Our Mission
The Desi Strong Foundation shines a light on pediatric cancer through awareness, patient and family support, and raising funds for a cure.
Believing in Desi was easy, Desi truly made our jobs as parents easy even when she had cancer. Early on in her diagnosis we caught a glimpse of her patient file at the hospital and they described her as stoic- she never complained. Desi literally danced through high-dose chemotherapy treatments that had names like ICE, and The Kitchen Sink.
Staying hopeful and having faith during her treatments was the hardest thing we have ever had to do. It was very tough to face the realities of cancer, and to have the discussions that we had with her doctors. We learned so much from Desi’s journey. Everything we learned throughout her time fighting cancer has prepared us for the next chapter in Desi’s story.
Desi’s fight is over, but at this very moment there is a child and a family finding out that their world is forever changed; that child is going have to fight for their life. We want to help these families! We want to help contribute to the funds the hospitals need to conduct their research. We were given so much love and support from around the world, and now we want to give it back!
We are very excited about the present, and the future of The Desi Strong Foundation. We are certain that Desi was chosen to inspire and bring people together, and that is the essence and purpose of The Desi Strong Foundation. Thank you for taking the time to think of Desi and what you might be able to contribute to assist families and hospitals in Desi’s name. Join us today in helping families and children know what it means to be Desi Strong!
Our Purpose
We were completely powerless when it came to curing Desi’s disease. Desi would have less than 5 weeks in between treatments which always kept us on our toes.
We learned so much about her disease, the treatments that could keep her alive, the horrible side effects that these treatments had on her body and spirit, and most importantly, how to be Desi’s advocate. After each treatment would do our best to catch the side effects early so that we could minimize the pain and nausea that Desi would endure.
Out-thinking the disease and trying our best to curb the side effects of the treatments made decisions very complicated; the energy that we spent fighting the side effects became so significant that it was hard to imagine that she was fighting cancer all well.
This daily routine was exhausting, we know this firsthand. We want to help lighten the load of families who are going through the hardships and obstacles that Desi and our family went through.
We want to provide children and their families with items that made our extended stays in the hospital more manageable, and our daughter’s treatments more comfortable. We want to assist with providing money for food, gas, and other expenses. We want the siblings of the patients to know that they have not been forgotten.
Through our own experiences, we saw our daughter benefit from having a doll as a therapeutic tool. We are very interested in designing and producing a “Desi Doll.” While Desi was fighting cancer she would treat her dolls like her patients, they too had cancer. She would give them IV’s, ports and check their vitals; caring for them as if she was their doctor.