From Spotlight on Health - Spring 2009

Seven-year-old Kaitlyn, and Lily, who is 6, have something in common. They both have a parent who has cancer. They met and became good friends in the Children’s Lives Include Moments of Bravery (CLIMB) program at the Coborn Cancer Center and are the first graduates of the program. The girls looked forward to their CLIMB class every week. “I liked the crafts that we did the best,” Kaitlyn said. “We made lots of things like masks and cards for our mom and dad, and boxes where we could put sad stuff inside and happy stuff on the outside.”

Lily Voight (second from left) and Kaitlyn Clement are shown with nurses Dawn Demant, RN, (left) and Brenda Spoden, RN, who help lead CLIMB.

Lily liked the day they toured the Coborn Cancer Center. “I got to see where my mom gets her treatment,” Lily said. “They showed me the table she lays on and the machines they use.”

They both loved Bob the bear. “I liked to pretend that Bob was the patient and I took good care of him,” Lily said.

Now that they’ve graduated, the girls miss each other, they miss Bob the bear, and they both agree, they loved CLIMB.

CLIMB is supported by the St. Cloud Hospital Auxiliary, CentraCare Health Foundation Pediatric Cancer Fund and Coborn Cancer Center Fund.

Learn more about Coborn Cancer Center.