$25

Buys a toy or gift card for a child at the hospital.

$150

Delivers a Comfort Kit to make a family's hospital stay more comfortable.

$250

Takes care of gifts for a child during the holiday from their wish list.

$500

Sends a family to the North Pole with Fantasy Flight.

$1,000

Grants a wish for a child fighting cancer!

NIU IS GOING GOLD TO HELP KIDS FIGHTING CANCER!

GOLD GAME: Three softball games starting at 11am on 9/29!

On September 30th, 2014 we entered into a world that shouldn’t exist. A world full of some of the bravest, toughest, and resilient children you could ever meet. We entered into the universe of childhood cancer. On the evening of September 30th, we rushed our then (almost) 5 month old, Karter, to the Kishwaukee Emergency room because we noticed his soft spot was slightly bulging up from his head and that same day, he had completely lost all ability to lift his head up. After a quick CT scan, we were hit with the devastating news that Karter had a tennis ball sized tumor in the left ventricle of his brain. From the beginning, he proved to be a fighter. Karter underwent his first 8 hour long brain surgery to remove the tumor on October 2nd, 2014. The tumor was only able to be partially removed due to a dangerous amount of blood loss, so he had to undergo another brain surgery a week later, and one final surgery in 2015. His tumor was removed and tested, and it was discovered to be Choroid Plexus Carcinoma, a form of brain cancer that accounts only for 3% of brain tumors in children, and 10-20% of brain tumors diagnosed in children from birth to one years old. Karter has been through more than what an average adult will probably go through in their entire lifetime, and he’s only 4 years old. He developed epilepsy after those surgeries and has had over 300 seizures in his lifespan. Fortunately, April 18th of 2016 was his last seizure and he’s been seizure free since! Karter has undergone over 250 rounds of chemotherapy and counting, over 60 MRI’s, and countless inpatient and emergency visits at Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago.

Miraculously, Karter has endured all of that with little developmental or physical delays and he’s your typical rambunctious, witty, adventurous, 4 year old boy. His identical twin, Khristian, has helped keep him going these past 4 years, just leading by example. Karter has strived to keep up with his brother in every essence. We have a very clear understanding of why we were blessed with twins.

Although Karter is still receiving chemotherapy treatments twice a month, we are hopeful about his future. The chemotherapy he’s currently on is a clinical trial that uses his own immune system to fight the cancer cells. Although his body isn’t free of tumors, they have been stable for almost two years. We’re beyond grateful for the otherwise impeccable health he has continued to have these these past couple of years, as well. He is our warrior, and we are #KarterStrong.

NIU Goes Gold for Pediatric Cancer!

NIU students are going GOLD at their softball games on 9/29! Students will be wearing GOLD in September to raise awareness for pediatric cancer!

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NIU IS GOING GOLD TO HELP KIDS FIGHTING CANCER!

GOLD GAME: Three softball games starting at 11am on 9/29!

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