A Day That Inspires Change
Written by Erin Santos (Isabella’s Mom) to Levine Children’s Dr. Oesterheld in honor of the day Isabella passed away on June 28th nine years ago.
If you feel inspired to donate in honor of Isabella’s life, please click here to make a difference. Want to make your impact last all year long, we would love for you to join our monthly donor club.
Dear Javier,
June 28th marks another year without Isabella. It’s hard to believe we will be without her for 9 years now. Even after all these years, I can still hear her voice and little laugh in my head – I hope it is something that will never leave me. I often find myself wondering what she would be like and if the foundation would even be here if she would have survived. I wonder if maybe we would be like most families who rightfully would have wanted to leave this awful world behind us once we were through the worst of it. But, the other part of me thinks that she would want to be a spokesperson for creating change and better outcomes and she would use her experience to better the lives for so many others. At least this is what I hope.
Because of this vision I have of her – I have found it easier to think that she is just working alongside me. Pushing me to do new things, tell more people her story and achieve goals we never thought would be possible. She would never want these hard days to be spent remembering her in sadness – but instead – to do something that brings joy.
Her death, the foundation and time, have all paved a path for me and my children that has lead us to a happy place. No longer are we just getting by – we are succeeding at life, finding new relationships and using this experience to become better people. Happy people. People she would be proud of.
So in an effort to continue down the path she would want for us – to turn sad moments into happy ones – we have decided to make the passing a day, a day that inspires change and continues to speed up the vision to not only make Levine a top pediatric cancer destination but one that keeps families together all while curing children – which is the most important part.
On June 28th, ISF will be sending over $500,000 to honor our commitment to the Isabella Santos Foundation Rare and Solid Tumor program. Thanks to our supporters, our year is coming out strong and we wanted to pass this success over to you as soon as possible to help move your needle even faster.
Thank you for your vision, all you and your staff do, day in and day out for these children and for allowing us to continue to honor my daughter and their sister.
Erin, Grant and Sophia.
If you feel inspired to donate in honor of Isabella’s life, please click here to make a difference. Want to make your impact last all year long, we would love for you to join our monthly donor club.
