Let Me Explain “how it all began”

By now you all should know that I lost my one and only son, Caleb, to a rare form of Leukemia just after his 4th birthday. This gut wrenching and eye opening experience is what led my wife and I to begin Caleb’s Crusade. In the beginning, we recognized some serious shortfalls and hardships through our walk that we knew we could help other families overcome with the formation of a 501(c)3. Very early on, Monique saw the value in simply “doing good in Caleb’s name” this evolved into our primary mission with our financial assistance program.

We looked at our past and what we went through in our experience. We were faced with leaving home for treatment nearly 900 miles away, at Duke University in NC. We immediately recognized that we would not have been able to do it together if it was not for the family and community support that enabled us to stay a family unit. This was so very important to us on every level. You see, our daughter, Isabella, was only 2 months old when Caleb was diagnosed. When we got the news that Caleb had to have a bone marrow transplant at Duke we were faced with serious logistical questions that needed answers immediately. I was the sole provider financially and we were told that we were leaving town for a minimum of 4 months for treatment. I did not make a salary that could support 2 households. This is where we learned the value of the financial assistance component of Caleb’s Crusade. We decided to keep our family together and “figure it out”. By that I mean we chose to focus on Durham and all the bills related to the apartment and household bills up there and put everything back home on the back burner. As the bills piled up on the coffee table back home we stayed focused at Duke and cared for our little boy. This allowed us to spend time together as a family which, in hind sight, was one of the biggest blessings. We were in treatment isolation but entrenched in each other, and this, no one can take away from us. The reality of our life and the journey we went through financially is what gives us the passion to continue to assist families financially. Our hopes are to ease the burden and allow our families to make those precious memories that we were allowed to by the strength of a united community and the grace of God.

I am sharing this explanation of how it all began because I want you to understand that there are people in this community that are in our shoes. We try our best to fill that void, this is what we do. If you are asking what you can do the obvious answer is to make a general donation, BUT there is so much more that you can do within our organization. The door is wide open for you to get involved. You can volunteer with us, support our events, create a team, run with us, work on existing projects, sit on organizational committees or join our advocacy efforts just to name a few. If those offers are not up your alley then give me a call and we can talk. I have plenty of other ideas that I could use help with. For us to make a difference in the world of childhood cancer we are going to need all hands on deck and I’d like to welcome you aboard!