Meeting the McCaughans
SGSNY Program Coordinator Jessica Sims manages the Weatherstone Families Support Fund. She shares her recent experience meeting one of our families, the McCaughans, during their trip to NYC for cancer treatment for 4-year-old Mollie.
Mollie is a sweet, cheerful girl with one big brother Leo and one little brother Ben. Mollie began complaining of hip pain at the age of two. Shortly thereafter she was diagnosed with Stage 4 Neuroblastoma. CT scans revealed that this happy and seemingly healthy 2-year-old girl had an aggressive form of cancer that spanned across her kidneys, spine, skull, and even bone marrow. Mollie’s parents, Kevin and Sian, were devastated when they were informed that Mollie had only a 40% chance to live.
Fortunately, Mollie is beating the odds. She has completed an 18-month chemotherapy treatment in the UK that has caused her cancer to retreat. Neuroblastoma, however, has a tendency to return after remission and Mollie’s family decided to bring her to New York to continue her treatment at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. The McCaughans are the first family to participate in a new clinical trial at MSKCC that requires a longer commitment than the previous trial, with patients receiving treatment for 5 years. Mollie is now 4 years old. She will be 9 and essentially a New Yorker by the time she completes her treatment.
I met Mollie and Kevin at the Columbus Circle Holiday Market just before Christmas this year. During our time together, we shopped for gifts for her mom and her brothers. She also teased dad that he wasn’t going to get any gifts this year. She thought that was hilarious! Despite her strong demeanor, Mollie was in pain after receiving three injections during her first month-long trip to NYC. It was bitterly cold that day, which did not help her situation. But after a bit of hot chocolate and a new purse from dad, she managed to perk right up.
After speaking with Kevin, it is clear that Mollie gets her fighting spirit from her dad. He made the best of the work-from-home situation in the UK during the pandemic and used the time to work from the hospital, so his little girl was never alone during treatment. At times when he was talking, I could perceive the incredible suffering that he and his family have endured. However, his courage and strength came shining through whenever Mollie needed a snuggle to make her smile.
Mollie and her family will be back in NYC this month to continue her treatment and to shop, eat, and play their way through the Big Apple. Her 5-year journey for this experimental treatment is only beginning. It is a pleasure to know that we can anticipate many more happy visits between St. George’s Society of New York and the McCaughan family.
We look forward to serving her and other brave families who travel from the UK to help their children. SGSNY staff and volunteers remain in awe of these families and their ability to appreciate the simple pleasure of spending time together as a family and to find joy in the most challenging of circumstances. Thank you to everyone who makes this program possible.
Learn more about The Weatherstone Families Support Fund and how you can get involved HERE.