Easton Strong

11/15/2025

It has been a while since I’ve given any medical update on either of the kids!

We are still watching Kori’s chimerism, and still do monthly labs for that. We go to clinic this Monday and depending on her chimerism, we may be able to space appointments even further. She is almost 10 months post transplant. She continues to recover great and overall, is living a normal 1.5 yr old life!🩷

Easton has been at annual labs so no real medical update on him. However, he started preschool in Sept. and absolutely loves it! He still receives speech therapy once a week but is world’s away from where he was even just 6 months ago with his communication skills. His biggest obstacle right now is just working on his socialization. 💙

We thank Jesus everyday for blessing us with our miracle babies and the unique testimony that we carry with us. Thank you to all of you who have continued to support our family through this journey.

11/15/2025

❤️

As the holiday season approaches, we are collecting donations in store for the Ronald McDonald House of Pittsburgh. Parents- if you’re looking to make space for new toys, now is not a better time! If you have unwanted new or gently used toys, household items, pantry items, paper goods, etc., please consider donating to this amazing organization. There are many foundations that our family holds a special place in our hearts for, and this is one! We are collecting items now through Dec 1., and will present all donations the first weekend in December. We will not be accepting any monetary donations for the house, as all monetary donations can be made via their website!❤️

10/14/2025

💙 We will also be looking forward to doing fundraising for HLH Heroes Foundation in the near future as well! Another organization who has done so much for us and so many other HLH families. If you’re looking to donate somewhere this holiday season, consider one of these amazing foundations!

09/17/2025

post transplant memories just hit different 🥹

when you’ve seen both your children fight for their lives, you’ve witnessed them hooked up to wires 24/7 for months, dealing with the gruel impacts of harsh chemos for months… seeing them live a normal, happy, healthy childhood is EVERYTHING. We love love love traveling with our babies & their Make A Wish has been something so special for us to look forward to!

Easton has been very skeptical of the characters which has surprised me! His favorite park is animal kingdom (he loves animals) & loves the pool/splash pad at GKTW Village. Princess Kori loves all things Minnie! It has been a blast so far🥰

09/10/2025

Some more pictures from the gala✨

I cant begin to express the gratitude for this foundation! I truly wish everyone knew just how much the Ronald McDonald House really does for families. I once had someone tell me during one of my kids’ treatment, that the only reason my family was in the RMH was due to connections or people we knew. That’s how misinformed so many people are about this foundation. The Ronald McDonald House in Cincinnati (and so many others across the U.S. and worldwide) continue to expand to be able to house anyone who meets the criteria of living 50+ miles and having specialty appts weekly. These fundraisers like the one on Saturday, is the reason they can continue to house so many families each year. Meeting many of these selfless people who help fund the house and seeing how much of an impact our story had on them was something that will stick with me forever. They are the reason that no HLH family is turned away during treatment. They are the reason so many of us were able to stay afloat during the most challenging time of our life. There are no politics, it’s not a club you have to know someone to get in. This is just a selfless foundation, filled with selfless people working in the house, making a difference in people’s lives who need it most. I will never stop advocating for medical families to be informed about the resources needed and available to them! It was truly an unforgettable night. As always, continue to support the RMH in your area! Round your change up if you can, because it really does benefit the families❤️

09/07/2025

We will never know the “why”. Why God chose our son to be 1 in 50,000. Why we (and the other HLH families) had to be the ones to endure the trauma of treatment. Why God then made us do it a second time. I like to think that this is the “why”. To advocate for medical families/caregivers, to share our story, to be a picture of hope to the hopeless, all while bringing glory to Jesus. If our story impacts even 1 person, or family. Whether that’s in knowledge of their resources, in their hope of circumstances, or even faith in God. All of our family’s trauma was worth it. This was such a special moment for our family. To stand before and thank the people who help make it happen, with both of our children… healthy.

