Durham Family Turns Leukemia Journey Into Mission To House Pediatric Patients’ Families

By Jennifer Fernandez

On nan days she didn’t request to beryllium hospitalized while being treated for leukemia, 8-year-old Harper Harrell was capable to spell location and slumber successful her ain bed. Duke Children’s Hospital is conscionable 1.9 miles from her family’s location successful Durham.

Harper Harrell was 8 years aged erstwhile she learned she had leukemia. Her location is conscionable an 11-minute thrust from Duke Children’s Hospital, wherever she received curen for much than 2 years. She and her mom created Harper’s Home to thief families enactment adjacent to nan infirmary erstwhile 1 of their children is being treated astatine nan hospital. Credit: Submitted photo

During nan astir 2 and a half years of her treatment, Harper, now 12, traveled to nan infirmary much than 100 times for various reasons — chemotherapy, transfusions, MRIs, checkups. She spent much than 50 days hospitalized betwixt receiving nan test successful October 2021 and finishing curen successful February 2024.

It became a ritual each nighttime to springiness acknowledgment for thing positive, said Heather Hindin, Harper’s mom. Often, she said, they gave acknowledgment for that short thrust that allowed them to enactment astatine location during treatment.

“To cognize that we could travel location and remainder our heads connected our sofa pinch our dogs and to beryllium pinch my mom who was present helping … I consciousness for illustration it made a important quality for america successful nan successful completion of treatment, staying well, not conscionable health-wise, but besides benignant of emotionally and mentally,” Hindin said.

In a 2020 study successful Pediatrics researchers studied entree to pediatric care successful nan United States. Access varied widely, and successful immoderate cases moreover erstwhile attraction was nearby, beds were limited, nan researchers found. For galore children, life-saving and life-enhancing pediatric attraction is not close.

“It whitethorn beryllium sobering to recognize that nan request to thrust much than 1 hr to scope hospital-based pediatric services is much nan norm than nan exception,” nan authors wrote.

Harper and her mom wanted to springiness different families dealing pinch difficult times that aforesaid chance astatine comfortableness that surviving adjacent to nan infirmary afforded them. They’re breaking crushed later this period connected nan first shape of Harper’s Home — a bid of cottages and duplexes connected their spot to location up to 8 families pinch children being treated astatine Duke Children’s Hospital.

“We had truthful galore friends that were getting curen from Duke Children’s arsenic good who needed to recreation from very acold away,” Harper said. “We had capable land, and we knew that we could do thing astir it.”

Filling a need

Families often find themselves surviving retired of hotels aliases trying to find a short-term rental adjacent nan hospital, which tin beryllium very expensive, Hindin said. Harper’s Home is disposable connected a sliding standard — free aliases astatine minimal cost.

Hindin and Harper didn’t want to hold until they could build something, truthful past autumn they rented and furnished 2 homes a fewer miles from Duke Children’s Hospital. 

Since September, they’ve helped 4 families, pinch 1 staying 203 nights. In all, Harper’s Home has housed families for much than 350 nights astatine nan homes, Hindin said.

They’re not alone. Ronald McDonald House has agelong provided places for families to enactment while their children person treatment. In nan Triangle, there are 3 residential Ronald McDonald House accommodation that tin supply lodging for a full of 103 families each night.

Heather Hindin

Smaller programs akin to Harper’s Home person travel and gone successful nan area, Hindin said.

The request for specified lodging is consistently pressing.

Social workers pinch Duke Children’s Hospital told Hindin that 2,400 families traveled much than 40 miles to entree attraction astatine nan infirmary successful 2024. The mean enactment was 12 nights. Last year, that accrued to 3,200 families pinch an mean enactment of 11 nights, she said.

“Even pinch places for illustration nan Ronald McDonald House, and there’s immoderate different mini nonprofits that are circumstantial to definite diagnoses, they don’t touch nan need,” Hindin said. “And I deliberation we each wish that we could do much … but it’s just, it’s a existent struggle.”

Harper’s Home provides backstage housing, which differs from Ronald McDonald House, which offers shared surviving abstraction to families, pinch communal kitchens and eating and surviving areas. 

At Harper’s Home, families person their ain kitchen, their ain bathrooms, their ain washer and dryer. 

