Play dates at the Madeley home in Lake Highlands are always filled with joy but now they come with a sense of peace.
"We just play and hang out and we have a new addition to our family and that's our nanny Julieta," said mother Lauren Madeley.
Nanny Julieta is there five days a week to care for the three young Madeley daughters after Lauren was diagnosed with breast cancer. Lauren has undergone surgery, chemotherapy and now radiation. Yet, her first worry had nothing to do with her health.
"I'm thinking of my girls," said Madeley, recalling the first moments following her diagnosis. "And, I'm thinking 'how is this going to affect my girls and who is going to help me take care of them?'"
That's where the charity 'Mommies In Need' comes in. The organization provides free in-home child care to parents experiencing a health crisis.
"These times are so stressful, they're financially stressful. They are emotionally stressful and we just come in and are a little bit of relief to those families in need," said the charity's founder Natalie Boyle.
Boyle started the charity after finishing her own breast cancer fight while raising twin toddlers. Shortly after, a dear friend revealed she had colon cancer and few resources.
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"I heard her say, 'I'm just going to get a friend to watch my kids on chemo days and I'll do it myself the rest of the time,' and because I knew that personally, I was like, 'No, you cannot do that,'" said Boyle.
She raised money and found a nanny to care for Annie Nace's children while she battle colon cancer and then, again, when the cancer returned.
"Annie was brave and strong," said Boyle. "She loved her children fiercely and we are just really happy that we're able to continue this legacy for her and to give her family a way to see the difference she made in the world."
Nace lost her battle with colon cancer, but her legacy lives on with each family the charity helps. In four years, Mommies In Need has provided more than 15,000 hours of free child care.
Veronica Guajardo did not know Annie Nace, but received free child care while battling breast cancer seven months after giving birth.
"Just how many lives she's touched and made a difference, otherwise, would I have had the help that I needed?," said Guajardo. "That my kids would have somebody there that would love on them during something so awful."
Guajardo is now paying it forward fundraising and providing support for mother's like Madeley who are in the thick of their fight.
"I kinda can't wait to be done with treatments and past cancer and to say, 'I'm a cancer survivor and I'm involved with Mommies In Need' because it truly changed our life," said Madeley.
It's not just mothers the charity supports, but fathers, too. To read more about the program, visit mommiesinneed.org.
