MIBG Construction Update #3, Levine Children’s Hospital

Holy cow what a cool morning. Earlier today our team visited the ISF MIBG construction site at Levine Children’s. To set foot into the pediatric cancer therapy site that your dollars support is surreal!

In the pictures you will see a couple of things. The space on the right will be the patient room, the space on the left will be the parent/guardian room… in between you will notice a large steel door frame where the lead lined door will be placed. The huge structural steel beams have been set underneath the floors and on the ceiling… these are required to hold the weight of the lead bricks that are encompassing the room to protect and manage the MIBG Therapy safely for both patients, family and staff. Lead bricks have been installed partially on one wall. (Insider scoop: the construction team may or may not have broken two elevators getting them up to the 11th floor. That’s how heavy the lead bricks are.)

It was impressive to learn that the lead lined doors and windows will be thicker than any other MIBG Therapy room doors/windows in the country which will provide the best radiation protection during this cancer therapy. Looking forward to sharing these pictures.

The LCH team is getting ready prepping. Nurse Dawn, MIBG Therapy Program Director, has been super busy creating program materials, administering the core nursing education, and have learned from support staff such as radiation safety, child life specialists and bone marrow transplant coordinators. The MIBG nursing team has had a conference call with Nationwide Children’s Hospital where they were given the opportunity to ask experienced MIBG nurses what they have learned, what they would change, their fears, ect. That’s pretty cool.

We are looking for individuals who want to be part of providing comfortable care for the kids/families that go through MIBG Treatment. Our new MIBG Ambassador Program gives you the flexibility of raising $5,000 the way you want to raise it… 100% of funds raised through this program will be distributed very specifically through our LCH partnership with this very targeted MIBG purpose. {You do not have to be located in Charlotte to participate, contact Tia for details}

 

 

 

 

 

ISF MIBG Ambassador: Cynthia & Kat Wood

GOAL: Run 50K in 1 year to raise $5K for ISF. Say what??
 
This will be Cynthia’s 4th year fundraising for ISF and she has enlisted a special partner in crime. Cynthia decided to sign up as a MIBG Ambassador and think outside the box for her fundraising. Cynthia and her daughter, Kat, are committing to rack up 50K in runs to raise $5,000 within a year of this coming Thursday (June 28th)… the anniversary of Isabella’s passing.
 
Fundraising year after year gets hard, no matter who you are! Not only do we love that Cynthia’s daughter is getting involved (kids helping kids make our hearts melt), but that they are doing something different and new. Thank you Cynthia and Kat for your dedication in honor of Isabella. We can’t express how grateful we are!
 
Learn more about what it means to become an MIBG Ambassador.  Funds raised through this program will be distributed very specifically through our partnership with Levine Children’s Hospital with a very targeted purpose. So get creative and fundraise the way you want to.

What is your Why?

In the fundraising and nonprofit world we all have our own WHY for WHAT we do.  We talk about WHAT our charity is about and WHAT we do to fight… but connecting that WHY is the difference when trying to make a connection in fundraising.  The WHY is the goosebumps and tears that move donors to action.

Our ISF team talked several weeks ago that we wanted to ask our Dream Team and our MIBG Ambassadors this one question:  WHY do you fundraise for the Isabella Santos Foundation and pediatric cancer. It’s a question taken from Simon Sinek’s book and TEDx Talk, ‘Start With Why’… aimed at inspirational leadership.  For us at ISF, Sinek’s thoughts our perfect for fundraisers too.

Tim & Granddaughter

The funny thing is we haven’t asked this question to our fundraisers yet… but our faithful and consistent supporter, Tim McBride, shared his WHY this weekend.  We all have them.  Some very specific like Tim’s.  Some maybe not so specific.  But the WHY is what means the most.  

