Hope For Miracles Inc - Childrens Neuroblastoma Research

Raising much needed funding for Childhood Cancer Research is our mission. Let me share with you why that’s my personal mission. Just over 9 years ago, I was sitting in a little room off of the surgical waiting area at the UVM hospital in Burlington - listening to a surgeon tell me that my 3 year old son had neuroblastoma, a childhood cancer. I listened in a haze of shock, terror and denial to the surgeon explain - and let’s be honest - in that moment, there wasn’t much getting through - I had shut down… What I do remember hearing was that there wasn’t enough research to really understand neuroblastoma and that there was no cure. The words cancer and no cure… It doesn’t get anymore devastating than hearing those words in connection to your child; your baby. I was told that we would have a long road ahead of us and he couldn’t say if Karson would make it through.

As a parent there are no words to describe your fear and sense of helplessness, when you are told that your child has cancer; that they might not survive; and that there is no cure. To have nurses prepare you and constantly remind you of the worst case scenario. To have made it 4 years only to have it return, and then return again. To feel guilt - yes, guilt. What about that mom who’s child didn’t make it? How come we were spared but others weren’t - How can I ever do enough to pay it forward? There are still times when I wake up in a cold sweat, frantic – with all of those terrifying fears coming to the forefront of my mind; trying to suffocate me; making me relive it all over again. I run to check on Karson – actually, who am I kidding, sometimes I have such anxiety at night that I end up cuddled next to him come morning; but when I see him sleeping peacefully, I remember he is ok, he is blessed, and there is hope. By the grace of God, Karson is cancer free. He is a healthy, active, beautifully average boy – but those fears, those what if’s, they never stop… This is why I fight - this is why it’s my mission to fund research - to fund trials. All of this, and I can’t help thinking… What about all the other children and families fighting right now? What of those who will fight in the future - we know childhood cancer is on the rise - this isn’t going away - not unless we continue to fight! Who is going to fight for them? Many of us go through life wondering what our purpose is - this is mine; this is why Hope for Miracles is in existence.

Through a quest for answers at The University of Vermont Children’s Hospital, The Dana Farber Institute in Boston and Memorial Sloan Kettering in NYC, I learned that there are no answers. No one can tell me it will never return, that they will catch it in time, or how we can stop it from coming back; that’s the nature of the disease that they know from watching patterns. What I did learn was that we NEED funding for research; Children are dying because there is not enough funding for research; for a cure. I was shocked, saddened and angered to learn that only 4% of the funds raised are dedicated to children’s cancer research. 4% - that means for every $100 donated, only $4 goes to children’s cancer research. Some years are even less than 4%. There are hundreds of childhood cancers... how is that possibly sufficient to find a cure for any of them? We are very blessed that Karson is cancer free and he is thriving, we thank God daily and continue to pray that it never returns. It is only right that we give thanks by giving back – and offering HOPE to other families. It is important to us that you know that our operating costs are less than 4% - that’s in our mission -After learning about the meager 4% (or less), we were adamant to do the reverse ~ ensure that a minimum of 96% of funds raised would go to fund research. “It’s impossible” we were told, “it’s unheard of” they said. Well, I am here to tell you that since our inception, now 4 years, our operating budget has been less than 1%!!! That means that 99% of funds raised are going to fund research!!! Nothing is impossible with determination, an amazing board, generous and supportive donors, and prayer. 

Last year was monumental to us… With under 3 years in existence and with two years not being able to hold events due to covid, we were able to write our first $100,000 check to Memorial Sloan Kettering. $100,000! Pause… Every Time I say that I’m astonished - and that’s because of all of you… Let’s give ourselves a round of applause for making this happen!! It’s important to remember that this didn’t just happen overnight… it was one day at a time, one phone call at a time, one donation at a time. Memorial Sloan Kettering is currently using our funds to conduct research trials using a groundbreaking immunotherapy vaccine. What’s special about this vaccine is that it can be used across multiple pediatric and adult solid tumor cancers. This is the only pediatric tumor vaccine in existence, and it has been shown to be safe and increase survival rates in children. I think that what really excites and motivates me to do even more - is that not only are we helping to cure neuroblastoma with this vaccine and our funding - but all solid tumors in both childhood and adult cancers! That is just amazing to me! You see, what can be used for one type of cancer, can also be used to cure others…. One step at a time; one trial at a time. So as you can see, we are making a difference - all of us, together - we can make life so much better for these children and families. We can do life changing things for them - we can make miracles happen. But we can’t give up… We have to keep pushing for more. We want to send another $100,000 this December to help move the trial along.

Hope for Miracles is a non profit corporation bringing hope to families of children with cancer, by funding research for life saving trials and cures. Hope for Miracles envisions a world where no family ever has to witness a child suffer from a childhood cancer.

Hope For Miracles Inc - Childrens Neuroblastoma Research is a Charity participating in the NASCAR Day Giveathon 2023 a Giving Day event, presented by The NASCAR Foundation.