We are honored to introduce our first ever Madelyn James family!

We are honored to introduce you to our first ever Madelyn James family. 

Violeta is a sweet and adorable seven-month old girl who comes from an amazing family. She lives with her parents (Carol and Lorenzo), aunt and uncle, grandmother, four-year-old brother and three-year-old brother in New Jersey. 

On February 23rd, her parents were by her side when they received the news: she was diagnosed with quadrilateral retinoblastoma. That means that Violeta has cancer in both of her eyes, and a large tumor in her brain. She has been living in the hospital with her Mom and Dad since March 1. To get to The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), they must drive sixty miles, which means in traffic, this can be up to two hours.

As a cancer family, you learn to live a double life. You change your identity. And, you do anything and everything you can do for your children. 

When we met them for the first time, it was the first day Carol had left Violeta’s bedside and been outside in the sun since she was admitted to CHOP. One entire month of never leaving her daughter’s side. She is still nursing Violeta. She only sees her sons on the weekend. She is a true superwoman. Dad has been going back and forth to support her brothers. He is the epitome of the pillar of the family. Grandma and aunt are watching the boys at home. 

Mom cleans houses and runs a nail business out of her home. Dad works as a landscape laborer. And, while Violeta is is in the hospital her grandmother and aunt and uncle are living with her brothers. Her brothers, aunt, uncle and grandmother come to visit every Saturday. 

Violeta’s mother cannot work at all, and her father works to figure out the balance between spending time with his critically ill daughter and working to support the rest of the family.

What’s next for Violeta? 

• Violeta will undergo five rounds of very intense chemotherapy. This chemotherapy protocol may cause nutritional challenges, low blood counts, and immunosuppression, among other significant side effects.

• She will have an autologous (from your own body) stem cell transplant

• She will likely be hospitalized for much of the next seven months as the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) team works to cure her cancer

• Once Violeta’s planned treatment is complete, she will have regular exams under anesthesia, oncology visits, and laboratory tests to monitor for response and recurrence.

What will we be doing to partner with Violeta?

• Financial Support: We will be supporting their family’s monthly rent ($1,350 per month) and car payment ($700 per month) for at least six months

• Moments of Joy: We are working with their family to bring the entire family together and keep them together during treatment. This means driving up (gas money), staying at a room near the hospital (hotel costs), and fun moments (museums, gifts for Violeta’s brothers). And, we met to give them a gift bag of “must haves” for long hospital stays  (purple blanket, accessible baby clothes, a night-light, sound machine, bibs, washable toys, and a roll-out mattress topper)

• Logistical Stress: We will be working with their incredible social worker to take the logistical stress out of finding a cure for their daughter. All of our payments will be direct-to-vendor to ensure their income does not increase during treatment.