IT TAKES A VILLAGE

Fundraising in memory of Keira Quinn, who lost her life to DIPG in 2016 at the age of 9.

BLOG POST – Lisa is Doing Something

Motherhood is an extraordinary gift. The love between a mother and her children is immeasurable.  The sheer thought of anything ever taking that dynamic away is not possible. Until the evilness of a cancer diagnosis for your child, shockingly arrives out of the darkness.

At the age of eight, my daughter Keira was a beautiful, vibrant and seemingly healthy child up until March 19, 2015.  Literally out of nowhere, Keira woke up for school that particular morning with the left side of her face drooped, like she had had a stroke.  I immediately took her to the hospital and after an all day ordeal of tests, the results of the MRI came back.  There are moments in time that we remember every detail of where we were or what we were doing when witnessing or hearing about something tragic. When the pediatric neurosurgeon broke the news,  I felt like I was melting into the floor.  Keira had an inoperable tumor in her brain stem. Without a biopsy performed yet, the doctor was still pretty confident in his feeling that it was the monster known as DIPG.  A few days later it was confirmed.
In my initial naïveté of the scope of pediatric brain tumors, I had no idea the enormity of what my little girl and our family, was up against. Sadly, we were forced to learn pretty quickly.
I now know the desperate need for monetary donations to go directly to pediatric brain tumor research.  A mere 4% of money raised yearly in the United States for cancer research goes to pediatrics and even worse, less than 1% goes to pediatric brain tumors. Sadly, this is not a very well known fact across our country.  Our children are the future and they deserve so much better than this unacceptable travesty of unfathomable proportions.
When Keira was sick, my local police department was instrumental in providing help and care as needed for her, even if it was just carrying Keira up and downstairs. After Keira’s passing, they told me they were at the ready to join with me in having a fundraiser in my daughter’s honor, to raise money for much needed pediatric brain tumor research.  My focus then turned to finding the proper avenue and doctors for any money raised, to go to.  Doctors who want to make a difference in the lives of innocent children who are dealt an earth shattering bad hand.
Thankfully, I found those doctors.  Dr. Mark Souweidane and Dr. Jeffrey Greenfield lead up The Children’s Brain Tumor Project.  They have devoted themselves to finding a cure for pediatric brain tumors, which are the leading cause of death in children.  Their commitment to ultimately finding a cure, is what they strive for. They don’t want to see one more child and their families, go through this nightmare.  100% of all money donated to The Children’s Brain Tumor Project goes directly to funding the doctors’ much needed research.
The 1st annual fundraising dinner for pediatric brain tumor research in which the police department and I partnered on, was a big success. We look forward to a yearly event together, in support of The Children’s Brain Tumor project.  The goal is to continue raising awareness and support these doctors, who are devoted to making a difference.
As a Mom who lost my precious little girl to DIPG, the deadliest of all pediatric brain tumors, I ask you to please make donations to and help raise awareness of, The Children’s Brain Tumor Project – childrensbraintumorproject.org. The lives of future children literally depend on it! Spread the word!
With much gratitude,
Lisa Lozzi Quinn

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