When our 7 year-old son Ben was in treatment at Children’s National, he loved your Art Therapy program.  His 5 year-old brother did, too. It changed Ben’s life at that time – and we’re sincerely grateful to Tracy’s Kids because it was the only thing that would get him out of his hospital bed. -Parent Leslie Bellavia

Noah Grove is a Tracy’s Kids alum and member of the champion US Paralympic Sled Hockey Team. He told us he still has some of the art he did when being treated at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital as a 5 year-old. After the Paralympics, he visited Tracy’s Kids to show our wonderful kids at Children’s National Medical Center his Gold Medal — but also what a superstar looks like.

As Chief of Hematology and Oncology at Children’s National Medical Center, I give Tracy’s Kids my most enthusiastic endorsement. We have learned over the years that successful treatment of childhood cancer involves not just the medical treatment, but also strong patient and family support services. Cancer treatment take a major toll on the psychological well being of the patient and family. It is crucial to have support systems in place to make the overall experience as tolerable as possible. Tracy’s Kids provides outstanding art therapists who occupy the children during treatment and provide an outlet for their feelings and anxieties. The children absolutely adore the art therapists and often don’t want to go home if it means leaving the art therapy room! The Tracy’s Kids program has become a key component of our overall care; I don’t know what we’d do without them! The organization is most highly worthy of support.

Jeffrey S. Dome, MD, PhD
Chief, Divisions of Hematology and Oncology
McKnew Professor of Pediatric Oncology
Children’s National Medical Center

There have been too many times to count when physicians walk through the back and say “are you still here?” to families. They stay because they want to be in the art therapy area.

If Tracy’s Kids didn’t exist, if the art therapists were not here, this center would still provide quality medical care, but a piece of the heart of the program would be missing.

Patients look for [the art therapist] when they come for treatment and for follow-up visits, parents appreciate her support, and staff members rely on her help with celebrations, remembrances, and creative outlets for emotions.

Christopher Lawlor, MD
Associate Medical Director
Pediatric Specialists of Virginia