More Than a Hat, an interview with Brenda Orr

How did you first hear of Family House, and why did you decide to get involved?

I first heard about Family House when one of the teachers at Toro Park School (in Salinas, California) asked the staff if they could donate caps in the month of December to give to Family House.  When I went shopping, I could only afford 1-2 caps; [but I realized] I could pick out a pattern and sew caps a lot cheaper.  That was the start of my fleece cap campaign.  I’ve been making them ever since.

Fleece hats are your signature, how do you come up with the patterns and designs?

The pattern is from a pattern book.  There are only 2 pattern pieces.  They’re easy to cut out and easy to sew.  I buy fabric from a store in Morgan Hill that gives me discounts.  I buy fabric about once a month.  I love the old town Morgan Hill, so I treat myself to a trip downtown and visit my favorite shops.

When I make my caps, I usually make 20-30 or more.  I try to make an equal number of boys and girls caps.  I also make various sizes.

What do you do when you’re not making hats for Family House?

I am currently trying to get involved with the “Look Good, Feel Better” program through the American Cancer Society.  I like to make hats for ladies.  I have 3 different styles that I sew.

I am newly retired from teaching.  I am able to sew, swim, hike, read, take small trips, volunteer, and update my condo.

Last thoughts?

I’m real impressed with Family House.  The way they treat their patients and families is wonderful.  They’re organized and inspired.  Keep up the good work!

You can get involved with Family House! Learn more at http://www.familyhouseinc.org/volunteer.html

Family House Family Stories Videos

Have you seen the latest Family House Family Stories videos?  Since being introduced in June (Nino's Story), we have released two more Family Stories videos - Amenah & Anthony, and Jack's Tale.  While each story is very different, they share the same themes - love, community, compassion, gratefulness, and strength.

We plan to release a new Family Story video each month - be sure to subscribe to the Family House Youtube Channel and sign up to receive our newsletters.

Please view and share these videos - by sharing the mission of Family House, it builds our community, enabling us to help even more families in need.  Thank you!

Click here to learn more about Family House families:
http://www.familyhouseinc.org/family-stories.html 

Thanking the Community

Family House is fortunate to have such wide community support - everything from Inner Sunset neighbors who solicit donations on our behalf to international companies who rally hundreds of employees behind us for donations and volunteer hours.  We truly could not provide the services of Family House without the support of every member of our community!

Recently, we were contacted by Golden Gate Pedicab company - they wanted to know what they could do to help.  After some discussion, it was decided that they would give free rides along the Embarcadero to families from the Ferry Building to Pier 39 - a perfect "tourist" experience for families who are otherwise disabled and distracted by medical treatment, and can't take advantage of visiting San Francisco.

Then our volunteer coordinators, Greg and Karen, put their heads together, and said, "Who else do we know downtown who has offered to help Family House?"  Pier 39 donated VIP passes for the day, and Ben & Jerry's provided the ice cream for our special guests.

It is through the efforts and kindness of these special people in San Francisco that we were able to help families forget about their troubles for an afternoon.  Sunshine, ice cream, and a tour along the San Francisco Bay - what could be better?

Thank you to Golden Gate Pedicab, PIER 39, and Ben & Jerry's for this special day, and for all you do for Family House families!  Love!

You can get involved with Family House! Learn more at http://www.familyhouseinc.org/volunteer.html

Volunteer Spotlight: Jordan Phan and Justin Azar

How does one define an amazing volunteer? Family House defines this as dependable, friendly, outgoing, and motived, with a strong desire to help families. With that being said, we have had the pleasure of having two amazing and devoted summer high school volunteers - Jordan Phan (graduating class of 2014) and Justin Azar (graduating class of 2015). Not only did they volunteer for the program last year, they have also stepped it up to lead an entire team of high school volunteers during the summer of 2013. Jordan and Justin were introduced to Family House at the 2012 St. Ignatius Volunteer Fair, where they received information about the Family House Summer Volunteer Program. Their creativity, drive, and ideas were key in completing the summer project to make a Thank You video for the band Train.

What makes these two so special is that they came back to Family House to lead the next year’s class of summer volunteers. They planned and managed activities for the incoming sophomores and juniors for the summer 2013 Program. They have brought their own special talents to Family House as well. Justin isn't just the top swimmer at his school; he also loves to bake, and has led some tasty activities including baking cakes, cookies, and other treats for the families. (He plans to return to Family House in 2014 to lead the next group of Summer Volunteers!) Jordan, who will graduate high school this coming school year, has plans to attend medical school. She has participated in another service learning project at Habitat for Humanity, and currently attends undergraduate anatomy classes at Stanford University.

