Heroes for Children Supports the Whole Family, Four-Legged Members Included

For 15-year-old Zaidyn, his two dachshunds have been an important part of his journey through cancer. After being diagnosed with a brain tumor, Zaidyn spent 36 days in the hospital and began a long and difficult treatment journey. While he was in the hospital, he could not be with his own dogs, but the dogs on campus provided a little bit of that same comfort and companionship. When he was able to be home, his own dogs became a major support system for him.

His dogs were there for the simple moments. They were familiar faces in the middle of so much change. They gave him companionship and comfort without asking anything of him. For Zaidyn, they were a piece of normal life during a time when very little felt normal.

As Zaidyn’s needs changed, his family had to make changes at home, too. Their second-floor apartment was no longer accessible for him, and there was no elevator or available first-floor unit that could meet his needs. His mom, a single parent who had already stepped away from work to care for Zaidyn, needed to move the family into a wheelchair-accessible first-floor apartment. Even though they were staying within the same apartment complex, the move came with unexpected expenses. One of those expenses was a new pet deposit for each of Zaidyn’s two dachshunds.

For some families, a pet deposit might be an inconvenience. For Zaidyn, it was the cost of keeping an important part of his support system close by.

Through the Heroes for Children Financial Assistance Program, we were able to send the payment directly to the family to help cover the new pet deposits. That meant Zaidyn did not have to leave his dogs behind. They could move with him into their new home and continue being the companions who had been there through so much.

“There was no way we were going to separate Zaidyn from his dogs while he is going through the hardest time of his life. They are part of his family, and keeping them together was never a question in our book,” said Jenny Lawson, Co-Founder and Executive Director of Heroes for Children.

This is one of the things that makes financial assistance so meaningful. The needs families face during childhood cancer are not always the expenses people expect. Sometimes it is a utility bill, a car payment, a necessary move, or an unexpected cost that comes with a child’s changing needs. Sometimes it is making sure a child can keep the dogs who help them feel safe, comfortable, and at home.

Like may of us, Zayden's dogs are family. They were there when he came home from the hospital, they were there on the hard days, and they were there for the moments when he simply needed to feel like a kid again.

At Heroes for Children, we believe supporting a child with cancer means supporting the whole family. We meet families where they are and provide financial assistance for the needs that arise along the way. Sometimes that support comes in an unexpected form, but the impact can be just as important.

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