annual report Issue #9 • Fall 2018 After a week and a half it wasn’t going away so we took him to see our primary physician. She reassured me it was probably just some internal bruising, typical with that area. She said, “Keep an eye on it and if it doesn’t get better in a couple of weeks, it could be a slight fracture, but that’s very unlikely and it should go away on its own.” It didn’t go away and started getting worse. We could start to feel a bump and he started limping. It went from nothing, to quickly being worse. We called her back and she sent us to the hospital for an X-ray. She called later that day and told me it’s either a really bad infection or a tumor. I was driving and had her on speaker. I don’t remember getting home; I was just suddenly sitting in my driveway. I felt my world just rocking, crumbling, and falling apart, in utter disbelief. I was in shock. It went really fast from there, no sitting around and waiting. The next morning we went back to the hospital and did a CT scan to look further. An orthopedist confirmed for us that it was cancer. He told us, “I know this is scary, but it’s going to be okay.” You want so badly for it to be you, you wish you could take it away. “Dad and I wish it could be us instead,” I told Joel, “so the only thing I can do is never leave you.” I made this promise to him and I needed to be right there. I never left the hospital when he was there. My husband is on call with his job, so when He’s My Hero he could spend the night with him at the hospital too, he did. As told by mom Rebekah They did a biopsy the next morning; it was a cancer called Osteosarcoma. We set up an appointment to have surgery to put his port oel has always been a super active kid, always playing in and then they started chemo right away. He went through and running around outside, loving soccer and never eight rounds of chemo before they did the surgery to remove sitting still. the tumor. Even playing video games he was jumping and running Joel’s tumor was right below his left tibia/knee, so he had J with the game. Last summer, he had just turned nine. the option to do limb salvage surgery. This would spare He showed me some bruises on his leg right below his knee, his leg, but they would remove his knee joint and his tibia and he said when playing at a friend’s house, one of the boys down to his ankle. Then they would place metal rods inside accidently kicked him. I wasn’t too concerned and we kept to replace the bone. Cosmetically, it looks about the same, an eye on it. but would withstand very low impact. (continued on page 4) There With Care Annual Report • Fall 2018 • therewithcare.org 1 from our executive director hen the wholeness of a family is threatened by a critical illness, our mission at heart is to ease their W stresses and give them more time to be together. To do this, we work with volunteers, supporters and businesses to build a community around each family. This starts with the first call we make to a parent, and the first connection we have with a family. When talking with them, we strive to listen and learn how we can best support their family through their medical crisis. Every family’s journey is different and each family’s needs are different. We work to meet them where they are, and as their needs change, so do we. Families often share that upon the diagnosis, one parent has to leave their job to care for their Intern Charlotte, Mom Rebecca, Rilee (Leukemia Patient), child, and the family is quickly in financial distress. Dad Brock and Paula Many families struggle with transportation. Their children parents peace of mind knowing they don’t have to take their need to get to so many appointments and getting to the ill child into a store, and it gives them more time with their hospital shouldn’t be the worry a parent faces when trying to children. For families in the hospital, volunteers deliver Easy get their child to chemotherapy. For families struggling with Meal Care Bags filled with non-perishable food so parents transportation, we work with local mechanics that partner to don’t have to leave their child’s bedside and they also have reduce the costs of auto repairs. We also provide gas assistance snacks at hand for their other children. and bus passes to ease the added financial burdens caused by At the core, all these things help families weather a medical frequent trips to the hospital. crisis. Bringing the community to families lets them know Many patients develop a compromised immune system they are not alone. They know that others care about them, during treatments. It can be overwhelming for parents to keep and that they will always be at the heart of our work. their home free from now-life-threatening