CHKD receives $100,000 grant to help fight childhood cancer
NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) — Hyundai Hope On Wheels made a pit stop outside Children's Hospital of the Kings Daughter's in Norfolk this morning to refuel the fight against pediatric cancer.
The sounds of laughter combined with the squish of fists full of paint as pediatric cancer patients put their hand prints on a Hyundai SUV outside CHKD.
"There's a lot of hard days, and so, any time that it can be fun for her, it's really special for us," said Amanda Helvig, mother of 6-year-old Emmalyn, who has leukemia.
Emmalyn was diagnosed a year ago and will still undergo treatments for about a year-and-a-half longer.
Another patient, Tucker Davis, was diagnosed with a brain tumor five years ago. He wasn't at the event to celebrate the donation.
"Because it's picture day at school, he didn't want to miss being right there in the center of the back row surrounded by his class," said Tucker's mom, Kelly Davis.
Tucker is now playing golf, basketball, running races and swimming. His mom credits the medical team at CHKD for saving him and their whole family.
"In that moment when our very normal world completely shattered is when the Children's Hospital of The King's Daughters, CHKD, picked us up and carried us," she said.
In front of families, staff and others, Checkered Flag Hyundai manager Ryan Gardener presented Dr. Eric Lowe with a ceremonial check for $100,000. The Hyundai Hope On Wheels program has been refueling the hospital's research program every year since 2006.
CHKD Health System President and CEO Amy Sampson said to date, the company has gifted the hospital more than $900,000, making way for new treatments, including CAR-T , which is now available for patients with certain cancers.
"It's essentially taking the patients immune system out, re-engineering it to attack a specific cancer, and putting it back It's an avoidance of chemotherapy its an avoidance of the toxicities," Lowe said.
That is so important, Davis said, so that others don't have to deal with the affects Tucker does.
"He has the beginnings of cataracts," Davis said. "He has hearing loss from the chemo. He has some learning disability from the chemo. So chemo affects the whole body."
As she watched other children leaving their handprints on the SUV and on Lowe's jacket, she remarked how the hospital and Hyundai are truly bringing hope to end childhood cancer — "It's just amazing."
