Meet Ashley Haseotes
Wink's Signature Woman of the Month

Ashley is on a mission to help find the cure for Pediatric Cancer...

"That night, in room 703 of the pediatric oncology unit of Children’s Hospital, the One Mission foundation was born..."

In March of 2006, Ashley Haseotes organized an event to raise money for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, the Memphis-based facility dedicated to treating children with cancer and other catastrophic diseases. She did it out of the goodness of her heart-wanting to help others in need. What she didn't know at the time was that two months later, her 7 month-old son, Nicholas, would be diagnosed with leukemia. Suddenly, she was the one who needed the help, as her world turned into a living nightmare.

Ashley and her husband, Ari, spent the next six months in Children's Hospital Boston, watching helplessly as Nicholas endured chemotherapy and test after excruciating test. The couple spent every night curled up and crying beside their son, wondering, why? It was out of that anguish, however, that they also found strength.

"One night Ari woke up and told me he knew why," Ashley writes on her website. "He explained to me that God had chosen us to fight for our son's life. Not only that, God knew we had the wherewithal and the determination to help other families dealing with the same horrible disease."

That night, in room 703 of the pediatric oncology unit of Children's Hospital, the One Mission foundation was born.

They didn't know how the foundation would evolve, but they knew why they needed to do this.

"I remember being in the hospital and Nick was so sick and I was crying because I just couldn't give him any more chemotherapy, it was killing him," Ashley said in an interview. She turned to the doctors in desperation, begging for an answer as to why they can't find a cure for this monstrous disease.

The doctors were blunt, she recalled, as they explained they needed money to hire lab technicians among other things. They do the best they can to raise money, but when it runs out, research is at a standstill.

That's why, "philanthropy is such an important piece of a finding cure," Ashley said.

                                                Funds for Families

Right now, money raised through One Mission is going mainly to leukemia research, but it is also being allocated to help the families of children with cancer  with everyday expenses including parking while at the hospital, meals, sometimes household bills, if need be. Also, it will be used for purchasing computers and updating hospital resources.

For example, Kerry Melavin of Marshfield, who sits on the board of directors for One Mission, will be hosting the "One Mission Market" on September 27^th at the Recreation Department in Norwood. She is currently taking donations of clothes, handbags, shoes, coats, maternity outfits, even wedding dressed, but they must be in great condition-something you would give to a friend. The tickets are $10 to get in, and then all clothes will be set prices - $5 for all shirts, $7 for all pants, for example. In addition, there will be raffles for gift baskets, Patriots tickets, and photography portrait sessions, as well as door prizes, music, and makeovers.

"The best part of it all is that I will be able to decide exactly how I want the hospital to spend to money," Kerry said. "I am hoping we can raise enough to purchase a large supply of toys and books for toddlers." 

The reason being is that Kerry's son, Patrick, was in Children's at the same time as Nicholas getting treatment for stage 3 Hepatoblastoma. Patrick, who was two years-old at the time, endured six rounds of chemotherapy (each three weeks long), a liver resection where 50% of his liver was removed along with lymph nodes and gallbladder, a number of blood transfusions, and countless trips to the emergency room, as well as unscheduled stays at the hospital.

"While we were in-patient, there were not a lot of toys in the playroom for children Pat's age," Kerry explained. "Imagine trying to keep a two year-old confined to a hospital room sometimes for days on end because he was under precautions. We got to the point where we brought our own toys, but there are a lot of expenses to families that I don't think people necessarily realize. For instance, parking is not free. It is typically $20 a day. Food for parents is not included, so imagine living at the hospital for weeks on end and having to also get meals for yourself, spouse etc. There's also the gas going back and forth, the anti-nausea meds that costs us $260 after insurance. These are what are called "the unknowns", and this is the part where my event comes in."

Similarly, Ashley hosted "Cocktails for a Cause" last month in Boston. These small events generally bring in a few thousand dollars. But Ashley is currently organizing a big event at Fenway Park in November which she hopes will raise as much as $100,000.

At this event, Children's Hospital's Dr. Scott Armstrong will talk about the importance of philanthropy to research and share some of his findings. He has identified the genetic abnormalities that trigger drug resistance, a major cause of relapse and death in children suffering from leukemia.

"He has also identified the gene in DNA that makes a cancer cell a cancer cell and not a healthy cell," Ashley said. "He can turn it on and off in a petri dish, he just needs to find the drug that can do it. He is working with companies, but it takes money."

Now, Ashley is on a mission to help Dr. Armstrong find a cure, and hopefully provide comfort to the families that must deal with the devastation of childhood cancer. She lived through it, and, thankfully, so did Nicholas.

 This month, a Nick, a healthy four-year old, is celebrating three years of remission.

To learn more about Ashley and what you can do to help, log on to the One Mission website: www.one-mission.org

Anyone interested in donating clothes, raffle items or door prizes for the upcoming One Mission Market can contact Kerry Melavin at kerry.melavin@one-mission.org, or kjmelavin@verizon.net.  

Stephanie Neil can be reached at: Stephanie@southshorewoman.com

By Stephanie Neil

Stephanie Neil is a journalist. Her business, technology, and human interest stories have appeared in a variety of print and online newspapers and magazines including eWeek, Managing Automation, The Harvard Alumni Bulletin, Huggies Baby Network, South Shore Woman, and The Boston Globe.  She lives on the South Shore with her two kids, two cats, and a dog. Contact info: stephanieneil@comcast.net  or 781-378-1652. Follow her on Twitter @StephanieNeil