Valerie's Treatment Journey

Hi, my name is Robin Miller and I hope you will join me in supporting my friends and neighbors, the O'Gorman family. As many of you know, their daughter, Valerie, was diagnosed with an Optic Pathway Glioma when she was just 10 months old and has been in treatment ever since. Valerie is a spunky, energetic child who loves to spread her joy of life to the world. In just a few weeks she is heading into 2nd grade. Unfortunately, her tumor is currently threatening her quality of life and her remaining vision.

Recently, she has started a brand new experimental treatment at Lurie Children's Hospital in Chicago, IL. Valerie and her mom, Leah, will need to make many trips from Wauwatosa, Wisconsin to Lurie, often weekly. Luckily, most of the medical costs for the treatment are covered, but as you can imagine this is still a heavy financial burden on the family. The transportation costs such as gas and tolls, as well as meals, lodging and incidentals are adding up quickly. Also, there is currently no Ronald McDonald House placement for Valerie and Leah to stay overnight. To save money, they have been driving to Chicago very early, having full days of tests and treatment, then driving home in the evening...all in one very long day.

As friends and family of the O'Gormans it has been easy to feel powerless on how we can help. But good news! We can help them immensley with this issue! Please consider a donation to help Valerie and her family make this treatment affordable and less stressful. No donation is too small and you can do it right now, safely and easily from your phone or computer. Your donation will help fill their tank with gas, pay their tolls, give them nourishing meals throughout the day and offer them a safe place to stay after a long day of treatment. It will help ease just a bit of the stress that this journey entails. Let's show this amazing family how much they mean to us and cheer them on as Valerie starts this new treatment journey!  Please feel free to share this page with others too.