As the process of treating Anna progressed, she stopped being able to have friends in the house. If she had visitors, they had to be outside. After five straight months of being stuck in the hospital, she would have been overjoyed to have a place for her to gather with friends. As a teenager, having access to friends and the socialization they bring are SO important! These kids can’t even use public bathrooms, which really limits their ability to stray too far from home.

Anna was not an only child. Her illness had an impact on her siblings as well. They, too, had to be isolated and weren’t allowed to have friends over. If they went with others, they had to be sure the friends were virus-free. Emily and Will had to sanitize their hands every time they walked in the door. We didn’t have towels in the kitchen or the bathroom. All of our fresh fruits and vegetables had to be local, and this severely limited the types of foods that were available. These illnesses and the resulting treatments affect entire families.

Fortunately, Anna had a really strong friend group, frequently referred to as “the Pals,” who visited her every day they could at the hospital. The Pals were such a presence that the nurses referred to Anna's room as the Party Room. When she received her Bone Marrow Transplant, however, those visits had to end. Her immune system was wiped out, and because of that, her friends could only briefly come in, one at a time. Once she was from the hospital, we were only allowed to let our immediate family into the house.

It’s based on this powerful experience and the effect we saw it have on our daughter that drives us to continue pushing toward our goal of building a dedicated and safe beach house for immunocompromised patients. We would love to give these children a place outside of the clinical setting to gather with family and friends.

Everyone should always be in a Party Room surrounded by Pals.