Spotlight: Second Time's a Charm for the Alden Family
By Dawn Carroll

What started out as leg pain quickly became something more serious for Andrew Alden of Connecticut. At 4, Andrew received the diagnosis of ALL (Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia). A short time later, the Alden family's social worker told them about Believe In Tomorrow and the respite housing program.

The Aldens first arrived at the doorstep of the Believe In Tomorrow House By The Sea in Ocean City, Md. on a beautiful October Monday in 2007. While Andrew's Mom, Sara, unpacked, his father, Stephen, took the kids to the beach.

Less than one hour passed at the beach before Andrew told his father he did not feel well. His family rushed him to the nearest emergency room. Doctors there took Andrew's thermometer reading at 103 and advised that the family head back to their hometown hospital, Yale New Haven. After a six and a half hour drive from Maryland to Connecticut, Andrew was admitted to the hospital for five days.

When the Believe In Tomorrow staff learned the Alden's respite trip ended abruptly, they invited the family to return to the beach as soon as possible.

Summer 2008, Sara scheduled a week at The House on Fenwick Island, Believe In Tomorrow’s Delaware beach house. She chose this particular facility because of it's quiet, tranquil setting.

The kids could ride their bikes in the neighborhood and access the community pool on days they didn’t want to hit the beach. A trip to the beach wouldn’t be complete without all the highlights of the area. Sara and the kids strolled along the Boardwalk, visited the wild horses on Assateague Island, dined at a local crab house one evening, and tore off sticky bites of fresh donuts from the Fractured Prune donut shoppe.

Sara and the kids experienced such a wonderful time at the beach, they wanted to share it with Dad. In October 2008 the Alden family paid us another visit (October through May is a great time for returning families to experience the relaxation of a beach respite again!) The family made biking and fishing the top priority that weekend. And since the family already made the six and one half hour trip to the Mid-Atlantic area, they decided to tack on a couple more days to sightsee around Washington, D.C. The extended respite proved a completely different experience from the year before.

Believe In Tomorrow encourages families to use the respite facilities on an ongoing basis throughout the year to renew themselves away from home and hospital.

Says Sara: "It was exactly what we needed. No phone calls or appointments to make. We were away from everyone, by ourselves, and reflected on our last three years of chemo. It was an experience the kids will never forget! There would have been no way to have ever visited Ocean City if it was not for Believe In Tomorrow. Thank you for making our lives a lot easier and happier.”