“There’s nary cheque in,” Hindin said. “Our occupation is to get them a spot to stay, and it is … theirs for nan clip that they are present successful treatment.”

Harper’s Home is besides pet-friendly.

“We’ve met friends who person had to springiness up their family pets because they couldn’t … grip 1 further point to consider,” she said.

Close to care

Being adjacent to a pediatric infirmary is not conscionable astir convenience. It tin mean nan quality betwixt life and death.

Chemotherapy kills crab cells, but it besides disrupts nan body’s equilibrium of neutrophils, a type of achromatic humor compartment that fights infections. A debased neutrophil count tin besides disguise nan signs of sepsis, nan body’s overreaction to an infection that tin quickly lead to organ nonaccomplishment and death.

For crab patients, a fever of 100.4 degrees tin mean an infection is spiraling toward sepsis.  

One clip erstwhile Hindin’s sister was visiting, Harper spiked a fever. Hindin kept taking her daughter’s temperature, watching arsenic it crept up into vulnerable territory.

“I retrieve some of america crying and conscionable emotion truthful sad that, you know, you deliberation you person immoderate freedom, astatine slightest for a small while, and past being forced to spell backmost [to nan hospital],” Hindin said.

What they ne'er had to interest astir was getting to nan infirmary quickly capable to person antibiotics earlier sepsis group in. That clip betwixt a spiking fever and curen is often described arsenic “the aureate hour” because curen is astir effective if it is received wrong an hr of symptoms. 

Their location is astir an 11-minute thrust to Duke Children’s Hospital.

“It’s conscionable a really captious portion of treatment,” Hindin said. “For immoderate of those kids, they won’t get released from nan infirmary if they don’t person a spot to enactment that is really close.”

Harper Harrell, 2nd from left, poses pinch wellness attraction workers astatine Duke Children’s Hospital, wherever she was treated for leukemia. Credit: Submitted photo

Community support

Last year, Hindin subdivided her astir one-acre spot into 3 parcels to make room for Harper’s Home. 

Two cottages and 2 duplexes will beryllium built first, providing lodging for six families. The 2nd shape will see a carriage location pinch an flat upstairs and different cottage aliases duplex.

The full task is expected to costs astir $1.3 million. 

They’re raising money, and an anonymous philanthropist precocious provided $200,000, Hindin said. One of nan cottages will beryllium named for nan donor’s wife, who died of encephalon cancer.

They met that philanthropist past twelvemonth aft Harper was picked to propulsion a hoops to a personage participating successful nan Charity Stripe Challenge astatine a Duke University men’s hoops game. Her personage made nan foul shot, earning $1,000 for Duke Children’s Hospital from an anonymous donor. That philanthropist stayed successful touch pinch Harper and Hindin and decided to support their work, Harper said.

Harper Harrell raised much than $27,000 for Duke Children’s Hospital, wherever she was treated for leukemia. Credit: Submitted photo

Before nan rental homes opened past fall, organization members bought each of nan housewarming items for Harper’s Home done registries group up astatine Target and Amazon.

Harper utilized immoderate of her ain money to decorate 1 of nan rooms for nan relative of a diligent receiving curen astatine Duke Children’s Hospital. She made judge to usage things that he really loved.

“If I were to person to move location unusual and beryllium truthful scared, because … my favourite relative is successful nan hospital, my champion friend, basically, I would beryllium truthful frightened and want to cognize that a spot for illustration this could beryllium home,” she said.

With Harper’s Home, they person recovered their purpose, Hindin said. Going done nan rigors and nan ups and downs of crab curen and staying live besides taught them what they are tin of, she said.

Hindin said they’ll proceed to advocator for pediatric crab research. Harper has already raised $27,000 for Duke Children’s Hospital.

Meanwhile, they’ll dispersed nan communicative of Harper’s Home arsenic they activity to complete imperishable buildings to support families for illustration theirs. 

“We’re chipping distant astatine it,” Hindin said. “We’re having truthful overmuch fun, and emotion nan activity that we’re doing, and we’re conscionable going to support putting 1 ft successful beforehand of nan other.”

Jennifer Fernandez wrote this article, she said to Hindin and Harper and did further online research. Rose Hoban edited nan story. Jen Goode Stevens copyedited nan story. The header was written pinch nan assistance of A.I., but was edited by a human.

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