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Mother hopes to make spirits soar
"After losing son to leukemia, Area woman forms a support group"
Nelly Grampp has been a critical care and emergency room nurse for nearly two decades.
But that still wasn't enough to prepare her for the yearlong ordeal after her oldest son, Joey, was diagnosed with leukemia in February 1995.
After Joey lost his battle with the disease a year later, Grampp and her family had to confront the many emotions that went along with her son's Illness — loneliness, fear, helplessness.
As a result of her ordeal, Grampp will begin sharing her experiences later this month through Joey's Eagles, a support group mother and son wanted to run for those in similar situations.
"There is no center in the area for kids to go and feel normal," said Grampp, who runs a nursery and pre-school center in Bushkill. "Especially those on chemotherapy, children can't be in regular crowds because of their low immune systems. Unfortunately, many times they are around other kids only when they are in the hospital during a difficult time. When they're home, they need a place to go to."
Hence Joey's Eagles, which starts July 27 at Nelly's Route 209 business.
Named after her son's favorite professional football team, the goal of the group is to provide a positive environment for the children and an outlet for their parents, something which many in the medical field say is vital in getting through such a difficult time.
"Support is so important — it makes such a big difference," said New Jersey registered nurse Pat Levin, who will help Grampp with Joey's Eagles. "Especially when it is a child, the people around him feel so alone and that no one else goes through what they are (going through). Support groups draw people out of their shell and they are able to express similar feelings to each other."
Levin has specialized in psychiatry and hospice work over her career, mostly helping dying patients and their families on an individual basis get through those final days.
Noting, "it is such a horrible thing when you watch someone you love die," Levin said getting family members ready for death makes the grief more bearable.
The impetus for Joey's Eagles came while he was undergoing treatment in the Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York. While there, athletes from area professional teams would stop by and cheer the children up and activities allowed the kids to be kids.
When the family would return to their Lake of the Pines development home, Nelly and Joey did very little except stay at home. As a result, they wanted to start a program at the day care where the
Grampp and families like them could come and be in an active environment.
Unfortunately, Joey didn't survive long enough to see that dream become a reality.
"He really loved kids, and those here at center loved him" Grampp recalled. "Despite his age he was emotionally very, very mature even through the illness. Joey always told me he was glad that it was him that was sick, not his younger brothers (Michael and Kyle). He never gave us a bad moment."
It is that strength Joey showed which Nelly said keeps her from wallowing over her son's death.
She attributed much of Joey’s positive outlook to the family's strong religious beliefs. For example, any time he wasn't feeling well in those final months, Joey wanted his mother to read passages from the Bible, which Grampp said put her son at ease.
"At times like this, the parents and children need all of the positive reinforcement in the world," Grampp said. "Right now, a place to do that doesn't exist in the area. When the athletes came to see the kids in New York; if gave them a focus and something to look forward too."
On the group's first day, there will be activities for the children, including a balloon man and possibly a magician.
In the coming months Grampp hopes to bring in other people, possibly athletes, to provide some joy during the kids' most difficult time.
Currently, the plan is to have the session one Saturday a month, but if the response and need is there, Grampp said she'd do it more often.
But Joey's Eagles is just the first step in accomplishing what Grampp really wants — a full-time center similar to Camelot for Children in Allentown. Grampp said she would like to pick up a building one-day at a sheriff's sale with the help of contributions and offer a similar facility in the Pocono’s.
At Camelot, which has a goals statement nearly identical to Grammp's, there are 13 support groups ranging from parents with cancer and cystic fibrosis-inflicted children to those with terminally ill offspring, said executive director Camila Cichocki.
Nearly 300 families have used the facility since it opened in 1990 and has proven to be a much needed project in the Lehigh Valley. Birthday parties are held at the Camelot House and the staff celebrates festive occasions as often as possible.
To become involved in the program, either as a participant, volunteer, or contributor;
Nelly Grampp can be reached at home at:
( 570 )
994-5526.
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