Your Sick Child Wants to Feel Normal: Here’s How to Help Them
At age seven, I was diagnosed with colon cancer. A scary reality hit my parents like a ton of bricks. How are we going to protect our baby girl? What types of walls or shelter do we need to create so that she can survive this cancer and be well again? I can only imagine […]
Dealing with Childhood Illness: 7 Ways to Invite Hope into a Seemingly Hopeless Situation
Every year, thousands of children are diagnosed with catastrophic illnesses—illnesses that affect not only them, but the entire family. I would know: When I was seven years old, I was diagnosed with colon cancer. It was, and still is, a very rare disease for someone that age. I spent most of the next several years […]
Dealing with Childhood Illness: Social Networking Can Provide Relief
According to the National Cancer Institute, more than 10,000 children under the age of 15 were diagnosed with cancer in 2007, making it the deadliest disease among U.S. children in that age group. I was diagnosed with colon cancer at age seven and spent most of my childhood in and out of hospitals, enduring six […]
The Tipping Point: How To Keep it Together When You’re at the Edge
Over the course of my 40-plus years, I have been at the edge many times. As a child who battled cancer, I didn’t exactly know I was trying so hard to keep it together, but there certainly were times when I just wanted to give up fighting and simply be a “normal” kid. As a […]
Thought for Today…
“Although the world is full of suffering, it is also full of the overcoming of it.” — Helen Keller
Keeping Up with Alesia
Have you had a chance to sign up to receive the monthly Everything’s Okay newsletter? Each month, I send out a brief update about what I’ve been up to, and activities that my Foundation and I are working on. It’s a great way to find out how you can get involved in the community and […]
Do What You Can
It is the greatest of all mistakes to do nothing because you can only do little – do what you can. ~Sydney Smith What can YOU do today to make a difference and help others?
An Inspiration to Others
I met another volunteer at the CHOP Volunteer conference a few weeks ago and was yet again moved by his story. This gentlemen was asked to speak on behalf of the volunteers and share his story. He had sold his business and decided that he needed to do something worthy with his extra time, and […]
Survival and Triumph- Inspiration to Others
I met an amazing young man at the CHOP Volunteer Summit the other day. He was around 22 years old and was one of the speakers at this event and shared with us that he was born with sickle cell. As an infant, he appeared to be normal for the first few weeks of life, […]
Getting Stronger By Leaning
The following post was featured on Day by Day Hope Foundation’s blog. I am grateful for the opportunity to continue to share my story with others! When I was seven years old, I was diagnosed with cancer, and spent my childhood in treatment and recovering from surgeries. Now, fortunately, as a healthy adult, I am […]
