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December 28, 2015. Inspirational Bert Bell Dinner

On Tuesday, December 15th, over 500 people gathered to support Michael’s Way and the exciting group of honorees including Jim Mora, Kevin Reilly, Kevin Dougherty & Leah Still. The night started off with a beautiful performance of “Silent Night” from Tim Kelly and a group of cancer patients, both presently fighting and survivors. This was the 54th year celebrating Bert Bell and all of the individuals who have contributed to the success of the NFL. Not only do these individuals succeed on the field, they fight hard off the field raising awareness and giving back to their community. Devon Still gave a speech on behalf of his daughter, Leah Still, who was the 2015 Michael’s Way Hero Award recipient. Devon asked all of the patients to come up to the stage recognizing their ability to smile and laugh during their toughest battle. It was a truly inspiring night. Thank you to all of our sponsors, volunteers, honorees and the amazing staff at Vie! We hope the inspiration carries on to the New Year!

October 7, 2015. Logano Foundation Event

On the evening of October 6th, Scott Crutchfield, Director of Michael’s Way – Charlotte, his wife and two of his children attended an event hosted by the Joey Logano Foundation at Joey’s office in Huntersville, NC. The cause was to support World Vision International, a Christian humanitarian aid, development, and advocacy organization. The attendees, which included Joey’s family, friends and members of his pit crew and their families, created over 400 toiletry kits for abused woman who are homeless. The kits will be distributed to four shelters in the coming weeks. The evening was festive with music, food and drinks creating an enjoyable atmosphere while work was being done for such a create cause. We were honored to be apart of the night!

October 7, 2015. A Successful Golf Outing

On behalf of the Board and everyone at Michael’s Way, I would like to thank the volunteers, Stonewall staff, participants but especially the sponsors for participating in our Golf Tournament! Thanks to your generosity we can continue to help the families that have children with cancer. We had a great day for golf and even better day for fundraising! This was our 18th Annual Golf Tournament and we are grateful for the long term friendships that we have built over the years. Thank you for your continued support and we look forward to seeing you next year!

May 2, 2016. May: Zahir Berry, 1st grader at Mastery Pastorius Charter, Philadelphia, PA

This adorable little boy recently turned 7 years old. He is quite the performer. Zahir loves to sing and tell jokes because it makes others happy. Everywhere he goes, he loves to meet people and give women hugs and men handshakes. Zahir has a large family. He is one of seven siblings so he always has people to interact with. He is their happy and carefree social butterfly.

Zahir was diagnosed in June of 2015 when he was just 6 years old. He was having bad headaches and vomiting. So, his family brought him to St. Christopher’s where he had an MRI and cat scan. This is when they noticed the tumor. Zahir was diagnosed with AT/RT which is a rare brain tumor. He is currently being treated with chemotherapy treatments and will follow up with radiation.

“God’s Angel” is what his family calls him. Zahir has so much joy and love to share. They can’t wait for the day that he is cancer free and can live a normal childhood.

Information provided by his grandmother, Marlene Berry.

April 1, 2016. April: Dante Sime, 5th grader at Northwood Academy Charter, Philadelphia, PA

This lovable 11 year old boy is not a fan of eating spinach but he does like all super heroes and action figures. Sounds about right! Dante likes to spend time playing games with his brother, particularly games having to do with strategy. He is a smart little boy. His favorite games are Minecraft, Call of Duty, Just Cause 3. These are the things Dante likes to do when he is not spending time at the hospital.

Dante was diagnosed in May of 2014 when he was just 9 years old. He had developed lumps on his head and behind his ear which were cause for concern. Dante is being treated for Lymphoma at St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children where he receives chemotherapy every other week. Once he is finished with treatment, his dream is to visit sunny Hawaii or Trinidad. Dante continues to fight and will strategize to beat his cancer.

Information provided by his father, Isidor Sime.

March 4, 2016. March: Kylie Drumm, 2nd grader at Blair Mill Elementary, Horsham, PA

You may remember seeing Ms. Kylie during our Star Search competition. Kylie has a beautiful voice and loves to sing, dance and act. So it is no surprise that big sister, Kylie, is the family drama queen. She has a very strong willed personality for a seven year old. This personality has come in handy the past year.

Last year, Kylie was complaining of leg pain. For months, she randomly started to snack on ice, her skin became really pale…even family was noticing. About a month before she was diagnosed, Kylie started with very low grade fevers, chose the ice over food and didn’t get off the couch. It was time to get blood work done. On August 11, 2015, a week before Kylie’s 7^th birthday, she was diagnosed with B-ALL (Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia). Kylie is being treated at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia where she has had two bone marrow transplants, spinal taps with chemotherapy, leg injections and oral medication on a regular basis. Her mother says that her prayers are answered every day when Kylie wakes up and walks down stairs for a good morning hug. Hopefully, one day soon, Kylie won’t have to be poked and medicated.

“Fight Song” by Rachel Platten has been a big inspiration for Kylie. We can’t wait to hear you perform your own songs one day, Kylie!

Information provided by her mother, Gina Johnson.

