
Aside from a walk around the block now and again, I haven’t left my house since March 13th but today I did, but only so that I could drive desperately needed checks and supplies to some of our childhood cancer families (don’t worry, no human contact was made).
My first stop was to the Hope Tower over at Jersey Shore Medical (I didn’t go inside) where I dropped off a couple of care packages for two families who were there for treatment and in need of help.
Each package contained sanitizer, masks, TP, paper towels and of course a check. From there it was on to two other homes of childhood cancer fighters where I popped checks into their mailboxes.
My final stop was to the home of a nursing student who had posted about needing masks and other general supplies for the hospital where she works.
As most of you know, we have a “Lovie Buddy” program where we send childhood cancer fighters a stuffed animal of their choosing (complete with a mediport) along with a “Doctor's kit” filled with real, safe medical supplies. With everything going on with COVID-19 we decided to donate what was left of our Lovie Buddy supplies to this amazing nurse and her team. It wasn’t much unfortunately, but we did have a box of exam gloves, 6 boxes of alcohol wipes and 2 boxes of children’s sized masks.
As most of you know, we have a “Lovie Buddy” program where we send childhood cancer fighters a stuffed animal of their choosing (complete with a mediport) along with a “Doctor's kit” filled with real, safe medical supplies. With everything going on with COVID-19 we decided to donate what was left of our Lovie Buddy supplies to this amazing nurse and her team. It wasn’t much unfortunately, but we did have a box of exam gloves, 6 boxes of alcohol wipes and 2 boxes of children’s sized masks.
Childhood cancer is evergreen. It doesn’t matter what international crisis is happening, these families have to continue their fight regardless. And if their path wasn’t treacherous enough, now they might as well be crossing the ocean in a paper boat. Many of these families started out with two working parents and were already financially devastated when one had to stop working due to their child’s diagnosis. Now, you have families who currently have NO income and that’s not even the worst of it. Children fighting cancer are immune deficient, many of them being neutropenic where their bodies couldn’t fight off a cold if they wanted to making that alone life threatening. So instead of being able to stay at home with their sick child where it’s safe, week after week they have to brave the outside world to head to their clinic or to the hospital...probably the last two places you want to be right now. But they don’t have a choice, the chemo and radiation must go on and I can’t even begin to imagine the fear that these parents have every time they walk out of their homes.
So please stay home, and if you have to head out, throw on a mask or scarf, not necessarily for your own protection but for the protection of others. Remember, staying inside is not about you and your family alone, it’s about the millions of families who are immune compromised in one way or the other and it’s for our incredible medical community who are leaving their families and the safety of their own homes so that they can stand in the line of fire every single day trying to save our lives all while stretched so incredibly thin. I know that I left my house today, but I had no physical contact, I used sanitizer before/after touching anything, and threw my mask on each time I left the car. This will be my only reason for ever leaving my house, when one of our childhood cancer families is in need of something, otherwise I fully plan to stay home just as you should!
One more thing, we already know that Infinite Love is going to take a big hit in 2020 and while we know many of you can’t afford to donate to our foundation at this time, we hope that you’ll keep us in mind for when all of this is over and you are back on your feet. For those of you who can afford to continue helping us, please, we need your support now more than ever as we are receiving more and more requests for financial assistance and we don’t ever want to have to turn a family away. Remember, there is no way to quarantine childhood cancer so we still need your help now and always. Thank you everyone and please stay safe and healthy!
So please stay home, and if you have to head out, throw on a mask or scarf, not necessarily for your own protection but for the protection of others. Remember, staying inside is not about you and your family alone, it’s about the millions of families who are immune compromised in one way or the other and it’s for our incredible medical community who are leaving their families and the safety of their own homes so that they can stand in the line of fire every single day trying to save our lives all while stretched so incredibly thin. I know that I left my house today, but I had no physical contact, I used sanitizer before/after touching anything, and threw my mask on each time I left the car. This will be my only reason for ever leaving my house, when one of our childhood cancer families is in need of something, otherwise I fully plan to stay home just as you should!
One more thing, we already know that Infinite Love is going to take a big hit in 2020 and while we know many of you can’t afford to donate to our foundation at this time, we hope that you’ll keep us in mind for when all of this is over and you are back on your feet. For those of you who can afford to continue helping us, please, we need your support now more than ever as we are receiving more and more requests for financial assistance and we don’t ever want to have to turn a family away. Remember, there is no way to quarantine childhood cancer so we still need your help now and always. Thank you everyone and please stay safe and healthy!