Hope, Strength, and Healing for families coping with a child cancer diagnosis

Meet Keaton’s Kiddo Stryder

Meet Keaton’s Kiddo, Stryder. Stryder is a brave two-year-old who enjoys playing with race cars, and animals. In January of 2022, Stryder was diagnosed with Neuroblastoma, a rare form of cancer that develops in nerve cells, and most often occurs in young children.

Stryder continues to be as brave as possible throughout his treatments. Thanks to his loving family, Stryder has a strong support system that remains by his side. To ensure that he receives the care he needs, Ryder’s parents travel an hour, round trip, once per week, to take him to and from treatment, then staying in the hospital with him every three to four weeks while he is admitted.

Since being referred to Keaton’s, our Family Navigator Team has provided Stryder’s family with a financial grant through our Financial Assistance Program to help with their travel expenses. Our team has also had the honor of creating a Joy-Filled Experience by creating a personalized Hope Chest for him and his awesome sister. When hand-delivering the Hope Chest to Stryder and his sister. Our Family Navigators were thrilled to see the wonderful bright smile on this young kiddo when he received his special care package!

We look forward to offering continued support for Stryder and his family through our Family Navigator Program services and future in-person connections at our annual family events.

Meet Keaton’s Kiddo – Kodiak

In the Fall of 2023, Keaton’s Kiddo Kodiak was diagnosed with two rare and aggressive forms of cancer: Mixed Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) and Myelodysplastic Syndrome (MDS) also known as ‘preleukemia.’

Their journey began one year earlier, in the Fall of 2022, when Kodiak was struck with a series of different seasonal illnesses. Kodiak’s mom Tonya shares: “In September, he got COVID, and then in November it was the flu, and then December RSV.”

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Meet Keaton’s Kiddo – Ellora

Months before a clear diagnosis, Ellora was experiencing a loss of appetite, night sweats, and oversleeping. For Ellora, these symptoms were seen as normal for her or seen as natural changes in the growth of a 2-year-old. Eventually, she developed little spots on her hands and unexplained bruises on her body, which the doctors deemed Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura (ITP), but after seeing an informative TikTok video on the symptoms Ellora was experiencing, her mom’s gut told her it was something more than a bleeding disorder.

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Meet Keaton’s Kiddo – Samerah

14-year-old Samerah, best known as Sam has been battling quite the challenging journey, but with the love and support of her family, friends, and community she has been able to overcome so much. At the very young age of 2 months old, Sam was diagnosed with Neurofibromatosis. Neurofibromatosis is not an isolated disorder. It causes several different conditions and can lead to the development of tumors on the brain, spine, and the nerves that send signals between the brain and spinal cord.

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