Ayden's Army of Angels is a 501c3 Childhood Cancer and Sickle Cell Foundation founded in 2015 by my son Aden Brown and myself. Ayden was diagnosed with Rhabdomyosarcoma at 13 months old, and it instantly through our life through a loop. Ayden and I were immediately transferred to CHLA, leaving me unemployed and nearly homeless. Treatment for Ayden and I was extremely difficult being that Ayden was only 13 months and I was a single mom, with very little help. As Ayden's mother, I saw many gaps in services available to families just like ours, and the services that were available, were not know to everyone. After Ayden's first year of treatment, they thought his cancer was gone, so I found a job and Ayden went to preschool. A few weeks after his last visit, we got another call letting us know that Ayden's Cancer had returned and he would need to begin treatment again. I was devastated, and decided that if we were being forced to continue to fight, we would do it our way. Ayden and I decided to start our own foundation to help families like ours. I sat with Ayden and I showed him pictures on the computer until he saw our logo, "Look Mommy, me and you!" I knew instantly that this was the perfect logo and Ayden's Army of Angels was created. 

    One of the major problems Ayden and I faced, was being able to afford food in the hospitals, when he had very long stays. So Ayden and I decided we would start by making snack bags, and we would bring them with us to his infusion and hand them out to the families. This led to donating diapers for other moms, bandaids with characters, and tissues. As Ayden's disease progressed we relocated back to Nevada to finish our fight our way. We continued to bring food to the hospitals until Ayden became terminal. Finding out that your child is terminal is a parents worst nightmare, and I was not going to take it without a fight. I turned to social media and anyone who would listen to me to help save my little boy. I changed his diet, I took away sugars and processed food, and pumped him full of vitamins. Ayden passed away in November of 2017, he lived 3 weeks longer than the doctors gave him to live. I know this had everything to do with his nutrition. Since losing my son, we have expanded the foundation in so many amazing ways. We have developed Nutritional Programs, giving families access to fresh fruit and a free juicer to begin to change their child's diet. We have created a survival kit , "Cooper's Comfort Coolers" given to each family at diagnosis to aid them through treatment. Each month we cook dinner for the families of the Ronald McDonald House, as well as hosting Mom/Dad Support Group Dinners each quarter. Ayden's Army of Angels now gives financial grants to families to cover cost of living, car insurance, and utility bills. 

    There are many foundations to support in this community, but what makes AAOA special is, we fund the survival of the family during treatment. Many parents raise their children on their own, so finding out that one is very sick, takes away that parents ability to provide. I know how it feels to have to leave my sick child to go to work, and not know if they are ok. My dream is to allow every parent to fight with their child. Their child should always be their focus rather than their finances. We cannot guarantee any mom that their child will survive Childhood Cancer, but we can create resources for those families to make sure they spend every second with their child while they are fighting for their life. Help us continue our mission to provide financial and nutritional resources for Pediatric Cancer Patients and fully fund the survival of Childhood Cancer Treatment.