On a cold fall day, Damien arrived at Lurie Children’s Hospital at 6 a.m. to get ready for his surgery which would go on for about 6 hours. Tina, Damien’s mom, thought it would be a nice surprise for Damien to receive his gift following his surgery. So on Friday, November 3rd, Yoli Alvin - President of Alyssa Alvin Foundation for Hope - waited until Damien was taken to his inpatient room to deliver his keyboard and headphones.
Upon arriving at Damien’s room, Mike, his Dad, and Victoria, his aunt, were there saying that he was still very tired after his procedure. While waiting for Damien to awake, his keyboard and headphones were arranged on a chair at his bedside. When he awoke from his nap, his sleepy eyes went immediately to the chair holding his gifts. He broke into a smile and said simply, “Wow”!
Damien, is 16 years old and was diagnosed with Ewing’s sarcoma of the right humerus on May 12, 2017. He is a high school sophomore in Lake Villa where he lives with his family and furry cat, Dubs. Damien is receiving treatment at Lurie Children’s Hospital in Chicago. At the time of his diagnosis, Damien heard about AAFH and filled out the gift request form for the keyboard.
Damien plays the saxophone and piano and enjoys listening to and playing jazz and funk. He has already had the good fortune to jam onstage in concert with the internationally renowned horn section, Tower of Power, and his YouTube video clip has been viewed tens of thousands of times already.
We are grateful to present Damien and other young patients facing life threatening diseases with musical instruments in Alyssa’s memory.