Help Michael's March Trample Cancer One Step at a Time

This year the triplets will be volunteering at The Valerie Fund Walk/Run in Verona Park on Jun 8th, so our team will be fundraising instead of walking.

If you didn't already know, Mike was treated for leukemia as a toddler. Thankfully, all that remains of that time are the awful memories. Every year we support The Valerie Fund, the local non-profit cancer and blood disorder treatment centers, so they will be around for Michael and all the other children that desperately them. Please join us in this fight with a tax-deductible donation for this wonderful, worthy cause! Every donation, no matter the amount is sincerely appreciated! THANK YOU!!

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MICHAEL'S STORY

In 2010, our son Michael was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) at only 2 years old. Without question, it was the worst time of our lives, but the remarkable doctors, nurses and staff at the Morristown Valerie Fund Children’s Center saved our child and got us through his battle, both physically and emotionally.

The Valerie Fund has 8 exceptional cancer centers for children in the tri-state area so kids can receive treatment close to home and families can stay together. ***Michael will need to visit one of these centers for the rest of his life.*** The Valerie Fund now treats over 6K childhood cancer and blood disorder patients each year. Sadly, that number has grown from 4K patients when we started fundraising.

Within 24 hours of our arrival at the hospital, the Valerie Fund doctors gave us an accurate diagnosis, a plan to combat the cancer and Michael's first dose of chemotherapy. They saved his life! Within 1 month, he was in complete remission. For 3 ½ years, we traveled to a Valerie Fund location for his treatments and, on March 15, 2013, Michael took his last dose of chemotherapy! He is currently in their Long Term Follow-up program. With their help, Michael has been in remission for over 14 years and he has been off chemo for over a decade!!

Since there are Valerie Fund Children’s Centers nearby, our family was able to stay together throughout his entire treatment. The Valerie Fund’s nurses care for Mike like we would, if we could. He was able to get his chemo, come home to play with his sisters and get tucked into his own bed with good night kisses--from *both of his parents.* We are still able to go to all the follow-ups with oncologists and specialists without too much interruption to school and his activities.

When he was younger, Child Life Specialists distracted him and all the other kids while we waited for tests and during awful treatments. Now, they are more like friends. Their Social Workers still care for our emotional well-being. The Valerie Fund Educational Liaison helped Michael transition safely into school and will ensure that his educational needs are met through college. They have onsite Neuro-psychologist checks to ensure that his cognitive functions are where they should be.

Beyond what they do for us, they do so much more for others: Financial Counseling to ensure that treatment costs can be managed; Integrated medicine and holistic treatments to help when drugs cannot; Palliative care to manage the symptoms and side effects of the illness and the treatment; Transportation services to get patients to the hospital when they otherwise couldn’t; Camp Happy Times to keep creating childhood memories despite treatment; Scholarships to help patients pursue higher education; Flashes of Hope to capture the moments; a Mom hotline to help them cope; and, a Grief Support Program when all hope is lost.

Today, Michael is a happy and healthy 16-year-old with a terrific outlook, but our journey is very far from over. Michael will be treated by an oncologist at a Valerie Fund Center for the rest of his life. We have been incredibly lucky so far, but they need to check for lasting side effects, and to make sure that he doesn’t relapse or develop a secondary cancer. We try to focus on the happy news, but the reality is that we need the Valerie Centers around forever--for Michael and all the other kids fighting cancers and blood disorders. We are truly overwhelmed by the love and support over the years. Thank you for caring about Michael and helping The Valerie Fund.

THANK YOU SO MUCH!!
Jodi & Matt Savare