A diagnosis of Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) isn’t typically a life sentence for a child. In fact, the 5-year survival rate for U.S. ALL patients younger than age 15 increased from 80.2% to 87.5% between 1990 and 2000. It’s referred to as “the good cancer” in children. And while that does offer some relief to … Read more
Isabella Hanson–sweet little Izzy–was born on November 23rd, 2018. Her mom and dad, Laura and Josh, and her big sister, Nia, were simply in love. Life was good and simple at the start. Nia, a talented dancer, had several classes a week. As a toddler, Izzy would watch her big sister in awe. One day, … Read more
Back in November of 2023, our friend Libby at Make a Wish NH contacted us about a little girl named Hope living in Rochester. Hope had a very rare brain cancer that I hadn’t heard of before, called Astroblastoma, MN1 altering Bendz 2. And because it’s such a rare type, even doctors weren’t too sure … Read more
Owen was spunky, mischievous, funny, loving and kind. He had a wonderful singing voice and could often be found belting out his favorite songs even in public. Before his cancer progressed, he would often run fast like his heroes, Sonic and Buzz Lightyear.
The three of us were holding him and it was an extremely peaceful transition. I felt very similar emotions as I did when he was born, which was just essentially an immense amount of love, only paired with sorrow instead of joy.
After James’ initial treatment and recovery, he spent 13 months in remission. Unfortunately in the summer of 2021, routine testing showed a possible recurrence of the cancer.
So many people say that Eliana was a bright light in this world. There was a sense of peace and joy when being with her. She loved life, and did not let her cancer stop her from exploring the world and enjoying all things.
The diagnosis… came as a bittersweet victory. Addie’s mom, Angie, recalls, “I had to fight for the diagnosis from a top specialist from Cincinnati Children’s. I was watching my daughter get worse so I felt some relief once treatment started.”
It’s hard to describe what it was like. Time stopped. Priorities changed in an instant. Suddenly our future was a giant black hole, a giant question mark, with a good possibility our child would die despite our efforts to save him.
On January 9, 2013. Joey, just seven years old at the time, was diagnosed with medulloblastoma, an aggressive pediatric brain cancer. Five days later, our beautiful boy had surgery to remove the large tumor from the base of his brain on the brain stem. When he awoke, he could not walk and had no use of his left arm. After days in ICU he was placed on an inpatient rehab floor for several weeks enduring eight hour days of grueling therapy to learn to walk again and regain the use of his left arm.
A community of families navigating a path towards healing and recreating joy in their lives.
©2026 Rett's Roost. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions
Website design by Genius Switch Studio :: Website built by RAbbott Web