Happy birthday Jasmine!
In Florida, Jasmine celebrated her 4th birthday and is Casey Cares' 171st birthday this year!
Casey Cares knows that for a critically ill child, each birthday is a special milestone celebrating life. For the children in our programs, it not only marks another year, but it also demonstrates a great achievement. Casey Cares staff and volunteers work hard to send out each of our kids a special birthday package through our Birthday Blast program - we send over 1,000 a year. This simple act of kindness delivers joy and hope to our kids who are undergoing treatment.
The Beginning
On Halloween night, Kiana says that her daughter had no balance and her mouth had shifted, causing her to drool. The family took her to the hospital the next day and was soon diagnosed with diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma. DIPG is a rare tumor that forms in a child's brainstem.
Jasmine had six weeks of radiation to shrink her DIPG tumor. Now, she "is on oral treatments and goes to the hospital every three months for MRI checkups," states Kiana.
Not only was one of children diagnosed with a rare cancer, Kiana quit her job to focus on Jasmine's care as she also found it challenging to "be a mom to three other kids and giving all my other focus to Jasmine."
Casey Cares + Circus
Jasmine joined Casey Cares programs in 2022 and has gotten to attend fun events like a ballet show and Monster Jam! So far, Jasmine's favorite activity was Cirque Italia, a water circus! Mom Kiana says it was "a fun time as family. Jasmine was amazed by the stunts and tricks!"
Casey Cares knows how difficult life can be for families with critically ill children. We help keep families' spirits high through our programs and activities.
Kiana expresses that her favorite part of Casey Cares is that she and her children "can do other things that get our mind off of [Jasmine's] diagnosis; it's a stress reliever."
Next Steps
Today, Jasmine has "done a whole 360," states Kiana. "She has got her coordination back and the brain tumor has shrunk but we are focused on killing it."
Kiana says that the birthday girl "loves her dog, cotton candy, playing with Barbies, and dress-up!"
You can help bring lasting memories to critically ill children like Jasmine - click here!