BETHLEHEM, Pa. — A mother whose 6-month-old daughter was diagnosed with cancer is releasing a book about her experience, hoping to give comfort to others going through the same thing.
“I See You,” written by Shari Ann Almeida, will be released Feb. 1.
- Mom pens book about her daughter's cancer diagnosis and treatment
- "I See You" will be released February 1st, 2023
- Proceeds from book purchased through her website will go back to helping families fighting pediatric cancer
Almeida, who lived in North Wales, Montgomery County, when her daughter was diagnosed and has since moved to North Carolina, will return to the Lehigh Valley at the end of February for a book tour.
Funds from book purchases through the Warrior Moms website will go back to helping families fighting pediatric cancer.
“You walk into the hospital, those hospital doors shut, and you aren't seen for weeks, for months at a time," Almeida said, recalling how her experience felt isolating and lonely.
"It’s not a choice. You have to do that in order to have any chance at saving your child.”
The latest tool
Almeida’s daughter Dakota is nearly two years in remission, but the trauma of a leukemia diagnosis and treatment remains.
As an infant, Dakota was treated at Lehigh Valley Health Network, where her mom formed a bond with others going through similar situations.
“There's nobody in the world who understands everything that we're feeling and all of these incredible emotions that are just weighing us down,” Almeida said.
“Just to be able to get through an hour is almost physically and mentally impossible, and there's no one that understands that more than a woman who wears the exact same pair of shoes that you do.”
“Just to be able to get through an hour is almost physically and mentally impossible and there's no one that understands that more than a woman who wears the exact same pair of shoes that you do.”Shari Ann Almeida, author of "I See You"
The book is just the latest tool Almeida hopes to give parents with children diagnosed with cancer.
She also started a support group called Warrior Moms United by Pediatric Cancer for parents to share their own experiences.
Each chapter is specific to a hospital providing care, so there’s a group for parents at Lehigh Valley Health Network and another for parents at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. There now are about 10 chapters nationwide and a second group for dads has since been established.
“We also built a website where women can actually connect and then also figure out how to build what we have built, in their local area,” Almeida said.
Dads join in
“One of the most beautiful things that happened recently, two dads came together and they came and they said ‘Shari, we want to work, we want to build this, we want to do Warrior Dads.’"
So Warrior Dads is officially up and running in the Lehigh Valley.
Since Dakota completed her treatment, the Almeida family has since moved from eastern Pennsylvania to North Carolina for what Shari Ann calls a “fresh start” and created a new group of Warrior Parents in the south.
