Helping Eleanor Fight Cancer

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Fredonia, NY
Helping Eleanor Fight Cancer

On September 2nd, 2012, our hearts were broken when an ER doctor told us our sweet 6th month old baby girl Eleanor has high risk infant leukemia.

We have been put on a long, challenging and uncertain road to recovery to save our little girl's life. The outpouring of prayers, positive thoughts and flat out love in the past week has been nothing short of inspirational. Nicole and I are fortunate to have such a wonderful extended family. Many of you have asked how you can help us as we navigate this long road, and most of the time, we’ve responded with “I don’t know yet.” The bad news is that there’s still a ton of questions we’re asking and finding answers to, but we’ve been able to put our heads together and come up with a few things:

1) While we haven’t run the numbers yet, it’s become clear to us that we will be struggling financially. Our medical insurance should take care of most of what will undoubtedly be astronomical amounts, but even co-pays for appointments and medications will add up quickly. Add to that the cost of transportation – gas, tolls, parking, etc. as we go back and forth to Buffalo. And then the real sticker for us is the realization of lost wages as Nicole has had to give up her teaching job and both of us are having to back out of professional performance opportunities. Local folks, the SUNY Fredonia Federal Credit Union has set up an account specific to this situation. They’ll take cash or checks made out to either Andrew Seigel or Nicole McPherson. We’ve also put together a webpage to make it easy to donate money. The URL is: http://www.youcaring.com/medical-fundraiser/help-superheros-eleanor-and-benjamin-fight-cancer-chiari/96775 If that’s appealing, fantastic. And of course, the post still works too, and it’s nice to hear from all of you. Home for us is 36 Middlesex Drive, Fredonia, New York 14063

2) Donate blood! Eleanor’s had at least five transfusions of blood in the past week, and there may be more to come. Her improving health would not be possible were it not for the generosity of blood donors.

3) If the idea of a gift of money to us isn’t your cup of tea, consider a donation to one of the many research and support organizations that help people around the country as they deal with similar challenges: St. Baldrick's Foundation: http://www.stbaldricks.org/

4) You could donate to local children’s hospitals. We’re at Buffalo Women and Children’s Hospital, and the care that we have received both for Eleanor and for Benjamin in the past two years has been amazing. Local hospitals will also likely take donations of blankets, quilts, perhaps toys, etc.

5) Local friends – Susan Royal is putting together some help with meals for when the girls come home in a few weeks. There may be other things that we think of around the home in the weeks to come.

6) Your continued thoughts and prayers mean the world to us. We are lucky to have such fantastic care, a supportive community of friends and family, and even a job that affords us the ability to care for our children.

11/16/2025

💛Because someone believed in Eleanor and Benjamin's joy during the holidays, they are once again collecting toys for the kids spending the holidays at Oishei Children’s Hospital

Over the past 3 years, because of YOUR incredible support, we’ve been able to deliver over a hundred toys, squishmallows, Legos and craft supplies to these amazing kids and families! 💛

Eleanor and Benjamin both know first hand that the toys provide comfort and distraction, help with the healing process and help kids express and cope with big emotions.

✨ We’re asking for your generosity once again this year! ✨

🛒 to view our Amazon Wishlist: https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/5CCXK778MSS9?ref_=wl_share
💰 Want to help contribute you can Venmo: 👉

Toys can be delivered to:
Eleanor & Ben Seigel
36 Middlesex Dr
Fredonia, NY 14063

Thank you for helping us to continue spreading love, strength, and fun 💪💛

10/14/2025

Today we are working to fill a donation room full of toys for our annual holiday toy drive. Because someone believed in Eleanor's joy during the holidays, we are now someone who believes in every single kid's joy. Please check out their wish list today and help them in their mission to deliver holiday joy. Thank you 💚❤️
https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/5CCXK778MSS9?ref_=wl_share

We are excited to have our third annual toy drive for Oishei Children's Hospital. Toys provide comfort and distractions for kids having to spend time in the hospital. Having my sister in the hospital for the holidays really brought this home for me and my family. Today you can be a hero for those kids and bring them holiday joy. We have made an Amazon wish list to help out. Thank you so much for checking out our list and for helping us out.
https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/5CCXK778MSS9?ref_=wl_share

09/02/2025

September 2nd - first day of 8th grade and her 13th cancerversary. Time is moving at different paces, fast and slow. We can’t believe it’s time for a new adventure already.
Keep being kind, smart, inquisitive, beautiful, creative and strong.

07/23/2025

This is amazing!! 💛🎗 These funds go straight to the doctors and scientists working for better and less toxic treatments. Thank you for your support!!

07/02/2025

Eleanor had 2 appointments today at Oishei, food from Panera always makes her day better 😁💛😊☀️

05/29/2025

From clinic visit to school to dance dress rehearsal! This is what kicking cancers butt looks like 💛

05/19/2025

We need your donations!!! Our family will be having a sale for attic and seller day again this year, June 6-7 🌞 and we are looking for gently used items to sell to help us raise money again for her St. Baldrick's - Eleanor Heals ALL hero fund.
We will pickup anytime 🌞 Thank you 💛
https://www.stbaldricks.org/hero-funds/ellasloveheals/

03/25/2025

At just six months old, Eleanor Seigel was diagnosed with high-risk infant acute lymphoblastic leukemia in 2012. The chilling diagnosis was followed by chemotherapy treatments as Eleanor fought for her life. Now more than a decade later, Eleanor is fully recovered and thriving. Her brother, Benjamin...

