| Nevaeh Cole
Nestor Grullon
Pat Kelly
Piotr Kolodziej
Letitia Mingledolph
Gloria Rucobo
Raquel Rohlfing
PJ Schmidt
Carla Tardif
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Young Piotr Kolodziej Finds Strength Through Art
Living with leukemia for the last six years, 13-year-old Piotr discovered a hidden talent for painting that has given him comfort and purpose through long treatments and hospital stays
In 2002, Piotr Kolodziej was a normal 7-year-old who loved to swim, spend time with friends, ride his bike, and play soccer and basketball. But just a month before his 8th birthday, Piotr's life changed when he was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia.
The youngest of three children by 13 years, Piotr entered a treatment program at Dana-Farber/Children's Hospital Cancer Care in Boston, near his home in Lowell, MA. As his mother, Helena, tries to spend as much time as possible with her son during treatment, Family Reach Foundation has helped the Kolodziej family cover some of the costs of their most basic necessities: mortgage payments, grocery shopping, prescription co-pays, and more.
After two years of treatment, Piotr enjoyed two years of remission before a relapse in July 2006. He started treatment again immediately, spending many weeks in the hospital. Tired of watching TV, he learned how to paint as a way of passing the time and expressing his creativity. Inspired by his love for the outdoors and pictures he had seen of beautiful landscapes, Piotr started painting images of nature. Soon, his pastime developed into a real passion, as Piotr poured the energy he once spent playing sports outside into his new artistic outlet. Working with colors, mixing and combining them to see how they can work together in a painting, has become extremely therapeutic for Piotr, not to mention incredibly rewarding. He still surprises himself when he sees the finished product.
Though it started as just a hobby, Piotr's painting unearthed a tremendous talent, and has now evolved into much more. In April 2008, Dana Farber held an art opening to showcase Piotr's recent works to his friends, family, and caretakers at the hospital — his first public exhibit!
Piotr is scheduled to complete his current treatment protocol this summer, but he has no plans to stop painting any time soon. In November 2008, he is already scheduled to be a part of Family Reach Foundation's Culture & Caring Event in Boston, where one of Piotr's original pieces will be auctioned to benefit other Family Reach families.
"Mixing colors, using different brushes, and having a chance to be creative has been a lot of fun and very relaxing for me. The best part about it though is knowing that my art might not only be helping me, but helping other kids like me and their families too."
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