Team Summer recently heard about a very special little boy. 5-year old Kourtney came into this world three months prematurely, weighing only 1 lb, 9 oz. He spent his first nine months in the hospital. For the first year and a half of his life, he breathed only with the help of a ventilator.
Then this past February came the difficult diagnosis: liver cancer. His grandmother, Gloria, who has cared for him his whole life, gave up her job as a school bus driver so she could bring him to Atlanta for treatments.
To get to Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta from their south Georgia home, Kourtney and Gloria ride the Medicaid bus. With all the stops and starts and detours to pick up other patients, what should be a four-hour drive turns into seven. The ride back home is particularly grueling because Kourtney already feels sick from his chemotherapy treatments.
Team Summer learned that Gloria has a car, but no funds to pay for gas. So today, Team Summer gave them enough money in gas cards to pay for all their treks to CHOA for the rest of the year!
And Team Summer also found out that Kourtney’s is a big fan of the movie Cars, but had no way to watch it. So Team Summer got him a portable DVD player with a car charger, plus the movie and lots of other great videos to help pass the time during his long car rides.
Gloria says she’s so very grateful for the help. She’s added Summer to her prayer list and said Summer “has a smile that just takes my heart.” We know exactly what she means.
Kourtney now sports a Team Summer wristband around his ankle. That means he’s got a lot of people looking after him now. Thanks to all of you who made these gifts possible!
