If you missed our first installment of this series read Part One of Sol’s story.

A Long Day At The Hospital

The day after Sol’s first birthday, her parents, Andy and Ruth, learned that she had a growing, low-risk mass in her adrenal gland. She soon had surgery to remove it, but not long after her tumor returned. This time it was the size of a baseball, wrapped around several organs, and it was high-risk. Before they knew it, Sol was in the operating room again, and one week later she received her first dose of chemotherapy.

In the mountain of paperwork they received from the hospital social worker, one form in particular for CCA’s Chemo Pal Mentor Program stood out from the rest.

The Perfect Match For Sol

“The Chemo Pal Program caught my attention because, without any family in the US, we knew we needed support, especially from people who could make Sol laugh and give her attention that was not medically related. The Chemo Pal specialists had found her the perfect match just a few days after applying,” says Sol’s mom, Ruth.

“We don’t know how they did it, but CCA found the perfect match for Sol – someone energetic and kind, and who understands that playing or being with a sick toddler is not always fun. Her name is Emily, and she and Sol have spent many hours blowing bubbles, reading, and doing puzzles together. She has brought so many joyful moments to Sol and a sense of relief and support to the whole family,” says Sol’s dad, Andy.

A Community Coming Together

Ruth, Andy, and Sol live in a beautiful house in Hillsboro, but they had a unique problem; their backyard floods every winter.  Water carries huge logs, branches, and debris across the yard making it an unsafe space for the family. With connections created through our Community Outreach and Education program, CCA presented this problem to Leupold and Stevens, who jumped at the opportunity to help.

Fourteen of their employees spent two and a half hours hauling heavy wheelbarrows, dragging tarps of debris, cutting away brambles, and placing everything into the landscaping truck provided by Ron Knesal, a contractor for Pacific Landscape Management. In total, CCA volunteers moved three trucks-worth of debris and logs across the large field.

Of course, our star volunteer just happened to be Sol, who was very curious about this big group of strangers and helped pick up sticks.

Music Medicine

Sol has also been served by CCA’s MyMusicRx team while in the hospital. She and her favorite Music Specialist, Annie will sing lullabies if Sol’s having a tough day and other days they will rock out, dance, and sing out loud at the top of their lungs to Katy Perry songs.

“The magic of the Music Specialists is that they are very much in tune with where Sol is at physically and emotionally, and they adapt the song rhythm based on how she is feeling. I will never forget, one day we left the PICU, Sol was very sick, and we could not console her. The MyMusicRx Specialists came to the room, sang her favorite song in a lullaby rhythm and Sol calmed down and fell asleep. You have no idea what that meant to us. At that moment, our tears of pain and sadness became tears of gratitude,” said Ruth. “Those moments of joy are priceless and will be in our hearts and minds forever.”

So Where Is Sol Today?

Next week, in our final post about Sol, learn about where she is today and how our Link program pulled together a special surprise for her at home. We have an adorable video to share with you. You won’t want to miss it.