After receiving the initial diagnosis, she endured months of chemotherapy, had an emergency tracheotomy and was eventually given a feeding tube because she was not gaining weight.

April and Claire were inpatient residents of the PICU at Connecticut Children’s Hospital for two weeks to ensure Claire’s breathing was controlled and that she had emergency care on hand.

It was determined that Claire was not a candidate for surgical resection of the tumor and that her only chance for survival was a combination of radiation and chemotherapy.

Due to the location of the tumor, traditional radiation was expected to cause brain damage therefore, precision dosage proton beam radiation was recommended in conjunction with chemotherapy.

At the time, Mass General Hospital in Boston was the only hospital in the U.S. to offer this therapy to children.

Claire’s treatment protocol was to be 5 days per week for 8 consecutive weeks.

April had already left her job to be at Claire’s side full-time and now, at a time of mounting medical bills, they faced the challenge of finding affordable temporary housing near the hospital in downtown Boston.

It was then that April learned of a fully-furnished apartment, near the hospital, for families of children receiving proton beam therapy and operated by a non-profit organization.