February 09
Cancer isn’t a death sentence. It’s a life sentence. Throughout their time in the hospital, the Fruth family’s approach to cancer was: “We’re going to live life to the fullest, because you never know where you’ll be tomorrow. So they made sure that the days Chloe spent recovering from her surgery were as much fun as possible. Children’s Cancer Research Fund helped by providing a Care Partners Care Bag designed to make their hospital stay and treatment more bearable. It was one of the things that helped Chloe and her family keep their spirits up. The package included craft supplies that Chloe used to paint a huge yellow smiley face on her window that she could look at whenever she felt down. She even decorated her room with disco and pink flamingo lights and put up an Elvis dress-up doll that the doctors and nurses would re-dress each time they visited. Throughout her ordeal, she did everything she could to stay positive and make sure cancer didn’t get the best of her. Throughout it all, a love of horses kept her going. Every year there are far too many children and their families who, like Chloe and her family, are forced to face cancer. Every story is heart wrenching and each one is the story of a child fighting for a chance to be a child again. In Chloe’s case, she was hospitalized roughly 35 times for a total of approximately 125 days during three and a half years of treatment. But she was motivated to rise above the pain and mental anguish of cancer treatment because she always had hope for tomorrow, for another barrel race and for a day when she would be cancer free. This drive, along with the support of Children’s Cancer Research Fund and the incredible researchers and doctors at the University of Minnesota Cancer Center have helped Chloe become the healthy, happy 11year-old she is today. For most, that would be enough, but Chloe kept going and went on to defeat competitors nearly twice her age to become the 2006 American Quarter Horse Youth Association world champion in barrel racing. Thanks to the volunteers and donors of Children’s Cancer Research Fund,
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Chloe has become an inspiration to us all. Ride on, Chloe, ride on.
ing relating to the prevention, treatment and cure of childhood cancer. The organization also educates the public about childhood cancer and supports quality-of-life programs for pediatric cancer patients and their families.
Information on the Children’s Cancer Research Fund Children’s Cancer Research Fund is dedicated to finding a cure for childhood cancer by providing funds to the University of Minnesota for research and train-
7801 East Bush Lake Road, Suite 130, Minneapolis, MN 55439 PHONE 952-893-9355 TOLL FREE 888-422-7348 FAX 952-893-9366 To find out more or to make a contribution visit the Research Fund website at www. childrenscancer.org This article was reprinted with permission from Children’s Cancer Research Fund