Left to right in the picture above: The Neiferts – Ella, Leah, Tony, Libby
Mission Statement:
We believe that good attitudes and hopeful hearts have a positive effect on those undergoing medical treatment.
Our goal is to bring happiness to those that are striving for healing and to show them that there is always reason to have Hope.
Our Story:
In 2004, just before her first Christmas, our daughter, Libby, was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer. She was given a less than 2% chance to survive and we began treatment immediately. After dozens of procedures and blood transfusions, eight rounds of chemotherapy, a bone marrow transplant and a miracle, Libby was cancer-free! Throughout her treatment, even when she was at her very weakest, there was not a day that went by that Libby did not cheer us with her smile. She made an attempt to play every single day. We truly believe that her attitude aided in her recovery after each round of chemo. Libby’s determination to find happiness, gave us the strength and courage we needed to get us through our darkest days. With Libby in our lives, it was impossible to stay down for long.
During our 34 day-long transplant stay, we discovered that although the hospital rooms were equipped with DVD players, there was one lone movie that was shared amongst all of the patients. Because most of the kids are bed-ridden during hospital stays, we felt that we had discovered a way that we could give back and the Lib’s Strong DVD Library was born. Through fundraising efforts and drives over the last several years, we have been able to contribute over 1,000 movies to the hospital. With results like that, we started to wonder what else we could achieve with the help of our friends, family and community.
In the meantime, we welcomed our second daughter, Ella, who was diagnosed with a more treatable version of the same cancer. Thankfully, both girls’ treatment plans were successful, and although there are no guarantees, we are hopeful that they will remain healthy indefinitely.
With so much to be grateful for, we have made it our goal to bring happiness and hope to children that are dealing with a chronic illness. We believe that good attitudes and hopeful hearts have a positive effect on those undergoing treatment. Our mission is to help bring happiness to those that are striving toward healing and to show them that there is always reason to have Hope.
We are working toward Healing with Hope and Happiness.