Thank you so much to Justin and Jordan for your amazing abilities, your creativity, and the care you give to the Family House mission. Family House adores you both, and we look forward to seeing you succeed in your future endeavors!  You have both worked so hard over the past year and half, and Family House wouldn’t be the same without you!

To see the photos from the Summer Volunteer Program, click here: http://www.facebook.com/FamilyHouseSF

Get involved with Family House! Learn more at http://www.familyhouseinc.org/volunteer.html

Founder to Founder, by Arthur Ablin, M.D., December 2012

Sit down with me for a few minutes and become moved as I have by this touching yet uplifting story about one of our Family House’s remarkable and resilient patients and his loving, supportive family.

Austin Young, now 18 years old was stricken (yes, that’s the word) at 6 months of age with a cancer of the retinas of both his eyes. The stage of his cancer, a retinoblastoma, was such that without treatment he would certainly have rapidly become blind and died as a young child. Infant Austin and his family were presented with devastating alternative choices for treatment: One was the immediate removal of both eyes with instant blindness; The other option available was radiation therapy to both of his infant eyes with only a hope, not a promise, that his life could be saved with a slight possibility that some modicum of vision might be retained. The price for this latter choice would be cataracts in both eyes with obvious facial changes as the rest of his face and head grew. If that were not overwhelming by itself, survivors of retinblastoma of both eyes have a high life-long chance of developing other cancers later increased by the very radiation therapy used to treat the original retinoblastoma. Those second cancers are difficult to treat and may or may not be curable.

Imagine with me the stresses associated with decision making this family was going through. No good choices, only bad or worse ones. How can anyone be asked to make them? It doesn’t seem fair to ask any parent to make these decisions for their child. Exacting daily radiation therapy in the UCSF Department of Radiation Oncology for several weeks requiring motionless eyes and therefore, daily anesthesia for several weeks was their least horrendous treatment choice. The family stayed at Family House during these many weeks of radiation and the monthly follow up visits for many years. During that time and the innumerable check-up examinations required, Austin, his parents and sister, Bonnie, David, and Lauren called Family House home. They survived and Austin adjusted, even excelled with remarkable strength of character in spite of his impaired vision and physical disability.

Now 18 years later, 6 foot delightful Austin is blind in his left eye and has 20/200 vision in his right eye (sees at 20 feet what a person with normal vision can see at 200 feet). He has under growth of the mid portion of his face making him easily distinguishable among his peers, an appearance with which he has become comfortable because of his engaging, pleasant smile, a twinkle in his poorly sighted eyes and his quiet demeanor. If that were not enough, more of the medical story continues. At age 16, 2 years ago, cured from his retinoblastoma, a popular, productive and bright sophomore in Bella Vista high school dealing successfully with his visual and physical disabilities, Austin and his family discovered a rapidly growing lump in his left upper neck. Austin had developed a different, second cancer at the left side of his face. It required a meticulous 16 hour operation, then months of chemotherapy with further radiation therapy. Long stays in at UCSF and at Family House were then again required with the hope this second cancer had been cured. Unfortunately, less than a year later there is a recurrence of his rhabdomyosarcoma. Austin and his family are guests again at Family House while he is receiving yet another course of alternative chemotherapy and cyber knife radiation surgery. Austin and his family know the outcome of this treatment is questionable but face this with realistic optimism, humor and characteristic determination.

In spite of missing many days and weeks of school Austin managed to keep up with his class work, and recently graduated from high school and has been accepted to start U.C. Davis. High intensive chemotherapy and radiation therapy require that he defers Davis now. Austin recognizes the important role Family House has been for him and his family, both in the support with other families over the years and the high cost that would have resulted in finding accommodations in San Francisco. To express appreciation to Family House for all that he and his family received, Austin, whose goal in life is to become a computer engineer, created a social event called “Gaming 4 a Cause” to support Family House. He elicited support from classmates and with his and their parents established a non-profit charity of which he is the president. His 17 and 18 year old classmates are the vice-president, financial officer, treasurer and publicity director, and secretary. This team has acquired the necessary hardware through contributions and careful purchasing , arranged rent-free space at Fuddrucker’s World’s Greatest Hamburger restaurant outside of Sacramento where they hold week-end events charging small entrance fees. Participants form teams which compete to win electronic prizes such as controllers, mice and software. During the past several months attendance has steadily grown and the profits for an evening of spirited fun and clean sociability have been as high as $1600. The restaurant is glad to have them! As the popularity increases and all the details of his enterprise are further fine-tuned, Austin and his sister Lauren are spreading the word and know how of Gaming 4 a Cause to other schools hoping to multiply the profits for Family House. A quiet smile creeps over his face, his poorly sighted eyes twinkle and he softly says “It’s for Family House.” Go Austin! Go Youngs! Go Family House! We are here for each other and all other thousands of children and their families that are called Family House.

