ARFY23 Archives - Friends of Karen

45 Years of Caring Because of You

admin — Fri, 05 Jan 2024 15:06:49 +0000

In 45 years of service to the New York metro area community, Friends of Karen has demonstrated time and again a special way of caring. The legacy of kindness and compassion that our founder Sheila Petersen exemplified when she brought a quality of life to a gravely ill teen, Karen MacInnes, and her family so many years ago has been replicated thousands of times. Today Friends of Karen provides its services to a diverse and ever expanding population that needs our help. We are proud of our commitment to never turn away a qualified family when their child is desperately ill.

There are no waiting lists at Friends of Karen, no matter how we must stretch our own resources or weave together a safety net for a family with help from other partners. When your child is in treatment for cancer or another life-threatening illness, a waiting list won’t cut it. That’s what we mean by a special way of caring. Always going the extra mile, or sometimes two, to fully embrace a family whose life has been upended by a child’s illness.

In this 45th anniversary annual report, you will meet some of the children and family members who the Friends of Karen team has been privileged to know this past year. They chose to share their story so that you understand how deeply everyday life for a family is affected when illness strikes out of nowhere and what having Friends of Karen by their side meant to them. Whether we paid the rent, provided gift cards for food and clothing, offered guidance on planning for a child’s long-term treatment, helped parents find the words to speak with their children about a sibling’s illness or myriad other ways, Friends of Karen continues to tailor assistance for a family so that it is most helpful to them. Ours has never been a “one size fits all” approach. That is among the distinguishing characteristics of Friends of Karen.

Another is that our programs are always evolving to address the pressing concerns we hear from families. We recently added a survivorship component for children who have ended their formal treatment but who still have significant medical and emotional needs. We also piloted a program to build a community of support for families who have lost a child to illness, offering two grief education workshops this past year, something we plan to continue. This flexibility to be creative and test innovative support services for the children and families we serve is a testament to our dedicated staff. Their focus on Friends of Karen’s mission never wavers. The leadership of our Board of Directors, combined with the commitment, passion, and generosity of our remarkable community of volunteers and supporters are the engines that make it all possible.

Forty-five years of service is a milestone to celebrate, yet we know that Friends of Karen’s special way of caring is needed as much now as ever. The resilience and bravery of the children and the strength of their families facing the most difficult circumstances move us to focus on the future while we acknowledge the achievements of the past year detailed in this annual report. With your continued confidence and support, Friends of Karen will be well-positioned to bring help and hope to children and families for years to come. On behalf of the whole Friends of Karen team, thank you for inspiring our work and keeping us strong.

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The unbreakable bond of sisters

admin — Fri, 05 Jan 2024 15:27:54 +0000

When Christa was being treated for Leukemia, she and her beloved sister Skyla participated in Friends of Karen’s Sibling Support Program. Her mother Georgette, thinking it was a stomach bug, brought Christa to see the doctor. He told mom that Christa’s blood count was low.

In 2021 five-year-old Christa began to complain of frequent stomach aches. Her mother Georgette, thinking it was a stomach bug, brought Christa to see the doctor. He told mom that Christa’s blood count was low. Georgette was working at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, so she had knowledgeable coworkers to consult, and they urged her to bring Christa back to the doctor as soon as possible. That doctor’s visit brought devastating news. Christa was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia, a bone marrow and blood cancer. Christa’s diagnosis forever changed her life and the lives of her mother, older sister Geneil, and little sister Skyla. When Christa was hospitalized, Georgette took medical leave from work and was constantly by her side, and Skyla was at home missing her mom and sister. “Skyla would cry for her sister all the time and did not want to leave the house,” Georgette said.

When Christa came home from the hospital the family faced additional challenges. With all the time they had spent apart juggling hospital visits and doctor’s appointments, they yearned to be together again as a family. Skyla, Geneil, and Christa struggled to connect with one another after such a long time separation. Then Georgette was laid off from her job at the hospital and the bills began to pile up. The family was in crisis. The hospital social worker suggested that Georgette contact Friends of Karen. After completing an application, she was contacted by Beth, a Friends of Karen social worker. Friends of Karen helped Georgette with paying her rent to ensure the family could stay safely in their home.

Beth also referred Skyla and Christa to Jane, a creative arts therapist in the organization’s Sibling Support Program. Jane created a safe space for the sisters to play games and work on art projects together. They participated in the “Friends Having Fun” virtual group every Thursday, never missing a chance to make new friends and have fun. Georgette credits Jane with helping the family become whole again.

“Friends of Karen was here when I needed them the most,” Georgette said. “Jane is a gem and the activity group got kids together and provided a special world to be a kid again and interact with other kids in the same situation.” The children’s circumstances have improved with Friends of Karen’s support and the support of their extended family. During the summer of 2023, Christa left the house for the first time since returning home from the hospital to attend a special summer camp the family was connected to by Friends of Karen. Skyla sat right beside her filled with excitement on the bus ride to their first day of camp, together again and ready to just have fun.

The post The unbreakable bond of sisters appeared first on Friends of Karen.

