When their five-year-old son, Taylor, was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma in 2012, his parents Ron and Kesa were at a loss. How were they going to manage when Kesa had to give up her job as a human resources analyst to be Taylor’s primary caregiver?

Like so many parents, Ron and Kesa didn’t know what to expect or what they were going to need. Then their care team at the hospital where Taylor was being treated introduced them to Friends of Karen.

As Ron explains, “Friends of Karen speaks to you face-to-face. Marla, our social worker, asked us ‘How are you doing?’ ‘What do you need?’ ‘What can Friends of Karen do to support you?’

Besides covering mortgage payments, medical bills, travel expenses and utilities, Marla helped Ron and Kesa get on solid footing so they could focus on taking care of Taylor, and his then 13-year-old brother, Tilar.

“I can’t imagine not having Friends of Karen when going through such a life-changing event,” asserts Ron. Taylor, who ended his treatment in 2015, is now thriving. He recently graduated high school and is college-bound, with plans to study engineering.

Ron appreciates that not all family stories have the same outcome as his. He is grateful for the help that he and his family received because he “knows what it feels like to be overwhelmed financially and emotionally.”

That’s what motivates him to pay it forward through his active support of Friends of Karen. In addition to making his own generous contributions, he takes full advantage of his employer’s matching gift program to increase the impact of his own giving. His support is not only financial, but he actively spreads the word among his friends, family and business associates, sharing the story of the ‘amazing things’ Friends of Karen did for his family.

When Ron reaches out to support other parents, he reassures them, “At a time when things seem very dark, keep in mind there’s a family-friendly support system in Friends of Karen, a pillar of help I will never forget.”