My Nonprofit Reviews

I was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer in 2021. I'm widowed with two tween children and have had a very difficult couple of years with several different chemo medications, radiation, and an emergency surgery in the fall of 2022.

One of my goals is to try to spend as much time with my kids as I can and leave them with happy memories. My social worker at UPMC nominated me for the cancer respite through For Pete's Sake Foundation and it was the most wonderful experience for our family! We spent December 3-8 at Woodloch resort. There were tons of activities to choose from but it was up to us to decide how much we wanted to do. Since I have stage 4 cancer, obviously my kids have much more energy than I do. My sister (my caregiver) would take the kids to the indoor pool and waterslide at least once a day while I rested.

Our FPS group was a little smaller than some, with 6 families there that week. However, there was another family that had kids around the same age as my kids and they had a great time doing activities together. The kids played at the indoor playground and arcade, raced go-karts, and ice skated together.

As a family, we did a Paint and Sip class, an Escape Room and a wagon ride through the Festival of Lights.

Woodloch had the best food, especially the baked goods and desserts! I even gained a couple pounds. Some people may complain about gaining weight on vacation but when you've been on and off chemo and losing weight steadily for two years it's a different story.

To be honest, I had not heard of For Pete's Sake Foundation before I was nominated but I'm so glad that my social worker knew about this wonderful opportunity. It was so great to just focus on my family and not think about medical appointments for a week. And the memories will last forever!