03/13/2025

Eleanor's big brother Benjamin, is partnering with Connect Life to organize a community blood drive. The blood drive will take place on Monday, April 7th between 11AM and 3PM at Harvest Chapel Free Methodist Church, at 39 Matteson St. in Fredonia.

Benjamin is organizing this blood drive as a way to honor his sister. Through the course of Eleanor's chemotherapy treatments, she received more than 100 units of blood from Women’s and Children’s Hospital of Buffalo. This drive is a way to “pay back” some of Western NY’s generosity that literally served to save his sister’s life.
❤️❤️❤️
April is National Donate Life Month. 1 blood donation can save up to 3 lives and each donation stays right here in Western New York.
❤️❤️❤️
To make an appointment, donors can call 716.529.4270 or visit ConnectLifeGiveBlood.org and enter sponsor code 002246. Donors will receive a Buffalo Sabres t-shirt.

02/18/2025

We celebrated Eleanor today and her trip around the sun - she turned 13!!!! 🎂
Every birthday with her is a miracle. 💛
We love this beautiful, strong and goofy soul. 💪🤪
Every single day is better with her in it. 🫶
We wish every day to be her best day ever. 🥰
Happy 13th Birthday to my sweet Little Miss Sunshine. ☀️ 🌈

01/02/2025

We will be sharing more soon if you would like to get involved with us. This is a major setback to our community. Also, follow Smashing Walnuts

Our kids LOST 3 important bills in the Senate, Give Kids A Chance Act, Creating Hope Act, & Accelerating Access to Care Act. No Federal Funding was needed! We need to ask Congress to make it the 1st order of business. Our childhood cancer community is devastated. This is a setback for kids everywhere! We need your help. Please share this, spread the word and get involved.

What happened? Today, the Creating Hope, pediatric priority review voucher program lost in the Senate and has expired for the first time in 12 years. There will be no incentives for companies to develop drugs expressly for kids with cancer and other life threatening illnesses."

The Give Kids a Chance Act, which had 235 House cosponsors, and passed. It did not pass in the Senate, now, there’s no opportunity for companies to do studies in combination cancer drugs for kids.

The Accelerating Access for Care Act lost in the Senate. Kids on Medicaid or CHIP with cancer who need life saving treatments not available to them in their home state may not be able to get it from another state.

Today begins a new Congress and we will start all over. Please help get attention and awareness by spreading the word by sharing this with all your social media, FaceBook, Instagram, and LinkedIn. What else can you do? Call and write you Congressman/woman and each of your Senators. It's easy ( https://4sqclobberscancer.com/on-capital-hill/contact-your-legislators/ ). Make it personal, tell them why it's important to you, but please be respectful. If you already have a X (twitter) account and would be able to use it to help, PLEASE click here: https://4sqclobberscancer.com/reference/fix-it-4-kids-posts-for-x-twitter/

12/31/2024

Kathleen Ruddy the CEO from St. Baldrick’s Foundation shared this powerful message:
"A clover. Small, humble, and yet, a symbol bursting with meaning. Each leaf tells its own story—hope, faith, love, and if you're lucky, a fourth leaf: luck.

Perhaps your journey with us began with hope, a belief in a better tomorrow for kids fighting cancer. Or maybe it started with faith, a trust in the power of research, and the resilience of families. For many, it’s love, the care for a child, a sibling, a friend.

Then there’s the fourth leaf. To us, luck isn’t just chance; it’s the moments we create together, like the progress we’ve seen this year.

Breakthroughs once thought impossible have become reality. A new combination of ultrasound and radiation now offers hope against devastating pediatric brain cancers. Immunotherapies, once limited to blood cancers, are now advancing survival for children with solid tumors like osteosarcoma and rhabdomyosarcoma.

Recently, a clinical trial showed that adding the immunotherapy drug blinatumomab to standard leukemia treatment boosted 3-year survival rates from just under 88% to an incredible 96%.

These are the moments where hope takes root, faith fuels the fight, love lights the way, and the “luck” we find is really the result of all of us coming together.

As we look to the year ahead, there is more work to do, more hope to give, and more lives to save.

Thank you for being the reason hope grows, faith endures, and love prevails. Together, we’re turning possibility into progress that saves lives." 💛

Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for coming along on this journey with us!

years of research

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Did you know that 300,000 kids are diagnosed with cancer each year, worldwide? This St. Baldrick's Hero Fund is raising money for childhood cancer research to help these kids. Make a donation or get involved to support their efforts!

Address

Fredonia, NY

Website

http://www.youcaring.com/medical-fundraiser/help-superheros-eleanor-and-benjamin-fight-cancer-chiari/96775

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