Carson and Nolan Day
In April 2014, Greg and Misty Day discovered their 22 month-old son, Nolan, had non-Hodgkin lymphoma, a blood cancer that is uncommon in young children. Friend and neighbor support began almost immediately and still continues as Nolan approaches one year of scares, hospital procedures and chemotherapy treatments that – if all goes as planned – will continue until May 2016.
The newest fundraiser is being conducted by the master-planned community of Cross Creek Ranch, where the Day family has lived since August 2013. The community is selling superhero T-shirts for $20 each, with all proceeds benefiting the Days. T-shirts can be purchased at the Cross Creek Ranch Welcome Center, located at 6450 Cross Creek Bend Lane.
“We never know what the next day will bring,” Misty said. “We are doing daily chemotherapy treatments here at home and go every two weeks to Texas Children’s Hospital, where we were going every four days when he was first diagnosed. The support we have received has been humbling.”
Misty said friends began leaving presents at her doorstep for Nolan and older brother Carson almost immediately after Nolan’s diagnosis. Dinners were delivered nightly for four months, as the family spent considerable time driving back and forth to the hospital. Bouquets and pots of flowers were delivered but had to be left outside because of Nolan’s compromised immune system.
Neighbor Tiffany Guarisco and a large group of neighbors organized a multi-family garage sale that was held during the Cross Creek Ranch’s rummage sale last spring, with all proceeds being donated to the Days. “There were so many items donated for the sale that they filled an entire three-car garage,” Misty said. The sale raised just over $4,000 for the family.
“I knew their medical bills were going to be astronomically high, and there were several of us who wanted to help,” Guarisco said. “The community’s semi-annual garage sale was 10 days away, so we rallied families in a very short time and had a huge sale.”
Misty said she didn’t expect the outpouring she has seen in Cross Creek Ranch and the greater Fulshear community. “I had just joined the Mom’s Club of Fulshear and had gone to three meetings before Nolan was diagnosed. When other members found out, they began donating items and offering to help right away. And the response in Cross Creek Ranch has been amazing. In my old neighborhood, we didn’t even know anyone. I love my neighbors here and am so thankful for them. We are never moving.”
Nolan’s battle is continuing in treatment phases that involve chemotherapy, continuing hospital visits and procedures and physical therapy that will go on for at least another year. Anyone who wishes to help the Day family can contact misty.m.day@gmail.com.