London's Calling: Let's Help Her Kick Cancer's A**
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WHO IS LONDON?
Eight-year old London Nichols is a theater kid who loves unicorns, foxes, and Funworks. Lon was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia earlier this week and is currently undergoing an intensive vincristine treatment at Children’s Valley Hospital in Madera, California. Barring any complications, she will be allowed to return home after this treatment is complete. Lon will then begin a series of out-patient chemotherapy sessions 2-3 times a week at CVH until she is cancer-free.
London is already a cancer survivor. In 2012, at age one and a half, she was diagnosed with Wilms’ tumor. Lon underwent several surgeries and a year of chemotherapy. She ultimately lost a kidney in the battle, but emerged cancer-free and has remained so until this recent ALL diagnosis. This means she is entering into her fight with leukemia with a single kidney. Although her medical team remains positive, Lon’s single-kidney status is a wild card in her treatment prognosis. 
WHY A CAMPAIGN?
For us parents, this is our worst nightmare come true. Receiving the news that your child has cancer is unimaginable for those of us who haven't experienced it. It is overwhelming to even think about. Whereas the profound emotional toll can't even begin to be calculated, the financial toll certainly can. Childhood cancer is not only a terrifying diagnosis, but it carries a hefty price tag extending beyond treatment costs. Loss of income, travel expenses, childcare expenses, meals on the road…it all adds up. Angi Ciccarelli, whose daughter Kelsi was diagnosed with A.L.L. in 2002, says: "When your child is sicker than you’ve ever been, facing needles, chemotherapy and fear every day, the only focus is to be by your child’s bedside to hold and comfort them. This is a traumatic time for a family and focus must be on treatment and advocacy for the child to go into remission. To say this must become your full-time job is an understatement and going to your day job is no longer an option. Bills and responsibilities become low on the list of priorities for a family who’s child has cancer, however these bills create an enormous amount of additional stress to an already horrific situation. "
London's mom Kat has taken a leave of absence from work until her daughter is once again cancer-free. She is currently staying with Lon 24/7 at CVH, with Eric and Cy visiting whenever they can. Once Lon returns home, Kat will continue to provide round-the-clock care for her daughter as Lon will not be able to return to school while undergoing chemo. Kat will be driving Lon to Madera 2-3 times a week for the treatments. These treatment sessions can be wildly unpredictable. Only this morning Kat told me, “I can’t tell you how many times, the last time, we thought we were going in for a few hours of chemo and ended up there for three days. Illness does whatever it wants.”
In addition to loss of income and travel expenses. Cy will need childcare while Kat and Lon are in Madera and dad is working. There will also be times when Eric will need to be at CVH with Kat and Lon. There are grandparents who can help occasionally, but when they aren’t available there will be out-of-pocket expenses for Cy’s para (Cy is a special needs child) and for Eric missing work as well.
This is why we are asking for your help to support London, Kat, Eric and Cy in this crucial time of need. We are trying to raise $3000. All proceeds from this campaign will help Kat and Eric pay their rent, keep on top of their bills, provide childcare for Cy, and defray the significant travel costs they will incur while London gets well. It will allow this family to focus all their energy on supporting London, without the heavy strain of having to worry about falling behind on bills or racking up insurmountable debt.
MORE ABOUT KAT AND ERIC
Kat and Eric are active and industrious participants in the Modesto arts scene. Kat is a textile artist and Eric is a musician. They are both an integral part of the Prospect Theater Project family, as well as fixtures at The Gallo Centre for the Arts. If you’ve seen a show at Prospect or Gallo, chances are you’ve enjoyed the fruits of their artistic labors. Theirs is strictly contract work, and they both do a lot of it to make ends meet and provide for Lon and Cy. Welcome to the gig economy! Luxuries like family leave and personal necessity leave are virtually unheard of for people making their living in the arts in the Central Valley. The bottom line is this: when Kat and Eric don’t work, they don’t get paid.
YOUR LOVE AND SUPPORT IS APPRECIATED
None of us can relieve the heartache of having a child with cancer, but we can all show our support to our dear friends in other ways. The praying folks can pray, the candle lighters can light candles, and the senders of good juju can send it by the buckets. And hopefully we can all chip in whatever we can to create a space where Lon and her family can focus 100% of their energies into the healing process.
We thank you for your love and support.
Organizer and beneficiary
Kathleen Ennis
Organizer
Modesto, CA
Kat Strauss
Beneficiary