After Beating Leukemia With Valerie Fund, Child Cancer Patient Gives Back
NEWARK, NJ (WCBS 880) - Lisa's daughter Bethany was 5-years-old and consistently sick with fevers, ear infections and colds.
Then she started having back pain and the fevers were spiking regularly.
Blood work was done and she was sent to the Valerie Fund Children's Center in Newark, where she was diagnosed with leukemia.
"They started the chemo right then and there," Lisa told WCBS 880 reporter Kelly Waldron. "That day, I sat there with a bucket underneath her because she got so sick."
Despite the pain and hardship, Bethany remembers how special the nurses made her feel.
"Every night, they'd bring in games. When the nurses were off their shift, they'd stay in there with me 'till 12 o'clock at night [and] play games and my mom was passed out," said Bethany.
Now, because of the nurses and medical staff, Bethany wants nothing more than to give back.
"I really wish I could do something to thank all the nurses and doctors that helped me be here now looking so good," said Bethany.
I lieu of gifts for her Holy Communion, Bethany donated money to a single father whose son had leukemia.
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At 8-years-old, Bethany already knows she wants to be a nurse to help children with cancer when she grows up.
"If they feel down and they're crying and they're worried if it's going to hurt, I want to tell them that nothing's going to happen to you. Because I went through the same thing and you're going to be okay and you're going to become something big when you're older," she said.
Her treatments ended in August, 2010.
She's since made it her life's goal to help others in the same boat, according to her mother.
She also won a contest where she designed a necklace to raise money for children with cancer, a medallion with the word "hope" in the center, surrounded by circles.
"It means everyone had hope and then the circles meant the angels are watching over you," said Bethany.
Join WCBS 880 this Saturday, June 11 at Verona Park in Verona, New Jersey for the Valerie Fund Walk & JAG Physical Therapy 5K Run. The run begins at 8:30 a.m. and the walk at 10 a.m. To register to walk/run or donate, click HERE.
