MENU

: Kiss of Hope Recipients

Dominic

Lions! White Tigers! Adventures! Oh My!!! One month ago, on November 30, 2018, Dominic and his family set out for an animal adventure of a lifetime! Dominic, along with his mom, Grandma, Aunt, Uncle and three cousins traveled to Eureka Springs, Arkansas to the Turpentine Creek Wildlife Rescue Center where Dominic would fulfill his dream to see white tigers – live – before his very own eyes!!!
Dominic and his family were equipped with two rental vans – fully stocked with car organizers, road trip games, car snacks, and gas cards to get them through the 10 hour drive. They arrived at Turpentine Creek early Friday evening, greeted by the wonderful staff welcoming them to the Refuge. Accommodations were top notch! The families stay was in two suites set near the tiger habitat where Dominic could see the tigers right outside his window.

The highlight of the trip took place on Saturday. After breakfast, Dominic was in for a special surprise when he and his family were invited to the habitat of Kizman and Tanya – two year old white tigers that put on a private show for Dominic as they entered their habitat which was personalized with painted (organic egg-based paint) cardboard boxes & signs to welcome the family to the refuge. Kizman & Tanya were engaging in “cardboard therapy” which allows the visitors to view them in action. Additionally, Dominic was presented with a painting that was made by Tanya & Kizman – especially for Dominic.

Following the “Tanya & Kizman show”, the family was then treated to a private “behind the scenes” tour of Turpentine Creek with a Curator of the property. Adventures continued through the weekend as the family enjoyed local tourist offerings between sightseeing and dining in and around Eureka Springs ~ all courtesy of CKMC.

The family was so grateful to be able to spend this time together, watching Dominic’s dream become a reality! Shortly after returning, Dominic’s mom Meagan posted “For days, I have been trying to come up with words to describe our trip to Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge. For the first time in my life I am at a loss of words. Cancer Kiss My Cooley paired with the Refuge has literally put hope back in our lives. Between seeing the look of pure joy on everyone’s faces and hearing excitement in Dominic’s voice, it is honestly the best feeling. For the first time in a long time, Dominic isn’t talking about chemo, doctors appointments, ports and cancer. Instead he’s talking about how Goober the monkey gets the same vitamin as him, how Spyke the black leopard loves him and is one of his favorites, and the words sanctuary and habitat put a smile on his face. For the first time in close to 2 years, this experience let Dominic be a kid again. I can’t thank you enough for the lifetime of experiences you provided us!”

Album ID was empty

 

Emma B

Please try entering https://graph.facebook.com/1671338499600569/photos?fields=source,link,name,images,album&limit=1000 into your URL bar and seeing if the page loads.

Meet Emma! Emma is the sweetest 4 year old. Emma had never seen the ocean before. So off to Fort Meyers, Florida. The family drove down to Florida making some fun stops along the way. CKMC provided them with spending money and a beautiful 2 bedroom condo overlooking the ocean. Emma loved the beach and after the first day asked if they could do it all over again. The weather was cool, but the family made the most of it at the heated pool and visiting nearby sites. What better way to ring in a new year.

 Facebook API came back with a faulty result. You may be accessing an album you do not have permissions to access.

Jamela

Please try entering https://graph.facebook.com/1609719635762456/photos?fields=source,link,name,images,album&limit=1000 into your URL bar and seeing if the page loads.

Meet Jamela or “Baby J” as she is often called. Jamela, our 70th Kiss of Hope, is the sweetest 7 year old. Jamela was diagnosed with cancer at the age of 6 and just recently got to ring the End of Chemotherapy bell at Lurie’s! Way to go Jamela!

Jamela is all girl. She loves dancing, singing and doing hair. So when Peggy went to meet her at the hospital, what better way to break the ice than to bring her a Barbie Hair Styling Head. Jamela loved it and spent the entire visit combing, braiding (which she is amazing at) and styling.

Jamela had a port throughout her treatment and couldn’t do one of her favorite things, swim. She had it removed when treatment was over, wanted to swim and had her 7th birthday coming up. So off she went with 6 of her family members to Wilderness Resort in the Dells for a SURPRISE 7th Birthday Celebration. Before leaving on their trip, Peggy met them and CKMC gave Jamela the new XBox One X for her birthday. When opening it she exclaimed “This is the best present ever!”

Jamela and her family spent 3 nights in a beautiful 3 bedroom condo, provided with snacks, beverages, spending money and some special birthday gifts. And best of all, Jamela got to swim to her hearts content. Hope you had a Happy Birthday Baby J!


Facebook API came back with a faulty result. You may be accessing an album you do not have permissions to access.

