Candlelighters Connections Newsletter Sum m er 2019 Fam ily That Shines - Zuniga/Soria Fam ily Four year old Sol is full of life and love and you’ll rarely see her without a smile on her face. She loves the beach and loves her two dogs, Otis and Bitsy, and her two chickens, Coco and Heihei. She lives in Hillsboro with her mom and dad, Ruth and Andy. At age one, doctors discovered a cancerous mass on her adrenal gland and had it removed a few months later. The surgery went well the family started to live a “normal” life as everything seemed ok. Then in 2017, they were visiting family in Costa Rica when they noticed a bump on Sol’s stomach. They took her in for testing and their worst fears became a reality…Sol had a tumor the size of a baseball. “On our 15th wedding anniversary, we took the next available flight back to the USA and went straight from the airport to Doernbecher Children’s Hospital where the team of doctors were expecting us. Testing confirmed the cancer had returned but this time wrapping several organs, and it was high risk,” says Ruth. “At 20 months old our little girl started to go through different aggressive treatments. She had six rounds of chemotherapy, one bone marrow rescue which included toxic levels of chemotherapy, six surgeries including the removal of one of her kidneys, 12 rounds of radiation, six rounds of immunotherapy, bone marrow aspirations, hundreds of pokes, dozens of different types of medicines, visits to the clinic, Emergency Room nights and a life splitalmost to the exact calculation – between time at the hospital and time at home. At the end of almost one and a half years, Sol ended treatment on October 1st, 2017 and she has been in remission since.” Andy and Ruth moved to the USA to teach
at Pacific University. “The only way we were able to survive this journey without having any direct family in the USA to help us has been through unimaginable support from our colleagues at Pacific University, our neighbors, friends and equally important to Sol and us, from organizations like Candlelighters.”
The Zuniga/Soria Family is grateful for the support they received from Candlelighters such as In-Hospital Dinners and Snack Cart meal programs, Bedside Buddies, Emergency Financial Assistance, and family activities outside of the hospital. “The hospital dinners were not only a nice break from the hospital food but most importantly it provided us a time to connect with other kids and families. W hen we were in the hospital for so many days and Sol was not eating, we would wait anxiously for W ednesdays to come as there was a chance that Sol would eat something as she would see other kids eating, even a carrot.” “Another nice service provided was the Bedside Buddies, with so many hospital admissions it was comforting to arrive to a room (even in the middle of the night) and find a stuffed animal waiting for Sol on her bed. One of those became Sol’s procedures/hospital buddy, who will go with Sol to the Operating Room and would have the same procedures that Sol had… that dog had tubes and received many “pretend” shots and flushes… Candlelighters became our family and we will be forever thankful to this amazing organization that has been by our side in Sol’s healing journey.”
SUPERHERO 5K ONLY TWO WEEKS AWAY !!
Join Candlelight ers For Children Wit h Cancer's 8t h annual SUPERHERO 5K Run/Walk!
Dress up as your fav orit e SUPERHERO, bring your families, friends, and neighbors, and join us for a morning filled w it h act iv it ies for SUPERHEROES of all sizes and ages. Candlelight ers Family regist rat ion & t -shirt s are no-cost . LEARN MORE & REGISTER HERE
Lea rn more a t w w w .rid efora ch il d .org
2019-2020 Candlelighters Continuing Education Scholarship Winners Candlelighters awarded three scholarships worth $2,500 each to Candlelighters teens: E lli Brow n , Gra n t Olsen a n d Ken y a R od riq u ez-Sa n ch ez . This year’s scholarship selection process included a volunteer committee panel who reviewed and selected three recipients out of ten applicants. Thank you to the volunteer committee members who spent 6-8 hours reviewing the applications and making such tough decisions: Cam W orsham, Sam Brier, Melissa Rose, W endy Patton and Heather Miller. These volunteers have a diversity of backgrounds, including being parents of a child diagnosed with cancer and longtime volunteers including four professional scholarship reviewers. Click h ere to rea d more a b ou t th e 2019-2020 Sch ola rsh ip W in n ers!
E lli Brow n
Gra n t Olsen
Ken y a R od riq u ezSa n ch ez
Promot ion Ends June 30t h! $1 from every pint of Honey Kolsh benefit s Candlelight ers Drink beer, do good, fight cancer!
Hilt on Port land Downt own 6-9 pm Dinner & Program | 9-11 pm Aft er Part y All Rogue Pubs part icipat ing. w w w .rogue.co m
Join us for an evening of family and celebrat ion wit h a delicious dinner, silent and live auct ions, and an aft er-part y t hat will keep you dancing all night long! Suggest ed At t ire: Disco!! LE AR N MOR E AND R E GISTE R H E R E
Cancer Warrior Breakfast 2019 Recap Golf to Give Ch a llen ge August 16th, 2019 12:00pm Stone Creek Golf Club
Candlelighters For Children W ith Cancer’s annual Cancer W arrior Breakfast held on April 17 at the Multnomah Athletic Club focused on Candlelighters impact that has touched more than 87,000 family members since starting in 1977. A H UGE th a n k y ou to ou r commu n ity for h elp in g ra ise a lmost $70,000!!
A full service golf tournament that focuses on raising funds for Candlelighters while also having a great time. Contests, Prizes, Dinner, Libations & More! R egister H ere Thank you to Sally Showman of H ea rtp rin t Prod u ction s for this amazing video celebrating Candlelighters! Click h ere to rea d th e fu ll reca p .
Meet the 2019 Ride For A Child Honored Children H on ored Ch ild ren a re th e h ea rt of R id e For A Ch ild . These children help tell the story of children who battle cancer in our local communities. Groups of riders are connected with these kids and their families and actually, Ride For A Child – raising awareness and support for Candlelighters along the way. W e are honored to present the Ride For A Child 2019 Honored Children! Click h ere to lea rn more.
Message from the Executiv e Director W elcome Jeffrey K. Yandle! Candlelighters is thrilled to welcome Jeffrey K. Yandle to the Board of Directors. A long time cyclist for Ride For A Child, Jeff is familiar with Candlelighters mission of W HOLE family support and has been an enthusiastic ambassador. It was the connection to families that inspired Jeff to say “yes� when asked to join Candlelighters Board of Directors. Jeff is a Senior Managing Director and W ealth Manager at First Republic Investment Management. He is also a Regional Manager for the Portland team. Jeff has served as board Past President, and chair of the investment committee, for the Abbey Foundation of Oregon. Past affiliations include the boards of Habitat for Humanity Portland/Metro East and Metropolitan Family Services.
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Candlelighters For Children W ith Cancer publishes Candlelighters Connections four times a year to provide news and other information to our childhood cancer community in Oregon and SW W ashington.
W e say a sad farewell to Chris Kramer, Candlelighters Director of Finance and Operations. For the past two years, Chris has helped Candlelighters build a strong financial system enabling the organization to better serve families. W e wish him the best on his new
Ou r Mission : To provide a community of healing, hope, and light throughout the life-long journey of childhood cancer. W e advocate, we educate, we build partnerships, and we foster solidarity for all families experiencing cancer.
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