July 2013 UPDATE: Austin has finished chemotherapy and radiation, and is headed to UC Davis this fall.  Keep an eye on Gaming 4 a Cause happenings at www.gaming4acause.org

Click here to learn more about Family House families:
http://www.familyhouseinc.org/family-stories.html 

In Memory Of

It's a sad fact of Family House life that sometimes young patients at the UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital don't get better.

We love to share the inspiring stories of patients and families who live through the struggle of a life with cancer or another life-threatening illness, so you can see the important work that we do. We want you to share in the triumphs of the amazing families we serve, and learn to share their strength with others in your life.

Every time one of our children passes away, it affects all of us. When the families come here, they are often here for so long that Family House truly becomes their home.  It's common to hear longtime families speak of "my kitchen" or "my room," even though they haven't slept here in years. Family House and San Francisco become as much a home to each of those people as to the staff and volunteers who spend countless hours at 50 Irving Street and 1234 10th Avenue.

We have photos of kids and families in every conceivable space here, and yet, there are other surprising little reminders that come up all the time: a construction paper card written in crayon, found in a file drawer; origami pumpkins found in a bin of event supplies in the garage; a hand-made bracelet from last year's Valentine's Day party hidden in a box of rubber bands.

One of the most special ways that we are reminded of a child who is no longer with us is when we receive "in memory of" gifts. These donations are often small amounts of money given by a friend of the family, a member of the family's church or school, or someone who perhaps never had the blessing of knowing the child, but heard through a friend of a friend that Family House helped them when they needed it most. The staff is always touched when we receive an "in memory of" donation, because they are reminders that though the family has moved back home, that child will never be forgotten. And through the generosity of the community that child has left behind, Family House is able to continue our mission of helping other families through what may be the hardest experience of their lives.

Click here to learn more about Family House families:
http://www.familyhouseinc.org/family-stories.html 

Madi's Story

Almost two years ago, our beautiful, 5 year-old daughter, Madison, was diagnosed with leukemia. The news hit us like a bomb, but fortunately, we were sent to UCSF Children's Hospital from our home town of Redding, California - a good 4 hour drive away. Today, the prognosis for Madison is very good - she's in remission, and returns to UCSF periodically for check-ups.

I was glad to be asked my story for this article, because I want everyone to know how important Family House has been to us throughout treatment. Frankly, I don't know what we would've done without it. They were a light in our darkest hour- they were there, ready to be a home for us, even though we didn't know what we'd need. We feel lucky to be part of the Family House community.

Family House is the only reason that Madison had anything to open on Christmas last year. She was released on Christmas Eve morning after being in-patient for 48 days. My husband and I could not have cared less about Christmas, let alone gifts or a tree. Paul Goold, the Family House Director of Operations, called me at the hospital the morning we were discharged to tell me that there was a big box of wrapped Christmas gifts for Madi and her step-brothers to take home with us. It was simply unbelievable, and meant everything to our children and to us.

I hope that those of you who donate to Family House know that the families on the receiving end are real people. A sudden, life changing diagnosis can happen to anyone at any time, and you're never prepared. When you find yourself on the receiving end of the services Family House provides - an
instant community of support, a free and safe place to live, food and friendship - you don't know how you got so lucky, because your lives were turned upside down before you know it. For two years, our family struggled with all sorts of basic costs to get back and forth to the hospital-last year alone we spent $32,000 in gas, tolls, parking and minimal food purchases to get back and forth to San Francisco. It just about put us over the edge. We never thought something like this would happen to us or to our beautiful girl.

There are still families that sleep in the corridors of the hospital, in a chair, on a window ledge, or in my case, in my daughter's hospital bed with her curled up next to me. It saddens me that Family House has to turn people away because there aren't enough rooms. I hope that can change.


You can't imagine what a family is going through when they have to be in the hospital 24 hours per day-you ask yourself how many kids are at home with another family member; how the bills are going to be paid; can the family afford food while their child is in -patient for months; or has their house been repossess because they cannot keep up with the mortgage along with everything else.

Today, we no longer take every day or even every minute for granted. I will never lose sight of what every family that walks through the doors of 7 Long (pediatric oncology floor) are going to endure. I know exactly what they are feeling and I want to help them by supporting Family House. I hope you'll join me.

- Elizabeth Wallers, December 2009

Click here to learn more about Family House families:
http://www.familyhouseinc.org/family-stories.html