No press requirement.
No ownership.
The hospital social worker explained what programs already existed.
That was another revelation.
Some support had been available.
The Monroes had not known.
Or had been too overwhelmed to complete applications.
Care becomes another job when a family is already drowning.
The fundraiser remained useful.
But in a different way.
With Lily and her parents’ permission,
the page was revised.
No dramatic photographs.
No private medical details.
Clear accounting.
The family explained that some needs were now being covered through institutional support and that remaining donations would go toward verified household and treatment-related expenses, with any excess redirected through a pediatric cancer assistance fund.
Transparent.
Adult-supervised.
Boring.
Healthy.
Ethan hated how much of the fundraiser was taken away from him.
I could tell.
He sat beside me while we updated the page.
“So I’m not really doing anything anymore.”
I closed the laptop.
“What do you
