Christopher’s Story - Jacksonville 

The story of Christopher’s illness began the day I took him to Memorial Hospital for his stomach pains and constipation. The doctors did a CT scan of Christopher’s abdomen and found a large mass in his stomach.  We were referred to Wolfson Children’s Hospital, where another set of doctors performed surgery to remove the mass and diagnosed my son as having Clear Cell Sarcoma of the Kidney. 

A year later, routine scans showed doctors that the cancer had spread to Christopher’s brain.

In an instant, our lives changed completely. I went from thinking that I had two healthy kids to having to quit my job to take care of my son. My husband had to take on extra work to ensure that our family could financially survive. 

If I can pinpoint what makes this extremely hard for us, it would be that we don’t have a large extended family to turn to for support. It is only the four of us who give each other any sense of comfort.

Christopher’s low immune system and constant hospital visits don’t allow us to go out and spend quality time together like we used to. As a result, there is a stress that lingers in our lives that didn’t exist before, a burden that weighs on us everyday. It affects my daughter’s performance in school. It makes us question whether our son is going to live or die, and whether the decisions made by his doctors are the right ones. It constantly reminds us that the life we once knew is gone. Our time at the clinic, at the hospital—our sense of home has been entirely rearranged.

My family can never have a moment of peace. I’ve accepted that. And that’s why we’ve come to appreciate those moments that come close to it—those moments given to us by Starlight.

I found a flyer about Starlight at Nemours, and since then our family has been able to bond through the different activities that Starlight puts together. We’ve taken part in a number of Great Escapes events—trips to the zoo and circus to name a few. Starlight outings have helped lift my family’s spirits at those times when our spirits were falling apart. Its events bring fun to the rescue and take our minds off of doctors, needles and medicine. 

Being a part of Starlight has been a wonderful experience for my entire family, and we look forward to everything to come! 

- Leslie, Starlight Mother