Testimonials

Our twins arrived 4 months early. Our son was diagnosed with Hydrocephalus and had to have 2 brain surgeries. During this time my husband was working off and on and I was recovering from a C-section, which caused us to get behind on rent. I submitted an application to Christopher’s Cure Hardship Fund for rental assistance. I received an email from Robin saying we have been approved for assistance the very same day we were about to be evicted. If it wasn’t for Christopher Cure we’d be out on the streets. They are amazing people and our family is thankful for Robin and everyone involved. Thank you and God bless you.

Gillespie Family

I wanted to thank you for your generosity to our family so we can ease the financial burden of our daughter’s care.

On December 12, 2018, our daughter was diagnosed Acute Myeloid Leukemia following standard bloodwork in preparation for a procedure. She had been having a decreased appetite, joint pain, and GI problems; we took her to the ER and they found nothing but this led to a referral that subsequently found the problem. Mesa was in the hospital for nearly seven months with a one week break here and there for her chemotherapy. She had a bone marrow transplant in May of 2019 because she did not get remission after her first round. Mesa was just about ready to go home one month later when she suddenly developed life-threatening complications. Mesa was in a medically induced coma, on a ventilator, had 14 lines, and was on continuous dialysis for about two weeks. She is now on the road to recovery as she completed her last Chemo in February. With all of her time in the hospital and countless outpatient appointments, I had to switch to on-call only a little here and there making us basically a one income family.

If it wasn’t for charities like Christopher’s Cure, we may have gone bankrupt, lost our house, and everything. With their assistance, we can try to maintain at least some normalcy in life while relieving the financial pressures.

This is a picture of her on the day she had her bone marrow transplant. I am holding a bag of cells that she’s going to receive and her cake says “happy cell day”.

Orth Family

Christopher’s Cure Hardship Foundation was a great blessing to our family and especially to our son DJ who has been diagnosed with T Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia last July 15, 2019. He is still in treatment and it will be for three and half years.

Christopher’s Cure Hardship Foundation has been a big part and great help with helping pay our mortgage bill and helped to ease and lessen our burden—especially with our son’s treatment appointments.

Our family is so thankful and grateful for the blessings this foundation has been to us.

Thank you so much!
Mae and Family

During this difficult time in our lives, Christopher’s Cure fund has given me and my family so much hope and awareness. During my pregnancy, I found out my daughter had Down syndrome. I’m a Chef by trade so ultimately, I’m figuring out what type of work I will go back too, because my daughter will need more care than normal.

Christopher’s fund for three months took that burden of worry away while my daughter Nevaeh was in the hospital. We were in the Niccu for 80 days. December 2, 2019 – February 19, 2020. Neveah had to undergo surgery duo atresia to unblock her intestine. She was npo for two months to gain weight for surgery. She was born premature also. During the end of our hospital stay, Nevaeh started aspirating on my breast milk. A swallow study was done which revealed she has to have thickened liquids. All of these issues are due to prematurity and Down syndrome.

She’s a fighter and has gotten through so much already. We still have a long road ahead but Christopher’s fund made me and my family feel important to take on such a task in supporting us during this difficult time. The giving spirit and kindness you’ve shown my family will never be forgotten. Thank you for picking my family to be a blessing too.

The Lipsey Family

Receiving aid from Christopher’s Cure was a blessing for our family.  Our daughter, Aubrie, spent her whole life in the hospital and with this we were able to enjoy our time together as a family and to not stress as much about bills and finances.  I was even able to cut my hours at work so I could spend as much time as possible with my daughter, something I wouldn’t have been able to do without the assistance.  Words simply cannot express the difference the generosity of this foundation has made for my family and many others. We were able to make many special memories that we will be able to hold onto forever.

Monique and Christopher Kauppi

We want thank Christopher’s Cure for all their help. Thank you all…When Christina Ruth Salas came into the world, she had a big fight ahead of her. She had a heart defect and all of this hitting us a once brings big concerns on finances in people’s lives. Taking worries away from people is the key to being a better human being. It’s hardship funds like this that beautiful people put together so that beautiful people like our selves could get through moment like this. Little things like this brings all of us more together as a human species. God bless everyone…

Thank you again Christopher’s Cure.

My name is Josie Jones. I am a pediatric oncology social worker at Banner Health Cardon Children’s Medical Center. I have been in this position since May of 2008. Prior to this I was working at another local hospital in a general pediatric ward. I worked there for five years. At that time I was also working with the oncology pediatric population.

