By Leah Gross-Harmon
News of a pregnancy is usually cause for great joy for expecting moms and dads. So it was when installer Steve Crooker of JDS Flooring Associates in Bedford, N.H., learned that he and his wife Lea had conceived their second child in the fall of 2007. Their 4-year old son Dylan was thrilled to hear he’d soon have a playmate in the family’s Manchester, N.H., home. Life couldn’t be more idyllic.

Then tragedy struck. A routine 20-week ultrasound revealed a growth on Stephen and Lea’s fetus. The family’s obstetrician immediately sent them to see a specialist at Dartmouth Hitchcock in Nashua, N.H. That’s where the diagnosis was made—their unborn child had a Sacrococcygeal Teratoma.

Known as SCT, Sacrococcygeal Teratoma is an unusual tumor that is located at the base of the tailbone (coccyx). This birth defect is more common in female babies. Doctors determined the Crookers were pregnant with a girl.

Most fetuses with an SCT do well with surgical treatment after birth since the tumors are generally not malignant. Babies with small tumors that can be removed along with the coccyx bone can be expected to live normal lives, although they may develop tumors later. Seen in one in every 35,000 live births, SCT is the most common tumor in newborns and has the ability to grow larger than the rest of the fetus.

SCT comes in four distinct types. The Crooker’s fetus had Type 2, which meant that her growth was mostly external. Doctors decided that the best course of action was to take the baby at 36 weeks—four weeks earlier than full term. The Crookers were referred to the Advanced Fetal Care Center in Boston’s Children’s Hospital where a surgeon would remove the tumor immediately following a C-section birth.

On July 2, 2008, Abigail Barbara Crooker was brought into the world and her SCT was successfully removed. The family brought their daughter home to begin the typical eat, sleep, diaper change routine. Three weeks later, they received a call from Abby’s surgeon. While most SCTs are benign, Abby’s was not. Her pathology came back positive for Endodermal Sinus Tumor.

Known as EST, this yolk sac tumor is a member of the germ cell group of cancers. Because doctors biopsied the outer edge of Abby’s tumor, they determined the cancer was also in her surrounding tissue. This type of cancer can metastasize to the bones, lungs, liver and sometimes brain if not treated immediately.

The following week the Crookers made appointments for bone and renal scans, a hearing test, and for a central line to be inserted so that Abby could begin chemotherapy.

Abby was prescribed three cycles of chemotherapy at Children’s Hospital Boston. Each inpatient cycle lasted six days. Five days were spent receiving chemo, followed by 24 hours of hydration and observation. The family would then go home for two weeks while their daughter’s body recovered—then start all over again. After the third cycle, Abby’s oncologist decided to add a fourth. Her last one was in October.

The hospital stays were hard on the Crookers. Lea stayed with Abby for all the scans, treatments and transfusions while Steve returned to work to keep the money flowing. In addition, Dylan was just starting kindergarten, so Steve needed to be home to care for their son— who, thankfully, was also watched by his grandparents, with whom the Crookers lived.

Abby’s first cycle of chemo went smoothly, though her nausea lasted for up to two weeks. The second cycle went just as well, though Abby would often fuss all night, making it difficult for patients forced to share a hospital room with the Crookers. After returning home from the second cycle, Lea and Steve discovered that Abby’s bowels had turned blood red. After dropping Dylan off for his first day of kindergarten, Lea drove Abby to Boston’s Dana-Farber Jimmy Fund, which sent her back to Children’s Hospital via ambulance. Abby was put on bowel rest—resulting in her spending 16 consecutive days in the hospital so that her third cycle of chemo could take place.

The fourth cycle went the smoothest, with the family able to secure a private room when available. Throughout the entire ordeal, Steve and Dylan were unable to visit Abby and Lea as often as they would have liked. Only one parent was allowed to stay in the room with Abby and everyone on the hospital floor is “immunocompromised”—or unable to fight infectious disease, making it less than a desirable place for a 4-year-old. Still, both Lea and Steve’s parents made visits to give Lea some time to relax and regroup—if only for a couple hours.

Beyond their newborn daughter’s health, an entirely separate concern for the Crookers was the financial cost of Abby’s care. Thankfully, Lea had health insurance through her employer, Elliott Hospital in Manchester. Cigna paid 60% of the bills the family incurred until they met their deductible. The Crookers were responsible for co-pays and for costs that were outside their provider, which included the majority of tests and inpatient stays.

One day, one of the owners of JDS Flooring informed Steve about the Floor Covering Industry Foundation (FCIF). Founded in 1980 by several prominent industry figures, led by the late, great Walter Guinan, FCIF is dedicated to financially assisting floor covering industry professionals who experience catastrophic illness, severe disabilities or other life-altering hardships.

After applying, the Crookers were informed that FCIF would happily assist with medical expenses, including home nursing care. The non-profit organization also supplemented the family’s income, allowing Lea to take days off from her job to drive Abby to her doctor appointments.

“The Foundation has given us a peace of mind that we would never have been able to attain by ourselves,” Lea said. “It allows us not to worry so much about financial difficulty due to medical expenses, as well as expenses incurred from having a child in a hospital for any period of time. I don’t know what we would be doing without the Foundation’s assistance.”

Today, Lea and Steve have gotten used to flushing and changing Abby’s central line, and life is as normal as can be for a family dealing with EST. Abby is approaching her first birthday and is growing up to be a happy little girl.

Since it’s founding, the FCIF has granted more than $1.5 million to help those in need. Beneficiaries include retailers, installers, retail salespeople, distributor personnel, mill employees and executives. The Foundation ensures that these philanthropic efforts are accomplished with compassion, confidentiality and preservation of dignity for the individuals concerned. Financial help is viewed as an opportunity to say, “we care” to those in our industry.

For more information on the Floor Covering Industry Foundation or to help members of our industry family, like Steve Crooker, cope with life-altering hardships, call 714.634.0302, or visit the organization’s Web site at www.fcif.org.