By: Trish Adkins
Melissa Bento was busy picking up family from the airport for her oldest daughter’s first communion when the pediatrician called and said that her younger daughter, Mia, needed to see a hematologist.
Melissa asked if it could wait. They’d been back and forth to the doctor so many times trying to figure out Mia’s weird blood work. The doctor said: “No, I made you an appointment for tomorrow.”
“My heart,” recalls Melissa, “just dropped.”
Mia had more bloodwork done, and then a phone call came during her sister’s communion that Mia’s neutrophil count was zero. She was instructed to go to the emergency room if she had a fever. Mia didn’t have a fever, but she hadn’t felt well in the morning and took some children’s pain reliever. Melissa and Mia’s dad, Jorge, had no idea if she had a fever or not. They went to the emergency room and Mia was admitted. A couple days later, Mia had a bone marrow biopsy and the diagnosis came: leukemia.
That was over six years ago and now Mia is cancer-free. Each year, the entire family hosts a lemonade stand in support of Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation (ALSF) to give back to the Foundation that supported them during treatment and to help find cures for other children.
“Everyone was so generous to us during Mia’s treatment. It is important to us to give back,” said Melissa.
After her diagnosis, Mia would stay in the hospital for one month — starting treatment while her family navigated insurance confusion and the entirely new, terrifying world of childhood cancer. Mia was just 5 years old, finishing her last year of preschool. At home, her 8-year-old sister Gabriella's entire world had changed.
“It affected Gabby so much. She was thrown out of her routine. She wanted to come to the hospital to see her sister, but I tried to shield her from the harder days at the hospital," said Melissa.
Then Melissa found ALSF during an internet search. She was matched with another childhood cancer family and found support and solace from a family who understood the journey. Melissa also signed Gabriella up for the SuperSibs program. SuperSibs, which provides comfort and care mailings to the siblings of children with cancer, made Gabriella feel seen and special.
Mia would remain in treatment for two-and-a-half years. Gabriella would stay in SuperSibs the entire time.
Once Mia was finished and declared in remission, the family set their sights on fundraising. Their first stand was at a local shopping mall and their second stand was at a nearby bike trail. The sisters shopped for candy and snacks for the stands, made posters, served lemonade and shared their own stories. For Gabriella, hosting a stand for ALSF has helped her share her unique sibling story. For the entire family, it’s given them something positive to do with something that was awful.
“I can see that the girls have a sense of pride about giving back,” said Melissa.
Nowadays, the Bento family is busy doing regular family things — something they weren't sure was possible before. Gabriella is a freshman in high school and Mia is in 6th grade.
