Sophia, leukemia survivor
Where Love Meets Hope.
Sophia, leukemia survivor
Sophia’s Story
Seven-year old Sophia was diagnosed with pre-B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia just after her fifth birthday, in June 2017. She spent countless days in the hospital and had to miss her entire kindergarten year at school to undergo intense treatment.
“Sophia is a strong fighter,” said her mother, Marlene. “Treatment has been exhausting for her and frightening for me, but she is so courageous and never stops smiling.”
Today, Sophia is in remission and last fall, she was cleared by her doctors to enter first grade at Rymfire Elementary in Palm Coast, FL. She’ll continue treatment over the next year, but Sophia is excelling in school and loves biking, coloring, Legos, board games and spending time with her family and new friends.
Program Elements
Warm Blankets
“The patients are always very cold, and these blankets will mean a lot to them, both keeping them warm, and the security of knowing that someone else cares,” said Julie Space, RN, OCN at Saint Vincent Hospital. New Motors Subaru, PA. (photo North Park Subaru, Dominion, TX)
Arts & Crafts Kits
2 ½ year old leukemia patient Lilli "could hardly contain her excitement when she opened the arts and crafts kit and saw the glitter paint inside. Her smile was contagious and had everyone in the room smiling." White Bear Subaru, MN. (photo from White Bear Subaru, MN)
Message of Hope Cards
A hospital staff member shared that "the blankets and the customer care cards go very quickly because all of the patients look forward to this gift of hope and light during hard times." Dulles Subaru, VA. (photo from Hudiburg Subaru, OK
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Inspiring stories
It’s hard to believe that the smiling family in this photo has just endured their first full year with their son, brother, and friend in treatment for Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. Patrick is 10 years old and on July 10th, 2017 he was diagnosed and will be in treatment for 3 full years. In speaking with Patrick’s family, LLS learned that Patrick and his brother Jacob share a small bedroom and they could really use more space. Besides delivering warm blankets to patients at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, John Kennedy Subaru went above and beyond, sending a contractor out to Patrick’s house to start exploring ways to expand his bedroom. Construction is now in the planning stages and we look forward to adding some brightness to what has been and will be a difficult journey in treatment. Thank you, from Patrick’s family, and from all the patients and families served by Subaru and LLS.
The patients at Sutter Auburn Faith Hospital’s Infusion Center were in for a wonderful surprise when community partners Gold Rush Subaru and the LLS stopped by to deliver hundreds of messages of hope and warm blankets. Steve Snyder, owner of Gold Rush Subaru said, “This hospital serves the needs of this community and we try to give back as much as we can. We want people to know that we care about them, that we are thinking of them and that we want their treatments to be successful.” Ramona Higley, a three time cancer survivor, was at the Infusion Center with her dog, Maxi, when the Gold Rush Subaru team arrived. Wrapped in her new blanket, Ramona and Maxi snuggled up for a nap in her infusion chair. “It can get pretty rough.” she said. “Anyone fighting this disease needs all the support they can get, so it is very wonderful that we have this amazing care team and local supporters who want to help provide hope.”
Dave Moser, Sales Manager at Bob Rohrman Subaru, peeked into Jo’s infusion cubicle at Parkview Cancer Institute in Fort Wayne, Indiana and saw a party going on. “What treatment number are you on?” he asked her. “The LAST one!” she said, and her half dozen party goers whooped and hollered as they celebrated her milestone. Dave grinned and congratulated her. “It’s been a long year and a half,” Jo said, as Dave presented her with a blanket to mark the end of her treatment. It was also a particularly special day for Dave: “Since we did this last year, I’ve been declared cancer-free,” he said.
Day Apollo Subaru swooped into Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh to save the day. Partnering with LLS, the dealership provided a surprise for the young patients bravely battling cancer. Brandon Denk from Day Apollo took the time to deliver these gifts one-on-one and spent time getting to know the cancer-fighting kids. One boy had a superhero shirt on, and the two talked about their favorite superheroes. The patient loves Captain America and thinks it’s cool that Captain America can use his shield to protect himself. Brandon told the boy that his treatment is like Captain America’s shield: it’s a weapon against the bad cancer cells but keeps the rest of him safe. “You’re a superhero, too,” said Brandon as the boy hugged his new blanket to his chest.
Loves to Care Program Warms Patients and Inspires Subaru Retailers Touched by Cancer
On July 9th, Charles Davis, General Manager of Bob Moore Subaru of Oklahoma City, and his wife Lisa Davis, who oversees marketing, delivered blankets and care cards to patients at Children’s Hospital at Oklahoma University Medical Center. One of those patients was 4-year-old Grace, who is being treated for leukemia. Grace happily read therapy dog Targa a story and tucked her in for a nap with a Subaru blanket. The delivery had special significance to the Davis family. As Charles explained, “The mission of LLS is important not only to Bob Moore Subaru because of our Share the Love Program, but it’s very personal for us as we lost our 7 year old daughter, Mighty Mia, to lymphoma last summer. In addition, our Master Technician, Shawn Best, lost his daughter, Kristin, to cancer as well at age 18. We hope that this partnership helps carry the message of LLS to more families like ours.”
Help The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and Subaru spread messages of hope, love, and warmth to cancer patients across the country.