MOMS help girl with cancer

The MOMS Club of East Windsor-Hightstown held a silent auction this week to raise money to pay for the medical bills of a 2-year-old Robbinsville girl with neuroblastoma.

By: T.J. Furman
   When Will and Kim Perrine’s 2-year-old daughter, Kirsten, was diagnosed with a heart murmur last December, the family’s pediatrician wasn’t alarmed.
   A precautionary echocardiogram the next month, however, started the Perrines on a nightmarish journey to doctors’ offices and hospitals in an effort to rid their daughter of cancer.
   "It would be about your worst nightmare," Mr. Perrine said this week from his daughter’s hospital room in Philadelphia. "It’s really hard when it’s your only child."
   The echocardiogram in January revealed a tumor in Kirsten’s heart which doctors believed was most likely benign, and surgeons at the Deborah Heart and Lung Center in Browns Mills performed open-heart surgery. During the Jan. 28 surgery, however, it was discovered that the tumor was malignant and Kirsten was immediately taken to the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.
   Doctors there diagnosed Kirsten with neuroblastoma, a form of cancer usually found in children. Since then, the young girl has undergone five rounds of chemotherapy.
   In an effort to help the family meet rising medical bills, the MOMS (Mothers Offering Mothers Support) Club of East Windsor-Hightstown held a silent auction Monday to help offset the Perrines’ costs.
   Michele Paul, president of the local MOMS Club, said the group was aiming to have 80 items donated from local businesses for the event. The club ended up receiving over 160 items and garnered over $13,000 to donate to Kirsten’s medical fund.
   "It’s so hard to express how much gratitude we felt (Monday) night," Mrs. Perrine said Tuesday from the family’s home in Foxmoor in Washington Township. "It’s hard to express what you feel in your heart."
   Mrs. Perrine is a member of the MOMS Club of East Windsor-Hightstown. She said she knew only a very few of the people that showed up for the auction, which was advertised to MOMS Clubs throughout Mercer County. Ms. Paul said club members from as far away as Hopewell attended.
   "That the community would get together and do that for somebody they didn’t even know was overwhelming," Mrs. Perrine said.
   At one point during the auction, held at the Caspersen Student Center on the campus of The Peddie School in Hightstown, Mrs. Perrine approached the microphone to address the crowd, but found it difficult to find the right words without being overcome by her emotions.
   "She couldn’t believe the love and support of those people," Ms. Paul said. "Everybody there had a lump in their throat."
   According to the National Cancer Society, neuroblastoma is diagnosed in one out of 80,000 to 100,000 children in the United States and is the third most common form of cancer among children. It develops from abnormal fetal cells that are prevalent in the body after birth.
   The original tumor found in Kirsten was growing in one of the main arteries delivering blood to her heart. The chemotherapy treatments reduced the size of the tumor by more than 97 percent.
   Mrs. Perrine said doctors believe the remaining piece of the tumor may simply be scar tissue, and thus do not want to operate on such a sensitive part of Kirsten’s body. Kirsten underwent surgery again Wednesday to remove a tumor growing on her adrenal gland. Mr. Perrine reported the surgery was successful.
   "It went very well, but we still have a long way to go," Mr. Perrine said. "The doctors got out everything they wanted to get out."
   In order to care for her daughter and stay with her throughout her hospital visits, Mrs. Perrine was forced to resign from her part-time job as a court reporter in Philadelphia. She said there has been little time to determine how much of the medical costs will be covered by the family’s insurance, so the money raised by the MOMS Club provides some relief.
   If any of the money is not needed, it will be donated to the Children’s Hospital, Mrs. Perrine said. She did point out, however, that it will probably be five years before it is known if Kirsten is free of the cancer.
   Even though the tumor in her heart has been drastically reduced and the tumor on her adrenal gland has been removed, the Perrines said Kirsten still faces two stem-cell transplants and radiation treatments in the coming months.
   Ms. Paul and the Perrines have been amazed at Kirsten’s resiliency throughout the past five months.
   "You would never know she has this devastating disease," said Ms. Paul, who has a son the same age as Kirsten.
   "She’s been an inspiration throughout all of it," Mr. Perrine whispered into his phone, trying to keep from waking his daughter. "She’s the one that lifts everyone up."
The MOMS Club of East Windsor-Hightstown is still accepting donations for Kirsten’s medical fund. To contribute, contact Michele Paul at 443-1157.