Faith and Breathing Room for a Little Superhero

The life-changing determination needed to move your family so that your youngest child receives the best treatment possible to fight his cancer is the reality that one Breathing Room family had to face. At just two years old, Carson’s cough turned into a fast-growing mass on his chest. His local Jamaican hospital treated him as best as they could, but a move to be near family in Philadelphia and receive treatment at CHOP for his neuroblastoma was the best option. Three rounds of chemo, surgery, two more rounds of chemo, high dose chemo and a stem cell transplant with six months of isolation, radiation, and immunotherapy, all totaling 16 months of active treatment gave Carson the best opportunity to beat cancer.

For Carson’s parents, there was no question that they would do everything in their power to care for their son. “Family is everything to me,” Carson’s dad, Ramon, shared. “Nothing was going to stop us from getting Carson the help he needed. We sold everything and moved here to get our child treatment.” That meant hard days like mom Tehani going with Carson for his stem cell treatment, while Ramon went home to Jamaica to move the family to Philadelphia permanently.

The strict, isolating regime of cancer treatment was the hardest part for Carson. “But he’s such a little trooper,” Tehani said. “He just got up and knows what he can and can’t do, and he just works with it. He made it easy on us. As a two and then three year old going through all of this, he understands what he has to do, and has faith that everything will work out.”

A faith shared by the whole family: “I believe we are being watched over, and with the help we have received on the way, from CHOP, from the Breathing Room, we are able to get Carson what he needs,” Ramon stated. “With the support of the Breathing Room, we knew we were not alone. In the midst of moving and cancer treatment, we didn’t have to buy one Christmas gift, and we received so many kind notes of support. Even the cleaning supplies so that we can keep the house cleaned and sanitized and safe for Carson. The Breathing Room makes hard times lighter.”

Currently, Carson has no evidence of disease. He is cancer-free.

Carson’s family weathered the storm of cancer diagnosis, treatment, moving to a new country, and finding a new home for their family. “I have to be thankful for everything,” Tehani reflected. “Things are hard, dealing with cancer, and the immigration process, and everything – but we have to be strong for Carson and our family moving forward. And we’re just incredibly grateful for all of it – for the hospital in Jamaica that knew something was wrong, and we’re grateful for CHOP and all of the treatment that has saved Carson’s life, and we’re so grateful for the love and support that we have felt from the Breathing Room. We are blessed.”

Every family that deals with cancer has their own story. For Carson’s family, the Breathing Room was able to be a very real example of a neighbor lending a helping hand. The Breathing Room provides individualized support to best serve each family’s unique needs, and to ensure that no family is alone in their fight.

“We took it moment by moment,” Tehani added. “There’s not a happy ending for everyone, and even though Carson is cancer-free right now, there is no end in sight. We have no clue what the future holds, but we enjoy this day, and take it one day at a time. The tremendous support we received from the Breathing Room makes a world of difference, and we are so grateful to know that we are not alone. We love the Breathing Room. It literally allows us to breathe.”

The Breathing Room is on pace to serve 20,000 families by the end of 2024. As we approach this number, we are so lucky to have been the conduit for our Breathing Room community to provide so much support to families like Carson’s. 20,000 families fighting cancer have been touched because of the donors, supporters, and volunteers of the Breathing Room family. With your help, we will continue to provide support and care so that they can breathe during their cancer treatment.