There are several things I have learned about cancer during this last six years.

• First, cancer doesn’t discriminate.
• Cancer affects patients of every ethnic, financial, religious and age background.
• Cancer affects the young, the old and those in between.
• Cancer affects the rich, the poor, and those in between.
• Cancer affects every aspect of a person’s life.
• It affects their physical, emotional, financial, spiritual and social realm of their lives.
• It affects the patient, their parents, their siblings, their friends and their community.

In working with patients and their families I have encountered many families who struggle financially due cancer. Sometimes the parents lose their jobs because they have to be in the hospital with their child. Sometimes they don’t get paid for lost work hours. In working with families in these situations, I always look for resources in the community. I have to be diligent and make sure the family meets the criteria for the organization I’m referring them to.

I rely very heavily on Christopher’s Cure Hardship Fund. Christopher’s Cure Hardship Fund has been a great asset to my ‘resource list’ ever since I discovered it a couple of years ago. I have referred multiple families for financial assistance. The families I refer are those families who prior to ‘cancer’ had been doing okay financially. These are families who do not qualify for state or federal assistance. These are families who would fall through the cracks without the assistance of Christopher’s Cure Hardship Fund.

The assistance provided by Christopher’s Cure Hardship Fund allows these families to spend more time at the hospital without having to constantly worry about how they will pay their next bill. It gives the children an opportunity to have their parent at the hospital as much as possible. It also gives the families hope & confidence in the community at large.

Thank you Christopher’s Cure Hardship Fund for allowing me to refer families over.

Josie Jones

My name is Tina Brownfield. My 10 year old daughter Rowan is, for the second time in her life, bravely undergoing treatment for leukemia. She was first diagnosed at the age of six, and required 2 ½ years of chemotherapy. Because she was often too sick or vulnerable to infection to attend school, my partner quit her part time job and stayed home to care for Rowan. We accomplished this, as you might imagine, by re-financing our house, using savings and Rowan’s college fund, and, of course, by accruing a formidable sum in credit card debt. None of that was important, really, because the only thing that mattered to us was that we get Rowan through her treatment and back to good health. And we did! Rowan finished her chemo protocol, returned to school, her hair grew back; she was the glowing picture of good health, and we were so relieved!

A year and a half later, we were devastated to find that Rowan’s leukemia had returned. That first night in the hospital I lay awake, afraid for my daughter and for our family, and certain that we were headed for financial ruin. We still hadn’t recovered financially from the first go around. I couldn’t see, between lost income and increased medical expenses, how we were going to make ends meet. Along the way, we were lucky enough to be chosen by Christopher’s Cure to receive financial assistance. It made all the difference in the world to have them cover a month’s worth of our car payment, utility bills and mortgage. Everything changes with a diagnosis of cancer: loss of financial stability can be one of the most stressful factors at a time when the last thing that a family should have to worry about is money. Christopher’s Cure provided us a measure of relief and comfort at the most extraordinarily stressful time of our lives, and we will always be thankful for people in the world whose goal it is to lighten the load for people like us who are walking this difficult path.

Thank you!

Tina Brownfield, Michele Maisey, and Rowan Grace Maisey (leukemia warrior!)

I was honored to help a family earlier this year.  I initially met the family during a routine clinic appointment.  At that time the mother shared with me that her son, the patient, had been in the hospital for over a month with a newly discovered brain tumor.  She spent much of that time in the hospital with her son.  Her husband was not able to work his normal hours due to the responsibility to care for the other children, and his desire to also be at the hospital with their son.  She reported that they were behind in mortgage payments as a result.  She talked about how much the home meant to the family, especially at a time like this.  Mom filled out a Christopher’s Cure application which was then reviewed by Psychosocial Team members.  The team determined that this situation exemplified the purpose for the Christopher’s Cure fund.  I had the honor of notifying the mother by phone.  It brought tears to my eyes, to hear that though I was not able to stop the pain of having a loved one be ill, I was able to assure this family that money worries needn’t be a factor on that day.  The mother later reported to me that the provision of that assistance allowed her to return her focus to caring for her ill child, and not get carried into a deep depression which would have taken her attention away from his care.

I am grateful that, as a Social Worker, I have Christopher’s Cure as a tool in my tool box for working with families of children who have significant health issues.

Thank you for the opportunity to share this story and to participate in your program.

Tammy Abbott-Thiel, LMSW
Social Worker
Children’s Rehabilitative Services
124 W Thomas Rd.
Phoenix, AZ 85013