Stories From Our Families

Cassandra Junkin’s parents knew something was wrong when their usually cheerful four-year old was too listless to play. It was Valentine’s Day, and she had no interest in cards or sweets. Doctor’s visits and tests revealed the unthinkable: Cassandra had leukemia and needed treatment right away. That was 10 years ago, in 2007. Leticia and Don Junkin kept close to their daughter by staying at our or …

Like most families, videogame animator Sarah Barnes never expected to stay at San Diego’s Ronald McDonald House. But when surgery for her daughter’s heart condition took a turn for the worse, the Ronald McDonald House was the home base that kept her going. Sarah adopted 4½-year-old Naya after a visit to China. This determined and inquisitive girl had survived many challenging transitions in her yo …

The Zimmer boys and their dad love science fiction, tabletop war games, and Pokémon. Scott’s a university librarian, and Sophia homeschools 17-year-old Andrés and 11-year-old Santiago. Santiago seemed low energy on a particularly hot July day. Then he was screaming in pain. After rushing to the emergency room, the family was shocked to learn that a tumor on Santiago’s liver had ruptured. They’d ne …

Life was busy during May 2014 for Robe and Meridith Whittemore, a firefighter and event planner raising a toddler girl in Point Loma. These active, beach-loving parents were eagerly expecting their second child. Yet everything changed at 37 weeks, when routine ultrasound showed blood on their baby’s brain. Doctors ordered an emergency C-section, and rushed their baby to intensive care at Rady Chil …

When Patrick Sy plays superhero, you can believe him. At just three years old, he became a super donor for his big sister and best buddy, Rina Sy, who was diagnosed with leukemia shortly before Mother’s Day last year. Parents Marianne and Keith Sy spent several months at Rina’s hospital bedside, helping her endure three initial grueling rounds of chemotherapy. Anxious and exhausted, they tried to …

“Oh, yes I can!” That may turn out to be one of the first sentences from Manani Shakir. This wonder boy has been a source of joy to his mother, Makeda Shakir, and to his grandparents and aunt who are taking an active role in his life. Manani Proves the Predictions Were Wrong “So many times we’ve been told that Manani wouldn’t speak, wouldn’t walk, wouldn’t eat independently,” recalls Temecula resi …

Our cover mom, Nadia Castillo says of herself, “I’ve always been determined.” And now, she’s got a daughter who may just exceed her in motivation. Nadia is a couture designer who, after traveling the world as a model, returned to San Diego and married her teenage sweetheart, Phillip. After joining the Marines, Phillip later became director of operations for a senior services nonprofit. Just before …

One summer Saturday, five-year old Kaelyn Chrapczynski came home from a birthday party with bruises on her legs. She hadn’t been injured, yet the bruises grew. Her parents, Jeff and Jill, took her to urgent care, and then to the hospital. “They told us to pack a bag for ourselves—we might be there a while,” remembers Jeff. “We stayed overnight at the hospital with Kaelyn. That Monday, she was diag …

You can tell when you meet them: Fallbrook residents Kim and Joe Russell have big hearts. Joe is a youth pastor, and together with Kim, he’s busy raising an active and joy-filled family. Yet the birth of their fourth child, Stephen, brought devastating news: something was seriously wrong with their little boy’s heart. Stephen was born with a rare and complex heart defect that will require at least …

Seven-year-old Lulu is “spicy,” says her mom, Tiffanie Treadway. “She’s got a kick to her.” Lulu’s needed that bold strength over the past year. She’s battling leukemia. Lulu is the daughter of Tiffanie and Troy Treadway, who is now an Army recruiter. They’d been apart during Troy’s deployment in Afghanistan. Life was feeling normal again, until they took the usually lively Lulu to the doctor for …