January

Kearston Albert, 4 of Fort Kent was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia in the summer of 2012. What initially started out as a persistent fever turned out to the family's worst nightmare. Upon diagnosis treatments began immediately with the family making frequent trips to Eastern Maine Medical Centers Oncology Unit.

Like other children with cancer Kearston had to sacrifice much normalcy in order to recover from her disease. She was unable to begin attending school because of her weakened immune system and susceptibility to ailments such as colds and flus but her family is hopeful she will be able to begin pre-k in the fall. While the family recognizes Kearston is not cured they are pleased that she is currently in remission and all indications are that she will not need a bone marrow transplant.

When asked how Kearston is handling the situation Sheri, Kearston's mom responded, "She's doing well with it. She's a typical 4-year old; she has her moods, but she's been getter her way, so she's happy as can be."
Kearston was awarded $100 on behalf of The Cubby Fund

Paige Lento, 7 of Easton was born with a form of dwarfism called Jeune Syndrome which has caused Paige's natural rib cage to be too small for her lungs to expand and has resulted in Paige having surgeries in San Antonio and Boston to add titanium expandable ribs and will continues to have surgery every six months as her body develops.

Paige also suffers from liver and kidney disease and is currently on the active list for a liver transplant but due to the fact that her current health condition is not conducive to a transplant she needs to wait.

Despite her health conditions Paige has lived quite the life. As part of Make a wish she went to Disney World and saw singer sensation Justin Bieber in concert. Mom realizes that while there is still a long road ahead for Paige there is an upside as her daughters health is improving and she is almost well enough to be put on an active liver transplant list.

Paige was nominated for the February Hero by Make a Wish granter Marilyn Carey and was presented with a check for $100 by The Cubby Fund Executive Director, Cindy Johnson.

Elijah Tarbox, 11 of Easton was diagnosed in 2011 with Andrenoleukodystropy or ALD. ALD is a neurological disorder that effects one in every 17, 900 boys worldwide. With symptoms usually occurring between the ages of 4 and 10 and affects the brain demyelination -the stripping away of the fatty coating that keeps nerve pulses confined and maintains the integrity of nerve signals.

Mom, Jessica Harding, noted that they typically make a trip to Boston about every three months. The family also travels to Massachusetts General regularly to a medical teaching facility where mother and son see specialists for their shared disorder. When asked about undergoing hours of testing Elijah said, "The worst part about it is I don't like having my blood drawn, but I like the memory games." Memory tests are performed to ensure the disorder is not affecting the brain.

Mom had credited her community for helping the family through difficult times, "coming from a small community and having a good school system-if anyone noticies anything, they pick up on it. We've had a lot of community support."

Abigail Johnston, 4 of Caribou hadn't been feeling well for a couple of months prior to her diagnosis of leukemia. Explaining to a 4 year old what it means to have cancer of the white blood cells would seem to be very complex but parents Michael and Debbie expressed the information simply, "we explained to her that her blood is sick, and her blood is coughing and sneezing but you can't see it and this is why we have to go to the doctor to make your blood feel better."

The road to getting better isn't an easy one with the family travelling down to Bangor and Brewer for treatments weekly during which some appointments she is hooked up to an IV for up to 12 hours a day. And while the Johnston's credit Abigail's doctors and medical staff for making treatments as smooth as possible; Michaels made one thing smooth to help out Abigail-his head.
Since Abigail began losing her hair due to chemotherapy dad began shaving his head nightly with her help of course. "We asked her if I should grow my hair back and she said, "no daddy can't grow his hair back because I don't want to be the only one without hair."

When asked about the family's outlook dad, Michael had to say, "She's gone through quite a bit, but the prognosis is good-she just has a long road ahead of her."

Tristan Kinney, 2 of Caribou was born with pulmonary heart disease. After a surgery to correct the condition he did not receive enough oxygen and lost 66% of his brain function, leaving him with developmental delays. Because of this Tristan undergoes numerous weekly and monthly appointments with cardiologists and neurologists throughout the state. Tristan is also on numerous medications and destined to be in a wheelchair as he will never be able to walk.

Despite these challenges Tristan's family remains optimistic and mom, Allyson Adams, has commented that "he's always happy, always smiling, even when he's sick. " And while Tristan's prognosis may be uncertain, he and his family definitely are not, "He's a miracle. Four times they have told us he wouldn't make it, and he's still here."

Tristan's family attributes his quality of care to a giving community. From the Woodland Baptist Church lending them a hand, to The Cubby Fund purchasing an adaptive care seat for Tristan, and the outstanding dedication of "Nana" Sharon Peter, the outcome seems positive.

Mason Dennett, 2 Presque Isle is believed to have Angelman Syndrome a condition known by sever developmental delay, speech difficulties, and seizure disorders. Mom, Jessica, knew something wasn't right when he was still wearing 3-month-old clothing at 8 months and still wasn't rolling over.

Mason can currently speak up to 50 words and goes for speech, physical and occupational therapy weekly. The parent's also use sign language to communicate with Mason and while mom acknowledges that her son understands what is said to him, he struggles to communicate back and becomes easily frustrated. Mason who turns 3 in December is developmentally at the stage of a one year old.

Parents travel to Bangor and Scarborough a lot to see Doctors for his seizures at which time he his sedated for MRI's. Mom has compared Mason's seizures to a forest fire, which can come on in a flash.

Mom is hoping to raise awareness of Angelman Syndrome, once known as "happy puppet syndrome" because those with the condition often smile a lot. Mason looks forward to starting school and enjoys playing soccer with his older brother Brayden, 5. Mom remains optimistic that with the proper medicine Mason's seizures will be managed and not affect his daily life.

Brylee Gagnon, 3 months of Caribou was born with Leukocyte adhesion deficiency a life-threatening immune disorder which makes fighting infections extremely difficult.

Since her first week of life Brylee has been in the hospital. With a temp of 104 accompanied by severe dehydration Brylee was life- flighted to Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor where she was diagnosed with bacteria in her blood. From there she was transported to Maine Medical in Portland where she received additional care and her official diagnosis.

Brylee will need to undergo a bone marrow transplant once she has gained more weight and a match can be found. Mom stated, "Brylee is the strongest little baby I've ever known. After all she's been through, she still has a smile on her face. She is a true fighter and a hero."

Brylee was presented with $100 on behalf of The Cubby Fund