Diagnosed with Wilms tumor, a type of childhood cancer that starts in the kidneys, in September 2021, Perry was an active four year old with no medical history concerns. Perry and her sister, Bailey were outside playing when she fell. Mom, Brittany, rushed to see what was the matter when she heard Perry screaming a different scream than normal and crying. The pain subsided and Perry’s parents chalked it up as another “boo-boo”. The next morning, Perry woke up with a low grade fever and complained of the pain in her side again. Brittany took Perry to Levine’s Children’s hospital where they ran tests and found a mass.
“Life changed pretty quickly from then on,” states Griffin, Perry’s dad. “The biggest thing is how isolated you can feel while going through the battle together. We were fortunate to know that we had overwhelming support from friends and family, which quickly turned into support from complete strangers and organizations, just like Children’s Cancer Partners.” He continues, “Our hearts go out to people that get a diagnosis that don’t have the structure of support that we have, it would be difficult to manage without it.” Children’s Cancer Partners has assisted with gas, food, parking, hotel stays and more since Perry’s diagnosis. These things add up when you’re driving back and forth or staying overnight due to treatment, all while trying to focus on what’s important – the well-being of your child. “CCP took that concern off of our shoulders from the beginning. We are very fortunate to have CCP and our social worker at Duke Children’s for introducing us to CCP,” said Griffin.
Brittany and Griffin are organizing a golf tournament, High Hopes Golf Tournament, in the Durham area in mid-April. Proceeds will benefit Children’s Cancer Partners of the Carolinas.
