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!)