Family Stories
The Coccia’s Harbor Home
By Jasmine Touton
When Robyn Coccia and her husband, Dean, first opened front door of the Children’s House at St. Casimir, the striking Arizona desert-red of the foyer walls brought back a rush of memories.
“My husband and I used to live in Canton [where St. Casimir is located],” says Robyn. “That was the exact same color of our old living room. And everything you could possibly need was right there.”
For Robyn, the impact of having everything she needed was magnified because of her daughter’s unique situation. Chloe Coccia, now 19 months and in complete remission, has Down’s syndrome.
Robyn explains: “Because she has Down’s syndrome she is more likely to get leukemia, but their bodies take to the drugs better and they are more likely to get better from it.”
Chloe’s special condition qualified her to become part of a clinical study that gave her less treatment – two spinal taps instead of seven – to alleviate certain chemotherapy side-effects. The process required Chloe to go in and out of the hospital from May to September. For the first two months, a relatively healthy Chloe stayed in Baltimore with her mother while Dean and Chloe’s brother, Sammy, stayed home in Frederick, Md.
While doctors worked to save Chloe’s life, Robyn began to realize the long hospital stays were unhealthy for her family. Doctors and social workers told her about St. Casimir.
“That was absolutely a life-saving opportunity,” says Robyn. “It saved our family life.”
Sammy and Dean joined Robyn and Chloe in Baltimore. Chloe would go into the hospital for a week-long treatment, and then the family would retreat to St. Casimir for up to a month. The reunification impacted Chloe’s brother, Sammy, the most.
“Sammy would be a complete mess if he was separated from me for all that time,” says Robyn. “He is a Momma’s boy.”
The Coccia’s joked that Believe In Tomorrow’s accommodations spoiled Sammy with a second “Harbor home” separate from their Frederick home. They walked everywhere, from simple Safeway outings to long, harbor-side strolls. When Sammy returned home to Frederick, he didn’t understand why he could not continue walking everywhere.
Robyn remembers a special Fourth of July at St. Casimir. Families retreated to the rooftop deck to watch the Fireworks. The lack of crowds made it okay for Chloe to participate in one of those magical family moments.
The Coccias remain thankful for their experience – so much so that they’ve pledged to give back. Chloe’s uncle, Emery Coccia, donated to the organization before Chloe became part of the program and continued this year, providing refreshments for the recent Believe In Tomorrow Benefit and Auction. The Coccias say they look to continue involvement through donations and partnering with BIT through their own foundation to promote awareness about Down’s syndrome and leukemia, Chloe’s Cause.
“We’d like to get involved with St. Casimir in anyway we can,” says Robyn, “You turn on the five o’clock news and all you see is negativity. Just to see the love and care, it was the biggest thing for us.”