Friends, childhood cancer is devastating. Quinn, 11, and her family have been battling for two years with loving support from their community, but they need our help now to try to maintain some financial stability and defray expenses that are overwhelming. As a family friend, I volunteered to set up this page because I know how hard it can be to ask for help, but know your generosity is so appreciated by this wonderful family. Quinn's mom wrote this:
On December 15, 2022, nine year-old Quinn Eliana Harris received the news no child should ever have to hear: a shocking diagnosis of a rare and aggressive bone cancer called Ewing Sarcoma, stemming from a mass on her ribcage, with multiple lesions on her lungs. Quinn, her parents Brooke and Chad, and her little brother Carter endured almost one year of grueling treatment for her at Children’s Hospital Colorado. She suffered through 14 rounds of chemotherapy and 33 rounds of radiation, including two weeks of whole lung radiation.
After ringing the end-of-chemotherapy bell in Colorado, Quinn then contributed to the greater good by enrolling in clinical trial at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio. For an entire year, she and her family traveled back and forth to Columbus, in hopes of preventing relapse of her sneaky and often lethal cancer. They paid for all travel out of their own pockets and missed work and school. Quinn steadfastly participated in the trial, despite many uncomfortable side effects, in the hopes of not only enhancing her own health, but also countless other children. Childhood cancer, especially rare ones like Ewing Sarcoma, are underfunded, and overlooked in research, so participating in this study truly made a difference to childhood cancer patients everywhere. After ringing the end-of-treatment bell in Ohio, Quinn and her family hoped that she could finally find some post-cancer normalcy and have a better quality of life.
Unfortunately, the trial medication had taken a toll, especially on the heels of frontline chemotherapy: just two weeks later, Quinn developed a high fever and severe leg pain and body aches and was admitted to the hospital. For reasons still unclear, on Sept. 28, 2024, Quinn ended up having a severe inflammatory response and went in to cardiac arrest. The heroic PICU team was able to restart her heart after lengthy CPR. After 53 days of inpatient hospital care by her loving care team in Colorado, Quinn is home again. She is still receiving PT, OT, frequent check-ups and bloodwork, and other treatments. Quinn and her whole family have a long healing journey ahead of them physically and emotionally.
Although it is difficult to ask for help, financially this family doesn’t have many options left. Brooke spent all 53 days in the hospital with Quinn, and she will not be able to return to full time work for some time. After one year of chemotherapy, followed by one year of paying to participate in a clinical trial out of state, and now recovering after an unexpected, near-death experience, the Harris family is under an unimaginable amount of stress. The Harris family humbly thanks family, friends, and kind strangers for support during this unbearably challenging time. Nothing matters more than their children’s well-being, so Brooke and Chad will gladly accept this stress if it means their family is intact. However, they would prefer to protect their children from additional stressors and changes due to financial losses. Thank you for your consideration and help.