Adopting a family for the holidays has long since been a tradition for TUH-Main Campus’ 3 East and 4 East and West Units: all supervised by Caroline “Carrie” Murawski, RN, Director of Nursing Services. This year, their generosity took on a special meaning for one local family, whose five-year-old son, Gavin, was recently diagnosed with cancer.
“Gavin and his family are my friends and neighbors,” explains the units’ Associate Director of Nursing, Matthew Weidenmiller, RN. “Gavin was sick for most of this September, but it was just considered a viral illness until he started having stomach pains and vomiting. A trip to the ER revealed what was thought to be an enlarged kidney, but the CT scan revealed a mass on his kidney and pancreas. After testing, he was diagnosed with high-grade mature B-cell lymphoma, which will require four to six months of chemotherapy. He’ll have to be hospitalized for five days for each cycle of chemo.”
“Their medical bills have already started adding up,” Murawski says. “By adopting their family, we allow them not to stress about having a somewhat normal Christmas for Gavin and his sister, Grace.”
That process starts with working with the family to figure out what their children want for Christmas, and then sending those wishlists around the units. “We distribute them in an email, and then people start responding: ‘I’m going to get this,’ or ‘I’m going to get that,’” Murawski continues. “This year, everything on their lists had been purchased in less than 24 hours. I had to text the mom and say, ‘I need more ideas.’ They were very emotional, and very thankful.”
Murawski’s staff also collected cash donations for the family. “They can put it towards their mortgage, or their hospital bills,” Murawski says. “Or if they want to use it for a memory, like a Hershey Park weekend.”
“It Felt Like Something Out of a Christmas Movie”
The teams sent those donations to the family and wrapped the gifts for Gavin and Grace to open on Christmas. Even before the holiday, however, the family received the best possible news: on December 20th, they learned that the results of Gavin’s PET scan were negative, and that he was cancer free!
“It started to snow that night, and it felt like something out of a Christmas movie,” Weidenmiller says. “They came over my house to celebrate the good news, and the kids played in the snow.”
On Christmas morning, Gavin and Grace opened their gifts, which their parents told them had come from Santa. “Both Gavin and Grace loved their presents,” Weidenmiller reports. “Grace said she had enough makeup to open her own store, and Gavin was very excited about his hockey toys and his Nerf gun. They both said that Santa really got them a lot, and they were so excited to play with all their new stuff. Of course, the staff of 3 East, 4 East, and 4 West were Santa, and my car was the sleigh!”
On January 2nd, Gavin completed his fourth and final treatment session and was able to ring the bell. His neighbors—including Weidenmiller—welcomed him home with a celebratory parade, which was covered by both 6ABC and Fox29. We couldn’t be happier for Gavin, or prouder of the ‘Santas’ on 3 East and 4 East and West who went above and beyond to make the holidays so special for him and his family.
