My sweet son Blaze was diagnosed with liver cancer at 7 months old. This was the hardest time of my life by far. I had to take a leave from my job because he was so sick and we spent most of our time in the hospital. Blaze endured aggressive chemotherapy and multiple surgeries. Sadly, Blaze passed away at 13 months old. During this time, I was able to stay with my baby boy, able to be a mom, able to sleep in the hospital bed with him nightly not missing a precious moment of time with him. Blaze was never left alone and I was always by his side. I was able to be there for him. This wasn’t the case for many parents. My community, family and friends banned together to ensure provisions for my son and I were met and I am forever grateful. Donations were made,
fundraisers were held, even jars collecting funds were on the counters of convenience stores throughout Sarasota. All of this was done to help meet our needs. This was organized and orchestrated by loving people, people just like you. It was people who cared enough to help... even people we didn't know. The compassion, love, support, and prayers gave me hope in my greatest time of need. While I was at the hospital, I saw other families desperately in need of hope of their own. Not only were they struggling with the unexplainable sadness and pain involved, they were also struggling to meet their personal financial responsibilities. These people chose their child instead of their mortgage payment; a choice no parent should have to make. Families were torn apart because of hard choices and no resources to help them. This experience has driven my whole life from that point forward. If there was anything I could do after that experience, to show love, compassion and grace for others, I did it. My dream is to honor my son and give Glory to God with a charity that I have been developing. "Blaze of Hope" is a 501c3 non-profit organization in which a family can fill out an application for financial assistance. The funds from the charity are used to help them pay their own personal expenses during the trying times of having a sick child in the hospital. Thankfully this dream has become a reality. Big thanks to all of you who choose to donate your time and resources to bless someone with hope in such a time of need. Thank you to the incredible B.O.H. board, volunteers and donors. This couldn’t be possible without you. Please share Blaze Of Hope so we can change the world one family at a time. Together we can SPREAD HOPE LIKE FIRE!