A father’s story: Embracing Support When Things Got Tough

admin — Thu, 01 Feb 2024 18:54:41 +0000

Celeste is 3 and 1/2-years-old and in the maintenance phase of treatment for Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia that was diagnosed in October 2022. Her father Rafael shares how he and his wife Gwen coped through Friends of Karen’s support.

“Everything was going well for us. We were expecting a new baby and we decided to send Celeste temporarily to my parents’ house before the baby’s arrival. Things got very difficult very fast. Our new son, Mael, was born early via C-section and Gwen was recovering in my care while we were nursing our son from the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at Jamaica Hospital. In the meantime, Celeste had developed a slight limp while in the care of her grandparents, which was showing no signs of letting up and quickly worsening. Unlike many kids her age, Celeste was rarely sick, so when my parents told us she was looking pale and limping we thought maybe it was a bit of separation anxiety or an injury from roughhousing with her cousins.

The orthopedist was unable to find anything to worry about, nor did the general physician. We didn’t think much of it, until my mother informed me Celeste was pale and unwilling to walk or eat. Then, she developed a mild yet unrelenting fever. We flew her back earlier than planned as a precaution. When she arrived at the airport in my mother’s arms and unable to stand, we quickly knew something was really wrong. Celeste had developed bruises and complained of pain everywhere. We thought she might have an infection from a potential knee or hip injury, and we were shocked when she was diagnosed with Leukemia. This was just five days after my wife gave birth and now our children were in two different ICUs in two different boroughs of New York City. I quickly found myself shuttling from one hospital to the other, while also taking care of my wife. It was all a whirlwind of meetings about the children’s care, and it was hard to retain all the information. Fortunately, the social worker at the hospital introduced us to Friends of Karen a few weeks after Celeste’s diagnosis. Our Friends of Karen social worker Rhonda has been available whenever we need her, and she has helped support us emotionally. I have participated in Friends of Karen’s online group for parents of newly diagnosed children. It’s helpful to speak with other parents who understand our situation.

My wife and I both work in the hospitality industry and with her maternity leave and Celeste’s illness, I worked when possible. The loss of income has meant we needed Friends of Karen’s financial support to pay some bills like our rent, which allowed us to breathe easier and set aside a lot of worries. Things have improved quite a bit since those dark days in 2022. Celeste is doing better and in partial remission. Gwen and I are back at work and only need to take time off for the kids’ doctor appointments.

We are thankful that Friends of Karen got us through a tough year. Gwen and I don’t have much family in the United States and Friends of Karen has come to feel like an extension of our family. Without Rhonda we would not have fully understood much about Celeste’s treatment and what the experience would be like for our family. It would have been an even more stressful time.” – Rafael

The post A father’s story: Embracing Support When Things Got Tough appeared first on Friends of Karen.

Picking up the pieces after a loss

admin — Tue, 12 Mar 2024 13:25:02 +0000

Long Island couple Liz and Theodore attended the Living Alongside Grief Retreat in April 2023 to address the impact of losing their only son Jeyden one year ago. The Retreat is a new family bereavement education program on the range of experiences that grieving family members may go through. Jeyden was 13 when he was diagnosed and treated for an Astrocytoma brain tumor and passed away at age 14. Liz shares how her Friends of Karen social worker Marla and the Family Support Program helped, and continue to help, her family.

“Jeyden was the kind of boy that everyone was drawn to. He had a beautiful heart and always stepped in to defend other kids from bullies. Through all our ups and downs we had each other and he knew how to make me laugh – and we laughed a lot. It was terrible to see our strong boy go through chemo, but he even went through that with a smile on his face.

Jeyden really tried to keep our spirits up, but Theodore and I were trying to cope and having a hard time facing the reality of his condition. All this was happening during COVID, and my husband was a chef and wasn’t working during the pandemic. I had to stop working to help care for Jeyden, so things started to get difficult quickly. Thankfully, our hospital social worker referred us to Friends of Karen, and we were paired with their social worker Marla.

Working with Marla and getting Friends of Karen’s support was like having them as part of our family. You just don’t find that kind of humanity everywhere. I can call Marla anytime if I need to talk or if we need help. She was there for us throughout Jeyden’s treatment and has been since he passed away. At that time Theodore and I just fell apart, and we have been holding it together with Friends of Karen’s help.

When Marla encouraged us to attend the Living Alongside Grief Retreat, we were hesitant about going. We had already cried so much and we were scared we would just sit there and cry. We took Marla’s advice and read through the retreat information and decided to attend. That was a good decision.

Our family has been so supportive, but being at the retreat with other families who went through the same thing was something we needed. This program helped us to cleanse our souls. My husband expressed his feelings in ways he had not shared before because he had wanted to support me and not burden me with what he was feeling.

When we got home after the retreat, we felt like we were in a better place than when we left home that morning. I learned that day it is OK for us to go on and live and have some happiness. It is a long process, but we are making progress in adjusting to our ‘new normal.’ We could not have gotten to this point without Friends of Karen.” – Liz

The post Picking up the pieces after a loss appeared first on Friends of Karen.