How JW House Helps Families:
Amy and Anna's Story

My daughter Anna was diagnosed with osteosarcoma towards the end of her freshman year of high school. The doctors said she would be battling this cancer for nearly a year. Never having spent any time in a hospital before, my husband and I felt much uprooted. Though we lived only a half hour away, during Anna's chemotherapy I stayed up in the hospital room with her for many days in a row and slept on the pull-out sleeper chair in her room. Having JW house to go to just for the feeling of being in a house/home and not a hospital room with monitors and all the smells hospital rooms have was a welcome getaway. Having to eat in a restaurant or get take out every night was getting expensive. My husband would come down and join us after work every day and many nights we would go over to JW house for dinner. It was close by and felt casual and comfortable.

I think the best story is the one about celebrating my husband's birthday. I wanted to make him his traditional birthday cake: angel food cake with strawberries. I went to the nearby Safeway and bought the cake mix. I called a friend and neighbor at home and asked her to go into my house and get my angel food cake pan and bring it down to the hospital. She visited with Anna for a bit then we went over to JW House and made the cake in the kitchen. I cut up strawberries and put them in a container to take it all back to the hospital room for when Paul came down that evening. The funny part is, Paul works from home so my friend had to wait until he left the house and use the hide-a-key to get in and get the angel food cake pan. She felt like she was part of "mission impossible" sneaking into our house. But it was a fun thing to do. It helped keep our tradition going during an untraditional time and made my friend feel good and helpful. The volunteers at JW house were very enthusiastic about the project.

Besides the fact that JW house is beautiful, it is also comfortable and so close to the hospital. It was very helpful in practical ways such as doing some laundry when we were there for over a week at a time.

Chemotherapy makes you very sensitive to smells. I used to bring our own sheets from home because Anna couldn't stand the smell of the bleach they used to clean in the hospital. It was nice to be able to wash her sheets and put clean sheets on her bed that didn't smell like the hospital.

Anna is cancer free and back in high school. We are very thankful for JW House and all the volunteers that made us feel welcome during a very difficult time.

Sincerely,
Amy de Benedictis

Want to help families who are facing a medical crisis? Consider donating to JW House today. Your donation gives families a welcoming home just steps away from the hospital, providing a caring and compassionate environment that inspires hope. Click here to donate online or send checks to:

JW House
3850 Homestead Road
Santa Clara, CA 95051

For more information, contact us at (408)246-2224 or info@jwhouse.org.
Thank you for your support!