Help Get Atticus Healthy Again

Just two days before this pandemic Christmas 2020, my friend Sarah’s sweet son Atticus, age two and a half, had one of his kidneys and a malignant Wilms tumor surgically removed. He now faces at least 3 months of weekly chemo treatments while displaced from his island home. Atticus had been a healthy, happy and very flirty kid, growing up with his big sister Ava on the island of St. Thomas, where Sarah and Jarrod had moved their family from San Antonio, Texas, to start a more slow-paced life just a few years ago. Not only has Atticus’s cancer turned Sarah and her family’s life upside down, but the medical expenses and the compounded expenses of relocating temporarily to Miami and Tampa have brought an enormous stress. They are still responsible for taking care of their home in St Thomas; and furthermore, they have been staying at a hotel to be nearby the hospital where Atticus just received his initial surgery so that he can recover with support. Amazingly, they have a friend back in St. Thomas who has offered their vacant home just 4 hours away in Tampa, where they will be able to receive Atticus’ chemo treatments at a local hospital; this will allow them to travel to Miami for check-ups as needed. Still, this whirlwind of financial unknowns is daunting.  

Both Sarah and Jarrod are adjusting to their journey to get Atticus healthy and safe again, and this means a compromise to their income. Up until December Sarah, a physician assistant, had been part of the small but vital family practice that serves the Virgin Island community.  Sarah and Jarrod are awesome people who would benefit from some hope, love and support while they navigate living far away from home, as well as getting Atticus to treatments and supporting Ava through remote online school.  Any donations will be put toward food, transportation costs, their loss of income over several months and medical expenses that will far outweigh the coverage they have with their son's health insurance.