Tim, your WHY stopped us in our tracks.  It gave us goosebumps.  We thank you for using your pain to make a difference in this world…

“People are always asking me why I’m so passionate about raising money for cancer research, treatment, and patient services. I have many but this started it off. I always thought (and still do) that my brother, Mike McBride, was the greatest athlete in the world. When I was young, Mike, my Dad, and I would watch pro football on Sunday afternoon. I remember my Dad saying he would see Mike play on Sunday too. I wanted him to think I was good too. When I was 8 years old, I entered a Punt Pass and Kick contest and was fortunate enough to win my age group. I walked home with my Redskins jacket I won for first place. I went to show my Dad so he would say I could play in the pros like Mike. But cancer was doing its job on him. He had a brain tumor and this wasn’t a good day for him. After I told him I won and showed him my jacket, he just laid there in the bed. As I was leaving, I heard him ask Mom, “who was that?” I have never forgotten that day. I knew I was never good enough to play on Sunday but that pain has driven me to want to raise money so a kid never has to feel the pain I did that day.” 

-Tim McBride [McBeast, ISF MIBG Ambassador, Dream Team Member, Run-Streaker, Cancer Crusher, Santa Clause, & all over Bad Ass]

WHAT IS YOUR WHY?

*********

It started with a girl.  And she is changing the world.  June 28th will mark the 6th anniversary of Isabella’s passing.  Please help us near and far keep Isabella’s legacy alive.  

MIBG Construction Update #2, Levine Children’s Hospital

Our day is made when we receive MIBG treatment room construction updates from Nurse Dawn, Levine Children’s Hospital MIBG Therapy Program Director!  This is really happening… look at the ISF MIBG sign that labels the suite!  Steel beams will be going up next and the lead brick walls will be installed in about 4-6 weeks. The suite was designed with lead bricks, a radiation shielding element, and will include lead-lined floors, walls, and ceilings.  This will protect and manage the MIBG Therapy safely for both patients and staff.  Lead bricks are extremely heavy, we can’t wait to see photos/video of them lifting them up to the top floor of LCH! 

The ISF MIBG treatment suite enables parents to stay close to their child throughout the cancer treatment, and consists of a lead-lined patient room, an adjoining room with a lead-lined viewing window where family members can spend the night.

LCH Core Nursing Staff training is coming up on June 19th and 26th. Dawn will be sharing tons of information soon to help educate everyone on MIBG treatment, family education and even what to expect as a patient.  

We love that Dawn got her own personal hard hat to keep because she likes to check on construction progress often.  We couldn’t have asked for a better MIBG Therapy Program Director… and we look forward to sharing her story soon too!  It’s the Dawns’ of the world that are making these visions of better cancer care become a reality.

We are looking for individuals who want to be part of providing comfortable care for the kids/families that go through MIBG Treatment. Our new MIBG Ambassador Program gives you the flexibility of raising $5,000 the way you want to raise it… 100% of funds raised through this program will be distributed very specifically through our LCH partnership with this very targeted MIBG purpose. {You do not have to be located in Charlotte to participate, contact Tia for details}

Update #1: MIBG Treatment Room Construction Begins at Levine Children’s Hospital

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

MIBG Treatment Room Construction Begins at Levine Children’s Hospital

How satisfying is it to see your $1 MILLION worth in donations at work? To be able to touch and see the impact your dollars have on kids with cancer is immeasurable. Dawn (MIBG Therapy Program Director) and Lindsay (MIBG Head RN) stopped by the Levine Children’s Hospital ISF MIBG construction site to view the first steps of construction. Demo of the current hospital rooms where the MIBG treatment area will reside are underway, with the heavy demo starting today. We look forward to sharing progress photos and watching your impact unfold.

Levine Children’s Hospital will be 1 of 20 hospitals to have a MIBG Treatment room in the U.S. The two-room MIBG suite will provide targeted radiation to pediatric neuroblastoma patients and other rare pediatric cancers with minimal side effects. This will impact kids fighting cancer beyond the greater Charlotte region. Continue reading about the ISF MIBG room.

We are looking for individuals who want to be part of providing comfortable care for the kids/families that go through MIBG Treatment. Our new MIBG Ambassador Program gives you the flexibility of raising $5,000 the way you want to raise it… 100% of funds raised through this program will be distributed very specifically through our LCH partnership with this very targeted MIBG purpose. {You do not have to be located in Charlotte to participate, contact Tia for details}