It was one of the most despicable things I’ve seen in my career

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“It was one of the most despicable things I’ve seen in my career. It was ten years ago. There were about twenty families being treated here whose kids had Neuroblastoma. 

The survival rate was about ten percent. One of our doctors developed an antibody that he thought was promising. But he’d run out of money. So he called a town hall meeting of sorts. He brought all the families together andtold them he needed two million dollars. And they told him: ‘We’ll find it.’ We refer to them now as the Band of Parents. These people were desperate. Many of them were broke. And this burden was being placed on them. It made me sick. But they went back to their communities. They baked cookies, and organized bike rides, and held fundraisers named after their children. And they raised the money. All two million. And it worked. Dr. Cheung’s antibody worked. Today the survival rate is sixty percent. But it was so sad. Because deep in their hearts those parents knew the antibody would not be ready in time to save their child. But they raised the money anyway.” 

“Nobody ever tells each other the truth around here. It’s not to say that anyone is lying. Everyone just hides what they're really thinking. Mommy doesn’t want the child to feel sad. The child doesn’t want Mommy to feel sad. So everyone wears a mask. Everyone is doing ‘just fine.’ Everyone is ‘feeling OK.’ Everyone is so excited about going to see the ball game or spending a day in the park. I think the only people who really see the truth around here are the night nurses. In the middle of the night, nobody is depending on you to be someone else. There’s no more distractions or visitors or physicians. It’s just you, your medication, and time.”

“It was one of the most despicable things I’ve seen in my career. It was ten years ago. There were about twenty families being treated here whose kids had Neuroblastoma. 

The survival rate was about ten percent. One of our doctors developed an antibody that he thought was promising. But he’d run out of money. So he called a town hall meeting of sorts. He brought all the families together andtold them he needed two million dollars. And they told him: ‘We’ll find it.’ We refer to them now as the Band of Parents. These people were desperate. Many of them were broke. And this burden was being placed on them. It made me sick. But they went back to their communities. They baked cookies, and organized bike rides, and held fundraisers named after their children. And they raised the money. All two million. And it worked. Dr. Cheung’s antibody worked. Today the survival rate is sixty percent. But it was so sad. Because deep in their hearts those parents knew the antibody would not be ready in time to save their child. But they raised the money anyway.” 

“Nobody ever tells each other the truth around here. It’s not to say that anyone is lying. Everyone just hides what they're really thinking. Mommy doesn’t want the child to feel sad. The child doesn’t want Mommy to feel sad. So everyone wears a mask. Everyone is doing ‘just fine.’ Everyone is ‘feeling OK.’ Everyone is so excited about going to see the ball game or spending a day in the park. I think the only people who really see the truth around here are the night nurses. In the middle of the night, nobody is depending on you to be someone else. There’s no more distractions or visitors or physicians. It’s just you, your medication, and time.”