It was Easter, and Kristen O’Dell was fighting a courageous battle with end-stage bladder and lung cancer. She knew that it would most likely be her last Easter with her son, Tavin, and while she wanted to make it special for him, all her energy was going toward fighting this terrible disease.
Thanks to the work of Saratoga-based nonprofit Floydwarriors, Kristen was able to give Tavin a proper Easter basket filled with toys, candy and a chocolate bunny. His mom may have been sick, but that morning, Tavin was just like any other kid.
Project Easter Bunny is just one of the many ways Floydwarriors helps families cope with cancer. “The day my surgeon told me I had cancer, he kept telling me I could go to a support group and share my struggles with others,” says founder Lisa Morahan, who was diagnosed with an eight-centimeter tumor a year and a half after giving birth to her own son. “But I needed practical help.”
Eighty days after Morahan’s diagnosis, Floydwarriors was up and running. The organization—which the cancer survivor says was divinely inspired—connects cancer patients who need help with those willing to give it, be it a home-cooked meal or an Easter basket. Floydwarriors will also pay to have cancer patients’ homes professionally cleaned.
“Most women can deal with a lot of things, but when I couldn’t do what I normally do, like be the home caregiver, that’s what was most depressing,” says Morahan. “With Floydwarriors, dinner is done, the dishes are clean and the kids are OK.”
Morahan is one of 10 honorees featured in the holiday issues of Saratoga Living and Capital Region Living. Join him and nine others at our 6th annual Capital Region Gives Back event, returning to Putnam Place at 6pm on December 11.