PEARLAND, Texas – A family who moved to the Houston-area were granted a Thanksgiving wish Tuesday.
The family moved to Pearland to be closer to M.D. Anderson as their daughter continues her cancer treatments.
Tammy Kay is the mother of 14-year-old Lillie.
Kay says in 2022, Lillie was diagnosed with a rare form of bone cancer, which led to her arm having to be amputated earlier this year.
“She went through nine months of treatment and was in remission for nine months. And this past March, she relapsed. She lost her left arm. They had to amputate it because the tumor was active and growing. So after she healed, tumors came back and we knew that we had to move to Houston,” Kay said.
The family had been in a ministry house for seven weeks during their daughter’s initial treatment and recently made the decision to move to Texas from South Carolina and rent a house as Lillie’s challenges continue.
However, the house they are renting had almost no furniture. That is until now.
Through the partnership of BEL Furniture and Star of Hope’s Outreach Services, the family’s wish for furniture so they can celebrate the holidays in comfort and joy has been granted.
“The Kay family reached out to me because they were in need of furniture assistance,” said Di Tubbs, Manager of Outreach Services with the Star of Hope. “And so Ms.. Kay said, Ms. Di, I really, really need some furniture. My daughter and I are going through some trying times.”
BEL Furniture gifted the family with a full living room set including a couch, loveseat, and bar stools.
“We know the importance of family, especially during the holidays. The last thing we want is someone to have that feeling of not having a place to have dinner, have a Thanksgiving dinner or a place to enjoy, you know, memories with their family,” said BEL Furniture District Manager Ronald Rodriguez.
In addition, the family was also gifted a dining room set along with a $350 HEB gift card so they can cover the new table with a Thanksgiving feast.
“How would I get through the holidays without people caring? We wouldn’t have a couch and we wouldn’t have a really cute little table to sit at,” Kay said. “We would probably be eating on the floor or we would bring boxes in. Having people donate and give, I never realized how big of a part of having cancer, how much it matters, but it does.”
Kay says her daughter Lillie will be receiving chemo treatments all week to hopefully not need them during Christmas. In a positive sign, the doctors have told her that her daughter’s tumors have stopped growing. They look forward to healing, enjoying their new furniture, and having a great Thanksgiving feast.