MEET THE MCGOVERN FAMILY

The McGovern family is composed of seven children through birth and adoption, as well as one or two children who come to stay with them while they receive medical treatment.

Tom, Sarah and Jess, are the three children who entered the McGovern family through birth. Tom is 22, Sarah is almost 19 and Jess is 16. The next one to join the family was Hannah who is currently 10. She was initially a foster
child who just needed a weekend respite home when she was 1 month old, because her foster family was going away for the weekend. One and a half months later, she came to stay! Hannah had a very rough start to life, and it was compounded by many food allergies which she continues to battle now. But Hannah is known to have a beautiful singing voice and an impish gleam in her eyes!

Since Hannah was 6 years younger than Jess, we decided to add one more child to the family, so Hannah wouldn't feel like the only child who was adopted and one much younger as well. Brianna, now 11 years old, joined the McGoverns from
Taiwan.. She was born missing all of two limbs and half of another. Brianna is often caught with her big dimple setting off her even bigger smile. She is also known to have a need for speed, and is often "ticketed" for driving her wheelchair too fast!

We fostered other children throughout this time and one who came for another weekend respite was 2 week old Luke. Luke had bleeding on the brain and was on a heart monitor and had terrible reflux. His foster family didn't feel capable of
meeting his medical needs so he ended up staying. Later , Luke's doctors determined that his early brain injury caused his neck to have been fractured and it healed in a dangerous position, so Luke had two surgeries on his neck,
one of which fused his neck to help prevent serious damage to his spinal cord. Unfortunately, Luke continues to have some problems and is currently undergoing some tests to see if anything new is happening in his brain and spine. Luke
has the greatest joy for life and each day he wakes with a smile and a story.

Eric joined the McGovern family in the fall of 2006 from CA where he was a foster child for his first 2 3/4 years of his life. Eric's spine was not fully formed and because of that , his legs were contracted without the ability to straighten them. His internal organs are somewhat compressed because he doesn't have the spine to help him to grow tall. He had his lower legs amputated in October of 2007. Eric has a contagious personality and everyone he meets falls in love with him. He is cuddly and sweet and naughty and beautiful, all rolled up into one 18 pound little boy!

Although each of our younger children has a medical history that is extensive and in some cases, very serious, it is not those medical problems that defines them as people. Each of our children have a great sense of humor and a love for
music. Each child is active and social, and although two of them use wheelchairs in public, they scoot all over the house at home. They play, they laugh, they fight, they mess up their rooms (and then have to clean them) like any other group of siblings. We are very blessed!

MEET KASEY KEENAN

Kasey Keenan was diagnosed with Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia (ALL) in August of 2003 at the age of 9.  She had previously spent two agonizing months dealing with increasingly debilitating back pain.  She later learned that the leukemia attached her back and caused 8 fractured vertebrae.  Upon diagnosis, she immediately began two and a half years of chemotherapy at St. Christopher's Hospital for Children in Philadelphia and she was fitted for a back brace which she had to wear for two months

until the fractures healed.   One month after her diagnosis, Kasey became involved with the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society's Light the Night Walk to raise money and awareness for the disease. What started as a simple mission to help the society and to meet other cancer survivors became an obsession for Kasey.  She set a goal of  recruiting 50 people for her fundraising team and a financial goal of raising $10,000.  Kasey also set a personal goal for herself to

become the largest fundraiser for the northern part of New Jersey.  Through the support of her friends, family and community, Kasey was able to surpass all these goals.  Kasey and Kasey's Krusaders as her fundraising group is known, raised over $20,000 with over 150 people in attendance to support Kasey and her

cause.  To date, Kasey's Krusaders have raised over $97,000 for the society over the course of 5 Light the Night Walks and two celebrity and sports memorabilia auctions they have hosted.  As of February 2008, Kasey has been off chemotherapy for two years and continues to amaze people with her good health and attitude.  Kasey is a three season athlete playing field hockey, basketball and softball and enjoying all that life has to offer.  She is a die-hard New York Yankee and Philadelphia Eagles fan who has a great memory for sports stats, trivia and general player knowledge.