Emma

Please try entering https://graph.facebook.com/1514557965278624/photos?fields=source,link,name,images,album&limit=1000 into your URL bar and seeing if the page loads.

This Kiss of HOPE is Presented by:

Meet Emma, our 71st Kiss of HOPE. Emma is 13, and was referred to us by Journeycare of Barrington.  She has been battling brain cancer since 2014.  This Kiss started out with urgency around a Twenty-One pilots concert in Columbus OH.  Emma’s family was concerned with how to get there in one car comfortably, as Emma needs to recline a lot while in the car, and there were 5 people going.  Mom and Dad were going with Emma’s best friend and her mom.  All they wanted was some rental assistance.  So in swooped CKMC with a lot more than a rental, of course. 😉  They already had tickets, so CKMC booked the group a few suites at the Westin, a big comfy SUV rental, Lots of snacks for the road trip, Gift cards for meals/gas, and of course Twenty One pilots merchandise for each girl.  Also, Emma is a BIG Red Panda fan, so we found a lot of Red Panda items to keep her happy.   I also got them tickets to the Columbus Zoo the day after the concert.  Mom and Dad were overwhelmed; “The girls are so excited about the hotel!  I thank you again for your generosity and kindness.  We are overwhelmed with gratitude!”

The Kissing didn’t stop there.  In keeping with the Red Panda theme, CKMC was able to provide an ultimate zookeeper experience for Emma and her family at the Oglebay Good Zoo in West Virginia!  Mom and Dad yelled “HAPPY RED PANDA DAY!” this morning from their 2 bedroom suite to wake up sweet little Emma!   She was a zoo keeper for 3 hours and meet face to face with her favorite animal, the red panda!  She interacted, help trained and fed the red panda and manyother animals!  The next day, mom and dad had couples massages before enjoying the resort with Emma on paddle boats, playing mini golf, swimming and much more.  April (Mom) texted Joe Kettner this morning and said “ Joe, you are the best!  We are so excited for everything!  This place is gorgeous.  I cannot wait to share photos with you and Cinnamon.  The three of us cannot thank you enough”.  We saved the biggest surprise for last.  Later after zoo keeping, the head zookeeper presented Emma with a special painting.  He had the Red pandas create a painting for Emma!  

Facebook API came back with a faulty result. You may be accessing an album you do not have permissions to access.

Riley Buckholz

Please try entering https://graph.facebook.com/1510755335658887/photos?fields=source,link,name,images,album&limit=1000 into your URL bar and seeing if the page loads.

Riley is a tough young man who lives in the far NW suburbs of Chicago with his mom, dad and brother.  As a typical 8 year old, Riley enjoys Spongebob, Legos, Hot-Wheels and aspires to be a hockey player some day.  As a non-typical 8 year old, Riley has battled a brain tumor for over half of his life.  Riley underwent surgery in June of 2016 to remove the tumor from the frontal lobe of his brain.  Although the surgery was deemed successful, Riley still faces numerous challenges and continues treatments.

Riley would often see the commercial for the Great Wolf Lodge and would ask his mother if they could go someday.  CKMC stepped in to send the entire family to the Wisconsin Dells for a 5 night “school’s out” stay.  Greeted personally by the General Manager upon arrival, Riley and his family checked in to their suite to find gifts waiting for them that were graciously furnished by the resort.  As you can see from the pictures, everyone had a great time playing, swimming and enjoying being a family.

Facebook API came back with a faulty result. You may be accessing an album you do not have permissions to access.

 

Octavio

Please try entering https://graph.facebook.com/1503052403095847/photos?fields=source,link,name,images,album&limit=1000 into your URL bar and seeing if the page loads.

Please meet our 3 year old KOH, Octavio.  He lives with his Mother, Father and 5 year old sister, Amareli.  He stole our hearts upon meeting him.  Octavio loves birds.  His face lights up whenever he sees the animals he loves.  For his Kiss of Hope experience we decided to give his bedroom a makeover.  The entire family had shared a room and one bed.  Josefina and Mario Navar played a major role in helping complete this Kiss of Hope.  We rolled out the Home Makeover skills.  The room was painted, we had canvases of Octavio’s favorite animals, new beds with all the bedding, books, baskets and a shopping spree to buy the kids some much needed clothing.  Wait until you see these before and after pictures.  We could not have done it without all of our supporters.  See our Facebook Page for a video of the reveal!

https://www.facebook.com/pg/cancerkissmycooley/photos/?tab=album&album_id=1503052403095847

Facebook API came back with a faulty result. You may be accessing an album you do not have permissions to access.