietal bone on her skull. This was the worst case scenario, and so we prepared to undertake a long fight to make Michaela healthy. We can be thankful that Michaela showed no outward symptoms of sickness, and that she began her chemotherapy treatments with the surgery already behind her and in great strength and health.
After spending almost a year in and out of the hospital sometimes for over a month at a time, and after undergoing chemotherapy, a stem cell transplant, and radiation, Michaela is now in remission. She spent the fall starting a new school, cheerleading and playing with friends. She just joined the Brownies this past month.
Thank you for visiting my Personal Fundraising Page. Donating through this site is simple, fast and totally secure. It is also the most efficient way to make a contribution to our fundraising efforts. Many thanks for your support -- and don't forget to forward this to anyone who you think might want to donate too!