Parents Turn Grief into Action with Fundraiser
"Excuse Me!" Which way to the Zoo?" Squish squeaked as he popped out of the box and looked around and he smiled and giggled loudly. We played this game frequently since reading his new book together. The warm sun peeked in on his bald head, through the sliding glass window from our balcony. This is my favorite memory of our sweet boy while living at Brent's Place in the summer of 2019.
It's July, Squish was just over 2.5 years old, one week into remission from his new diagnosis of stage 4 alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma, and three months into a 20-year-old chemotherapy treatment plan designed for adults. Our family of five had just been upheaved in what felt like the middle of the night, our minds and hearts still racing from that initial ER visit back in April and us still not even able to wrap our minds around being in a two-bedroom apartment with three boys 12 hours from our Missoula home.
Rhabdomyosarcoma is a fast-growing malignant cancer. Caiden Graham, our “Squish”, was diagnosed in the spring of 2019. He passed away Oct. 20, 2020. He was four days shy of his fourth birthday.
Brent’s Place is located in Aurora, Colorado. The organization provides safe, clean housing for families whose lives have been uprooted by a cancer diagnosis like Squish’s. Brent’s Place was established after Brent Eley, age 13, was diagnosed with rhabdomyosarcoma, and his family traveled to Iowa for treatment in 1987. Brent fought hard. He was courageous. But after 162 days fighting the disease, he passed away. Ten years later, Brent’s parents established a 501(c)3 organization his name to help other families.
Our family cherished the escape and adventures new stories brought us. They ignited all of our imaginations and allowed us to be silly in between the "not-so" moments. Squish's love for stories was beyond compare and he always dreamed of going to school to one day learn to read the stories for himself.
It is our wish is to provide books for the families checking into Brent's Place so that these families can also share in Squish's love of stories and adventure. We are hosting a fundraiser to purchase books through Usborne Books and More.
Last year, we were able to gift Brent's Place with just over $3,000 worth of Usborne Books and More titles. This year our goal is to do at least the same.
All donations will go towards purchasing books for Brent's Place to distribute to their families. The sales commission from Usborne Books and More will then be presented to Squish's memorial research fund for Rhabdomyosarcoma through the National Pediatric Cancer Foundation. You can learn more here.
All photos provided by the Hedahl family.