February 2, 2016. February: Logan Snyder, 1st grader at Swiftwater Elementary, Scotrun, PA

Logan was introduced to us years ago by one of our Board Members, Brandy. Logan happens to be her adorable nephew. He is a loving, adventurous, little boy who loves putting Lego sets together, playing Minecraft with his big brother and doing anything outdoors. Luckily, he is able to do what a 7 year old boy wants to be doing which for Logan means swimming and playing T-ball.

When Logan was 15 months old, he became very sick. He was tired a lot and had no appetite. One morning, he woke up with a bruise under his eye that just kept getting worse. Logan had bloodwork done that showed cancer. They discovered a tumor in his abdomen and one behind his eye. Logan was diagnosed with Stage 4 Neuroblastoma and was treated at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York. He battled through many surgeries, chemotherapies, radiation and immunotherapies. His mother is now proud to say that Logan has defied all medical odds by overcoming not only a devastating diagnosis but two relapses! He gets scans every 6 months to make sure the cancer does not come back. Hopefully, Logan continues to grow and develop without any long term side effects from all of the harsh treatments. He has a lot of living to do and right now can just enjoy being a kid.

To read more about Logan and his journey, you can purchase a copy of his book, Logan’s War Against Stage IV; A Warrior’s Battle to Victory. Please visit www.loganswar.com for more information.

Information provided by his mother, Ashleigh Snyder.

January 2, 2016. January: Bisan Abu Ali, 4th grader at Overbrook School for the Blind, Philadelphia, PA

Bisan is a happy and kind 9 year old girl who makes friends very easily. This may be in part to being born with her best friend…her twin sister, Bushra. They love all things purple and pink and princess! Bisan and Bushra were also lucky enough to add another sister, Balsam, to their group when they were just a year old.

At the young age of 6 months old, Bisan’s left eye was shaking so her mother rushed her to the Emergency Room. After 10 long hours, an MRI found the tumor in her optical nerves. Her mother was told her newborn baby had cancer and was heartbroken. Based on its location, the tumor cannot be surgically resected. So, Bisan started radiation at St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children. Bisan is diagnosed with progressive optic pathway glioma which affects her vision and she has developed right side weakness in her body for which she goes to physical therapy. Bisan currently receives chemotherapy and is seen at St. Christopher’s as well as CHOP. During the past 9 years, Bisan had a four year period without treatments because her tumor was stable. Her mother recalls those days with a smile and knows they will see them again. Her parents wish for Bisan to be cancer free and can’t wait for future days to see Bisan in a graduation gown and someday a wedding dress.

Bisan and her sisters are so loving and full of hope. They hug the staff at St. Christopher’s as soon as they walk in. It is impossible not to smile when you see how brave and strong they are together!

Information provided by her mother, Sana Abu Ali.

December 1, 2015. December: Emmitt Spearman, 2 year old from Emmaus, PA

If you ask a Mom of a two year old boy what her son plays with, cars and trains are always a good guess. On top of playing cars, Emmitt really loves music. He is a natural entertainer and quite the flirt. All of the nurses at St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children had the opportunity to fall in love with Emmitt’s beautiful eyes. He also built a great bond with his Doctor, Dr. Halligan.

At the very young age of 14 months old, Emmitt was taken to the pediatrician due to a swollen testicle. Their Doctor thought Emmitt developed a hernia and sent them to meet a surgeon at St. Christopher’s Hospital. That next day, the surgeon scheduled surgery to repair the hernia on October 1, 2014. It was not until Emmitt was in the OR that the surgeon noticed the tumor. Emmitt was diagnosed with Stage 4 High Risk Neuroblastoma. He has had many cycles of chemotherapy, a bone marrow extraction and transplant, radiation and a clinical trial immunotherapy all on top of taking many medications. Thankfully, Emmitt fought hard and his mother hopes the cancer never comes back. She wishes a long, happy life for her little boy!

Find more information on Emmitt here:

https://www.youcaring.com/nonprofits/help-emmitt-fight-neuroblastoma-cancer/254790

Information provided by his mother, Carissa Young.

October 30, 2015. November: Dominic Mazzio, 5 year old from Burlington, NJ

We don’t need to tell you that Dominic’s smile is contagious because you can see it for yourself. He has carried that smile through his clinic visits, radiation and physical therapy appointments. Dominic loves people and loves attention from anyone who will give it to him. He can befriend everyone and that is why the volunteers at the Philadelphia Ronald McDonald House have given him the nickname, “The Mayor”.

Dominic is one in a million. His battle started at a very young age when he was paralyzed before his 3^rd birthday due to a very rare disease called Transverse Myelitis. Dominic relearned how to do everything from moving his fingers to finally walking! Only 1/3 of people with this disease regain the ability to walk again. After doing routine MRIs, they found Dominic’s brain cancer. On August 26, 2014, he was diagnosed with an Inoperable Brain Stem Fibrillary Astrocytoma. His brain tumor is inoperable because of its location in his brain stem and they were told chemotherapy would have little to no effect. He was treated at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia with 30 days of Proton Therapy Radiation which successfully shrank his tumor. Dominic recently had his 9 month post radiation MRI and thankfully, results showed no tumor growth!

Big brother Dominic now has more time to play “I Spy” and “Hide and Seek” with his younger sister and brother. His mother, Ashley, dreams of a long and healthy life for Dominic filled with nothing but smiles and laughter. He continues to smile through tough times and that will inspire many!

Information provided by his parents, Ashley & James Mazzio.