Family Stories

“My name is Oksana, and I met Kathy at the resource room at Boston Children’s Hospital. She came bearing gifts for all the moms on the cardiac floors — she didn’t know any of us, but that didn’t matter to her. That’s just who she is. Her and her daughter showed up with food, with warmth, and with the most generous and thoughtful gifts.

My son Lukas has been in the hospital for months, and he has been sleeping under the softest blanket they brought him — every single night.

When Kathy talks about her late son, there is this glow about her that I can’t quite put into words. You can feel how much love she carries, and how she has turned that love into something she gives freely to strangers who need it most.

She made a very hard time feel a little less heavy, and I am so grateful our paths crossed.”

— Oksana, Lukas’s mom

“We are forever grateful for Radiate Positivity.

They don’t just help families they love them, stand with them, and become family. They are people who have lived this kind of life themselves, so they understand the pain, fear, exhaustion, and loneliness of life with illness and long hospital stays in a way that only someone who has walked this road can.

We came here from the other side of the world holding on to hope that Elina could have a complete repair. But that hope was shattered when her surgery was canceled, and then her little body became too weak for surgery. Transplant became the only option, and with that came a whole new burden living in the hospital for more than a year and facing so many unexpected expenses we could never have planned for.

In the middle of all of that, Radiate Positivity showed up for us in the most thoughtful and loving ways. Grocery gift cards because we have nowhere to cook while living in the hospital. Gloves for my husband to clear the snow off the car on those cold late nights leaving the hospital and early mornings coming back. And nail polish for me such a small thing, but it made me feel a little more human while living this hospital life.

And then, right before Elina’s birthday, they surprised us with something we truly needed: the perfect bike for her. A bike she can pedal when she has the strength, and one we can push when she gets tired. It is going to make our days here so much easier and give Elina a little more freedom, joy, and childhood inside hospital walls.

From the bottom of our hearts, thank you, Radiate Positivity, for your generous love, kindness, and support. You have made us feel seen, loved, and carried during one of the hardest seasons of our lives. Thank you.”

— Elina’s family