When Your Hero is Only 6
In May 2008, Lisa Ciccarelli had reason to be deeply concerned about the health of her then six year-old daughter Bethany. After Bethany’s seemingly minor illnesses and back pain caused her doctor to order bone marrow testing, Lisa could only think of one frightening memory. Years ago, the niece of a friend of Lisa’s developed and ultimately died from leukemia. Lisa remembers visiting her while she was sick and the experience left a real and lasting impression. “This stuck with me, and I knew in my heart that something was wrong,” said Lisa after Bethany’s doctor ordered the bone marrow testing. “It was my worst fear, and my worst fear came true.” As the test results soon revealed, Bethany had developed Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL), a common form of pediatric cancer.
The two and a half years of treatment which followed were difficult and intense for Bethany and her family. Bethany endured numerous cycles of chemotherapy as well as severe nausea and other side effects. One of these, known as neutropenia (the depletion of white blood cells), made her very vulnerable to infection. Over two and a half years, Bethany was admitted to the hospital as an inpatient nearly twenty times, for a week at a time. Her mom stayed at her side throughout each hospitalization.
With four other children at home to care for, Lisa and Bethany’s dad, Mario, held the family together in spite of the emotional, logistical and financial challenges Bethany’s cancer presented. Though Mario was employed and the family had good medical insurance, the significant hospital and prescription co-pays in addition to the gasoline costs associated with the 45-minute trip to the hospital added up, creating a real financial strain on the family. Then, when Bethany’s dad was laid off in October of 2010, the family was faced with the additional challenge of making COBRA payments. Through its collaborative efforts with the pediatric social workers at Goryeb Children’s Hospital at Morristown Memorial, Family Reach stepped in to help, providing a grant to pay the family’s expensive monthly COBRA premium. Without the financial assistance provided by Family Reach, the Ciccarelli’s would not have been able to meet this payment which was critical to ensuring coverage for Bethany’s continued medical care and monitoring. Lisa spoke of how difficult it can be to get assistance and expressed her deep gratitude towards Family Reach. “You know, with foundations like yours – you need help and there it is!”
Bethany’s cancer is now in remission and she has been off chemotherapy for six months. She attends school and loves to sing, dance, swim and play with her friends. Her mom Lisa credits Bethany with helping her through the cancer storm by her stoicism, faith and positive attitude. “She’s a great kid! She’s my hero!” Lisa also spoke of the compassion which Bethany showed towards the other children being treated for cancer at the hospital. She remembers her daughter saying, “I feel sorry for the little kids going through this.” To this her mom replied, “But you’re little.” Bethany responded, “They’re littler.”
During her battle with cancer, even at six years-old, Bethany took an interest in and was always on top of her treatment protocol, keeping the nurses on their toes. The compassion born out of her personal experience with cancer along with her interest in medical care, seems to have awakened a desire within Bethany to become an oncology nurse when she grows up. As she said to her mom, “I want to help kids with cancer.”
