Danica Strong Foundation

06/07/2026

We had the pleasure of visiting our friends at Andy's Brick Shop today at their new location in Oxford Valley Mall, and all we can say is… wow! The new store is absolutely amazing, and they are now the largest brick shop in the world!

Andy and his incredible crew have been some of the biggest supporters of the Danica Strong Foundation from the very beginning. It all started when Andy gave Danica a couple of LEGO sets to help keep her busy during her time in the hospital. Soon after, the friends and customers of Andy’s Brick Shop began donating sets for Danica as well.

After Danica passed, Andy and his team continued to support the foundation by collecting LEGO sets for children fighting cancer. These donated sets go directly to kids in the hospital, helping with occupational therapy and giving them something fun and meaningful to do during treatment.

Congratulations, Andy, on your beautiful new location! We wish you continued success and are so grateful for the love and support you continue to give the Danica Strong Foundation.

Thank you to Andy’s Brick Shop and their amazing community for helping bring smiles to children who need them most. 💛

05/18/2026

05/15/2026

No one talks about what childhood cancer does to marriages.

During treatment, you go into survival mode.
One parent may become the medical manager. The one tracking medications, lab results, appointments, side effects, fevers, insurance calls, and scan schedules.
The other may throw themselves into work, finances, logistics, or emotionally shut down completely just trying to cope.
And neither person is necessarily wrong.
Trauma just shows up differently in different people.
Research consistently shows that parents of children with cancer experience significantly higher rates of anxiety, depression, PTSD symptoms, chronic stress, sleep disruption, and emotional exhaustion. Studies have also shown increased emotional distress and relationship strain within marriages after a child’s diagnosis and treatment journey.
Some couples become closer.
Others slowly become strangers while trying to survive the same nightmare.
One of the hardest parts is that treatment eventually ends… but survival mode often doesn’t.
You finally leave the hospital, and suddenly you’re expected to go back to normal life while carrying:
-financial stress
-fear of relapse
-medical trauma
-exhausted nervous systems
-parenting siblings who were also affected
long-term side effects
-grief for the life you thought you’d have
No one teaches couples how to reconnect after years of functioning in crisis mode.
So many marriages stop feeling like marriages at all.
You become coworkers. Caregivers. Crisis managers. Roommates.
Trauma changes people.
And I think more families would feel less shame if we started talking honestly about this part too.

05/10/2026

Mother's Day isn't the same.

05/01/2026

May is Brain Cancer Awareness Month.

03/17/2026

02/23/2026