2nd $100,000 check to Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK Kids)

​I added some old pictures for the now and then… #sothankful 
This is a long post. I think they are more for me than they are for all of you. They are cathartic and I like to see them in my memories. Yesterday we were able to hand deliver our 2nd $100,000 check to Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK Kids) to fund a childhood cancer immunotherapy vaccine trial. What I wasn’t prepared for, was how that would feel. It didn’t hit me until we were almost upon the hospital. We had started the route just like we had in the past, at the apartment, the Mondrian, and we did our usual route of getting Karson treats along the way (Beard Papa’s and Insomnia Cookies). It’s about a 20 minute walk and it was a gorgeous day ~ a sunny 80 degrees in NYC with flowers and budding trees. We pointed out things along the way that we remembered and some we didn’t. He had a smile on his face the whole way there. The closer we got, the more I remembered that period of time, and the harder it was for me to keep it together. I was reminded of this walk with a sweet friend who was being treated at the same time. How we met part of the way and how both she and Karson had surgery the same day. She passed last fall.
Upon entering the 9th floor of the hospital, MSK Kids, there is a huge waiting area, and it’s full…  Filled with sick children and their families, all fighting cancer. There are so many. I don’t know what I was thinking… It’s not like you forget something like that, but you learn to block it out. Seeing all of those little faces, so sick. It’s gut wrenching. Our day went on to be a normal, happy one. But theirs didn’t… They have months, some years, of fighting ahead of them. They didn’t get to just walk out of there and put it behind them. Some won’t make it… My girls never saw the inside of MSK, and at the time, I missed them so much when we were apart, I would have given anything for them to be there with us. But, looking back, I’m so glad they weren’t. I don’t know if they would be able to view all of this with the same lens that Karson did and does. He truly is a miracle. While speaking with our contact after the meeting, she asked about Karson’s sisters. I explained that Kaite was at UVM College for nursing and she offered up that if Kaite wanted to intern at MSK Kids, that she could make that happen. I shared that with Kaite and her response was, “Mom, I don’t know if seeing all of that every day, knowing that Karson was one of those children, if I could do that. But I’d like to try…” Once we exited the hospital, I looked at Karson and I asked him if that was hard for him… I told him that if it was, we didn’t ever have to go back in there! That we would mail our check, we didn’t have to hand deliver it. He looked at me with surprise and his eyes got big and he just said, “What?!?! What do you mean? What are you talking about? Of course I want to deliver it!” I asked, “That wasn’t hard for you?” and he said, “No!”…. I’m constantly in awe of him. The first time we sent our check it was 2021 and covid rules were still in place, and we weren’t allowed to hand deliver it. So, this was a first for us; the first time we entered the building since Karson’s time there as a patient, and Karson did it with grace and thanks. 🙏 
The meeting with his surgeon and the head of research was so informative. There was so much information that I’m unable to share it with you yet. I’m waiting for the contact to share it all with me as I knew I wouldn’t remember it all, and I didn’t want to get it wrong. As soon as I have this information, I’lll be sure to share it. We met for over a half an hour. They spoke about Karson’s journey, about where he is now, and I might have broke down for a bit, but then I pulled it back together. I never expected that we’d get to sit with them all and have a conversation; that the scientist would explain, in detail, what the vaccine is, where the supplies come from, how it works, the efficacy and range… These people don’t have time for this… But, they made time. They took the time to meet with us, to thank us, and to explain that how what we, Hope for Miracles, Inc., were doing, was integral. How 100% of the funding was philanthropic and none came from the government or pharmaceuticals. It’s all funded by nonprofits like ours, families of children fighting, past and present. If knowing this doesn’t make you outraged, it should. #thisiswhyifight 💪🏻🎗️ #mymiracleman #Godisinthisstory 🙏