germs. There With Thank you for helping make this mission possible. You truly Care delivers Cleaning Care Bags that include laundry soap, make a difference. housecleaning products and more. When needed, we also partner with cleaning companies who reduce their fees to With gratitude, clean the homes for families who spend long days in hospitals and need help keeping their home clean and safe. One of the biggest needs faced by families is shopping for food. When a family’s income is reduced, the need for help with groceries and deliveries is greater than ever. There With Care partners with food suppliers so that volunteers can shop Paula DuPre’ Pesmen for families and deliver quality food to the home. This gives Executive Director and Founder 2 The AnnualThere ReportWith Care is published Annual Report once yearly • Fall by 2018 There • With therewithcare.org Care • Issue #9, Fall 2018 teer • dona lun te vo • in • VOLUNTEER • -k h i • Family Support c n a d • Group Opportunities e d r • Event Opportunities t o n • Administrative & Warehouse Support u a o t i y o t i • DONATE n n s u • • Contribute Financial Support m e v m • Donate Stock e o n c t s • • Underwrite Program Items • s t g n r a • Provide Company Matched Gifts • Make Automatic Payroll Donations • Include There With Care in Planned Giving • Join Care Club, a Monthly Giving Program • IN-KIND DONATIONS • Hold a Drive • Be a Care Bin Ambassador • Support the Holiday Program • Donate Program Items • Donate Company Products and/or Services • EVENTS • Sponsor or Attend Care Cup Challenge Golf Tournaments • Sponsor or Attend Red Carpet Adventure Events • Sponsor or Attend a Community Event • Create Your Own Community Event • GRANTS • Make Introductions for Grant Opportunities • Make Introductions for Family Foundation Opportunities • Talk to Your Employer About Company Grant Opportunities • COMMUNITY OUTREACH • Share Our Mission in Your Community • Host a Lunch-and-Learn at Your Workplace • Bring in a Friend For a Tour of the Warehouse We welcome you to join us and share what inspires you! To learn more about these opportunities to get involved, please visit: therewithcare.org/waystohelp Top to Bottom: DaVita Making Easy Meal Care Bags , IHS Markit Purchasing and Assembling Cleaning Care Kits, Boulder Country Day Students Making Stuffie Stories, Todd Reed Employees Cooking at Team Chop There With Care Annual Report • Fall 2018 • therewithcare.org 3 He’s My Hero (continued from page 1) BOARD OF DIRECTORS Board Chairperson Pam Bernal Board Director Michael Barnathan Board Director Amy Carpenter Board Director Chris Columbus Board Director Dave Davia Board Director Paula DuPre’ Pesmen Board Director Geoffrey Hansen Board Director Kirsten Heckendorf Board Director Jody Mathie, M.D. Board Director Chris Himes Board Director Jacqueline van Someren ADVISORY BOARD Jane Butcher, Adam Fell, Daphne A. Haas-Kogan, MD, Anne Hanson, Linda Gray, Wendy Kahn-Robson, Mary Lee, Tommi McHugh, Devon Murray, Caritina Yanez, Dr. Julie Zimbelman, MD STAFF Executive Director Paula DuPre’ Pesmen Vice President of Development Dana Bacardi Events Director Shanna Lawless Development Directors Millicent Kang, Shannon Nieb Community Development Associates Katie Hegg, Terrie Rex Grants Co-Directors Kristina Miller Olsen, Bill Campbell, PhD Program Director Mary Beth Appel Program Coordinators Kim Richter, Brooke Galardi, Julie Rich, Ivanova Swarr Marketing/Communications Director Sue Lepping Operations Director Bonnie McNellan Joel with His Family Operations Coordinators Robin Spitz, Kris Carius He would be able to walk, but things like running, jumping, Operations Support Coordinators Cate Buck, Liz Ward Community Space Coordinators Rachel Siler, Chris Wells soccer, basketball and skateboarding would be absolute no Volunteer Director Kelly McGahan no’s. Even if it went perfectly, the surgery would need to be Group Volunteer Coordinator Julie Hess repeated every 15-20 years, because the parts don’t last forever. Volunteer Coordinator Denver/Group Lead Karyn White Volunteer Coordinator Boulder Susan Domeracki Joel’s other option was the Van Nes procedure or rotationplasty, Volunteer Assistant Beth Botansky which is a partial amputation. The bottom of the femur, the Team Chop Coordinator Cheryl Markel knee, and the upper tibia are surgically removed. The surgeons Bookkeeper Maureen MacMackin then rotate the lower leg around 180 degrees — then attach it ADDITIONAL SUPPORT to the femur. The ankle joint is now in the position of the knee, Creative Director Dan Ragland which creates a functional, “natural” knee, and the toes provide Care Ambassadors Kiana Akina, Rich Bogen, Anne Chandler, Karen Crummy, important sensory feedback to the brain.