<<<Back to Table of Contents
Families with young children who have a parent suffering from a terminal or serious illness like cancer often find that while the adults get a lot of support from the medical community and through their many caregivers, children are sometimes left confused and lonely. The emotional and physical strains that serious illness puts on a family are remarkable. The family’s lives – despite the best efforts of the parents – tend to center around the needs of the sick person, so the children often suffer. No one, of course, is to blame; the person with the illness needs to be cared for fully and wholeheartedly. But children don’t always understand the neglect, the stress, the missed events and late night interruptions, or the sadness.
Meredith Cooper, MS, CCLS, LPC and executive director of Wonders & Worries, started the Austin-based nonprofit organization several years ago to address these concerns. Cooper believes that children “are particularly vulnerable to the complex emotions that come with the potential loss of a parent or adult loved one.” In 2001, Cooper, along with her colleague Melissa Hicks, formed the nonprofit, free-to-the-public, W&W program to answer the need for more disciplined psychosocial services for children and adolescents with a parent diagnosed with a chronic or life-threatening illness.
Dawn Hale, a W&W client, is a young, 30-something mother who had been diagnosed very early with breast cancer, but stayed in remission for many years. She married and had a child, then, when pregnant with her second, suffered a recurrence. “It was devastating news,” she says. “I was only a few months pregnant and would have to undergo treatment. My husband and I were so frightened, and we didn’t know how to tell our little girl. Wonders & Worries truly saved my family’s emotional life!” Hale admits that her little girl was often “told ‘no’” because she was so exhausted or sick after treatments. “People have no idea. It’s so hard when you constantly have to tell your child ‘no, we can’t go there, we can’t do this’ because you are simply too sick. The Wonders & Worries Wonder Ball is something she can look forward to, something that when she’s sad or lonely, she can think and daydream about. She gets so excited about it!” The Ball is a Daddy-Daughter event (or father-figure) held annually at the Palmer Events Center. “It’s magical,” Hale says.
Hill Country Middle School is committed to and involved in the event each year. Their drama department, a noted group that has gained wide acclaim in the community under the watchful and proud direction of Drama Department Head Pamela Friday, known among her students as “drama mamma,” looks forward to the ball each year. Friday dresses in an elaborate Fairy Godmother costume (which she designs and makes herself as a costume designer by night for local community theatre groups) and along with her enthusiastic students, spreads cheer and grant “wishes” to the children. Friday became involved in the event at its inception because her dear friend Cooper asked her. “How could I turn her down? It sounded so lovely, so fun, and so important. I was honored!” says Friday, who this year has one student who will be in her W&W troupe and who will also benefit from the services of the organization.
Consider joining W&W for their Wonder Ball this year, on April 10th, from 6 to 9 p.m. Daughters ages 4-12 are invited, but everyone is encouraged to attend and enjoy lots of fabulous taste treats, DJ music and dance the night away in a magical, colorful setting that any child would be bedazzled by. Grant your daughter or your favorite little girl one wish, and make hundreds of children in Austin happier and stronger.
Visit wondersandworries.org for ticket information, or to make a donation to this important organization. Wonders & Worries services are always free of charge, and they serve over 2600 people in the Central Texas area.