Summer should be about fun and having a good time for kids. They get a break from their routine and schoolwork and can finally relax - enjoy being a kid! However, for those kids battling sickle cell disease, summer brings with it certain risks. We want to share some tips on how to maximize your child's summer enjoyment without risking their health, a possible pain episode, or injury. 

Well-being and wellness has been a recurring theme lately on this blog (click here to read about self-care for family caregivers and click here to read about how to reduce stress). It has never been more important to ensure your emotional well-being is taken care of but in today's world it can seem to be more difficult than ever to do just that. Today we are going to take a look at another aspect of emotional wellness.

We celebrate many things in November each year and none are more important or powerful than our own families. No matter who you consider family or what yours may look like, your family is the backbone of your life and the people most likely to be there for you when you need it most. 

November is also National Family Caregiver Month and it is our absolute honor to spend a few minutes discussing the importance of family caregivers when it comes to our heroes of The Valerie Fund. 

Unfortunately, stress is something everyone can understand. We all have stress in our lives and most likely we would all say we have too much of it. Left unchecked, stress can begin to affect both your mental and physical well-being. October has been designated as National Emotional Wellness Month and this week's blog provides some helpful ways to learn how to slow down and breathe.

While emotional wellness is important for everyone, it is critical for parents and families of children treated by The Valerie Fund. A pediatric cancer or blood disorder diagnosis presents new levels of stress for parents and families and it is imperative that everyone be as healthy as possible - physically and mentally - throughout this process. 

The month of September means two things: it is National Sickle Cell Awareness Month and it's time for back to school!

Summer should be about fun and having a good time for kids. They get a break from their routine and schoolwork and can finally relax - enjoy being a kid! However, for those kids battling sickle cell disease, summer brings with it certain risks. We want to share some tips on how to maximize your child's summer enjoyment without risking their health, a possible pain episode, or injury. 

The Valerie Fund invites you to Grace's House, a Valerie Fund Designer Show House.

Sue and Ed Goldstein created The Valerie Fund in 1976 after losing their younger daughter Valerie to cancer. In Valerie’s memory, they were driven to make things better for other children and families fighting that same battle. In 1989 Sue and Ed’s older daughter Stacy was diagnosed with breast cancer and in 2001, at the age of 37, Stacy, too, lost her battle with cancer.

Sue was always in the forefront of getting the word out about The Valerie Fund and parenting a sick child. She co-wrote and co-produced the early Valerie Fund newsletters, and has just recently started writing for her personal blog.

What follows is an enlightening excerpt from Sue’s as-yet-unpublished memoirs titled “Unexpected Lives”. She describes the book as “...told from a mother’s perspective... the story of how one family confronts cancer in its only two children: Valerie, diagnosed when she was three, and years later, Stacy, diagnosed at twenty five." Sue uncovers her family’s will to live fully and enthusiastically. Hovering over all, however, is a dark cloud of uncertainty as ordinary people are faced with extraordinary illness.

Amy Tarabokia’s son, Nicholas, was diagnosed with leukemia in 2006 just shy of his fourth birthday, and received his last treatment in 2009 on his seventh birthday. She notes that there are many support groups for families but very few, if any, just for moms. "Moms take care of everyone else and tend to put themselves 'on the back burner'.” One of the things she remembers most vividly is the overwhelming feeling of isolation, particularly when Nicholas was quarantined and her “only outlet was the phone.” She tried to stay positive but there was a “constant dark cloud” hovering over her. The Valerie Fund Mom2Mom program gives moms a way to connect with kindred spirits who understand what it means to have a sick child because they have been there themselves.