09/07/2025

RONALD MCDONALD HOUSE GALA 2025

What an incredible night! It felt so surreal being able to stand up there and express our gratitude to the people who make an impact on so many people’s lives. This was truly an unforgettable night. We were so honored to represent not only RMH families but especially the HLH community. ❤️

09/06/2025

We are on our way to Cincinnati for Eric and I to speak tonight at the RMH Gala… one of their biggest fundraisers of the year. We are so honored to have been asked to speak and can’t wait to shed light on how much this foundation means to us and so many others. Please say some prayers that Jesus guides us during our speeches & speaks through us. We are so bummed our HLH friends from Hawaii Rhaiden & Rhyder's HLH Journey will not be able to attend the gala in person. Rhyder is in his post 100 day recovery and it is much more important he stays as healthy as possible and limits the risk of exposure. We will certainly miss them! As always, if you feel called to donate monetarily to this amazing foundation you can do so on their website. Also, if you have any unwanted/needed household items such as canned/dry goods, paper products, toys, etc. please consider donating it to your local Ronald McDonald House! The house guest families use all of these items while staying in the house. We can’t wait to share pics/videos from the event tonight!

09/01/2025

Today is the start of Histiocytosis Awareness Month! We wear blue for both of our HLH babies. 💙🎗️🩷

Each child had a 25% chance of having HLH, which then means we fell in the 6% chance of both children having HLH. Easton and Kori are some of the strongest, most loving, sweetest, unique, children ever. I would not change a single thing about them if I could! They along with so many other HLH children, have fought so hard to be here today living life. We are very thankful that God has guided the hands of some of the top HLH experts and given them the knowledge to treat our babies through bone marrow transplant.

This month is also Childhood Cancer Awareness Month💛🎗️. Although HLH isn’t considered a cancer, I have come to know so many families with children battling cancer between secondary HLH caused by malignancy or just having been treated on the same unit and going through similar treatments of chemo/BMT. Both diseases that desperately need more awareness and treatment options.

This month, we celebrate/honor the HLH and cancer families who have already gone through treatment, and the ones currently going through treatment because having healthy children is a luxury that so many take for granted.

08/08/2025

💙 September is Histiocytosis Awareness Month 💙

In honor of Histiocytosis Awareness Month coming up in September, the HLH Heroes Foundation is offering FREE blue awareness ribbon yard signs to families and individuals impacted by the rare disease HLH (Hemophagocytic Lymphohistiocytosis).

These yard signs are a symbol of strength, hope, and unity for the HLH community. Whether you're a family currently affected or an advocate spreading awareness, we want to help you show your support for the HLH and Histiocytosis community.

🔹 Request your FREE yard sign here (can only ship to US address). Donations appreciated to help cover costs, but not required. https://forms.gle/QEGUEZNKDpjTke8L6

Additionally, if you're able to support to help cover the cost of the yard signs and other initiatives, or just want to donate check out this link! Every donation helps make a difference!

🔹 Donate here: https://secure.givelively.org/donate/hlh-heroes-foundation-not-for-profit/hlh-heroes-september-awareness-2025

Together, we can spread awareness, support those impacted by HLH, and spread hope. 💙

08/03/2025

Today we celebrated Kori’s 1st birthday party! Although her immune system is basically up to par, we kept her party to pretty much family only (or people closest to us who are like family). It was a great time to celebrate a special milestone!🩷

Kori is 6 months post transplant and thriving! She is all caught up developmentally to other babies her age. Our doctor here in Pgh gave us the clear to minimize most restrictions & even to fly for travel (although we don’t plan to fly until Nov). Her only lingering restrictions are 1) to be careful in the sun, as well as 2) no super crowded areas especially indoors. Thank you to everyone who has shown our family so much support over the years.🥰

08/02/2025

Our sweet girl is 1 year old today!🩷

She is the sweeetest, sassiest, most fierce baby girl ever. Her first year was more challenging than most so we are looking even more forward to this next year. We love you to the moon baby girl! Cant wait to celebrate you today & tomorrow🎉