WADESBORO- Dianna Lariviere’s life uprooted when her son, Max, was diagnosed with Stage IV High-Risk Neuroblastoma in August, 2018. Max had 5 solid tumors, 3 skull lesions, and a bone lesion under his right eye. He is currently known as NED, no evidence of disease. The trials and tribulations Lariviere went through made her want to use her experience as a parent of a cancer-stricken child to help other families. That’s when she came up with the idea for the Max Life Foundation.
“Everyone knows cancer is sad and everyone knows that childhood cancer is extremely sad, but no one knows the ins and outs of it until they’re forced to be put in that situation,” said Lariviere. “Me included. I didn’t realize just how horrible it was until our child was facing it and our family had to hit it head-on.”
The Max Life Foundation is a 501 (c) (3) nonprofit organization for childhood cancer. “Our mission is to raise funds to help ease the financial burden for cancer families so that they have, hopefully, a little less stress on their plate and more time to focus on their child’s diagnosis and treatment plan,” said Lariviere.
“We officially started the Foundation on Friday, Dec. 13, 2019. It was a lucky day for us. My son had updated scans that day and it showed his cancer was still clear,” said Lariviere. “We want to do our part to make sure that these children live to their maximum life potential. That’s where the name comes from, that and my son’s name is Max.”
Funds for the Foundation are raised through a variety of methods, “Our first annual event for sporting clays shoot is going to be in Anson County at the Four Branches Sporting Preserve on April 3. People can sign up individually, as businesses, sponsor a team. We raise money that way,” said Lariviere who added, “We take donations throughout the year from people. We also have the ability to have corporate sponsors and partnerships. If you need a big tax write off at the end of the year, you can put it to a good cause or do small monthly donations.”
Once the funds are raised, the Foundation works with social workers at children’s hospitals to find out which family they should help. “The social workers will submit info to us and we will have a check made out directly to, whether it be a mortgage company, an electric company, whatever the bill may be, we’ll distribute it directly that way,” said Lariviere.
A small but dedicated team of volunteers makes up the Max Life Foundation. “None of us get paid to do this. We do this because we want to do more for children and families that are put in this horrible situation,” said Lariviere.
In addition to providing financial assistance, the Max Life Foundation also seeks to raise awareness, particularly in children. “We’ve encountered a lot of younger children who, because my child has cancer, they’re afraid to go near him. I want Max to be able to go to school and not feel different from everybody else. So, I think that’s important to raise awareness, even to the younger generation,” she said. Lariviere accomplishes this by speaking at cancer foundations, schools, conducting interviews with the press, and posting statistics and facts on social media.
“Hopefully, as we grow, we would love to get into funding research so that these children can hopefully have some options that are better suited so that when they do survive their treatment, they don’t have to then worry about the side effects,” said Lariviere.
Side effects of chemotherapy in children can include developing a secondary cancer, liver damage, or heart damage. “A lot of survivors don’t live full lives because of all the side effects that happen because of the chemotherapy,” concluded Lariviere.
Visit our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/theansonrecord/
Leave a Reply