The Bushes
In August of 2005 Sydney Bush, who was merely two years old, was diagnosed with a brain tumor. Sydney had a successful surgery to remove the tumor at Hershey Medical Center and went through 6 ½ weeks of radiation therapy and was all clear. In January 2007, the tumor unfortunately came back. She went into surgery once again and followed it up with the Gamma Knife, a one-time treatment of high dose radiation to the tumor bed. Now, 17 years later, Sydney is cancer free and doing extremely well! Sydney is now 21 years old and is a Senior at Penn State Main Campus! She is also a Family Relations Captain again for THON 2025! She is the Teen and Adult Coordinator and has done so much for the teens and adults involved in the THON community and we are so proud of her for everything she has done and will continue to do! Sydney has an amazing older sister, Katie Bush. She has always been so close with all of the brothers of DSP and we love having her around! Syd and Katie’s parents, Pete and Celeste, continually stress how much THON has made a positive impact on their lives. When a child is diagnosed with cancer, the hospital bills are the last things on parent’s minds. The Four Diamonds Fund eliminated this financial burden for them and also created a community that would support them through their journey. The Bushes are such an amazing group of people and we love having such a great relationship with their entire family! After the diagnosis and 6 months of hospital visits and emotional stress, the Bushes were able to attend THON! The Bush Family attended their first THON back in 2006, and this year will be their 19th THON! This sense of joy and support is what we as a fraternity try to provide for our families at all times. Delta Sigma Pi is truly honored to have the opportunity to be involved with the inspiring Bush Family, and we are so happy every time we get to see them! We have loved all the memories we have been able to make with them and look forward to so many more!
The Schneiders
Grace Schneider is a lively and energetic girl who hopes to become a doctor when she grows up. She loves music, dancing, and spending time with her family. Grace is like many other girls her age, but when she was just five, she began to have unexplained pains in her legs. After several weeks of fevers and aches, Grace’s pediatrician ordered blood work. As if to signal the stress of the situation, Grace’s bloodwork was lost and had to be redrawn. “Cancer hadn’t even crossed my mind at this point,” remembered Grace’s mom Angela. Finally, the Schneider family was awoken by a midnight call from the lab; they had found Grace’s bloodwork and wanted her to get to the hospital right away. With multiple hospitals to choose from, the family opted to head to Hershey that night, and everything became a devastating whirlwind until Grace was diagnosed with B cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) on Friday, September 18th, 2020. That first weekend at Hershey was where the Schneider family’s Four Diamonds journey began. The hospital was already sparsely occupied due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and as staff geared down for the weekend, the first few people to reach out to the family were all sponsored by Four Diamonds, including their social worker Greg, who offered them the opportunity to have all their medical expenses paid by becoming a Four Diamonds family. “I honestly thought it was a scam,” admitted Angela, but they followed through with the program anyways, explaining, “you would give your left leg for your child”. Despite their initial impression, the Schneider family quickly experienced the depth of Four Diamonds and were grateful for the additional support system as they moved forward to navigate Grace’s cancer treatment. “Leukemia is a well-understood pediatric cancer,” Angela explained, “I felt like if we were to be dealt this hand, at least we had been dealt a royal flush”. Unfortunately, things were not what they had seemed. The staff at Hershey did a routine genetic test on Grace’s cancerous cells to determine whether they would be favorable to treatment, which took several weeks to return results. Just as the Schneiders felt like they were getting back on their feet, they learned that Grace had an unfavorable genetic abnormality known as iAMP21. “It felt like being re-diagnosed,” said Angela, who emphasized that iAMP21 was only discovered in 2003. Research funds for iAMP21 were initially minimal as the abnormality was rare, but because of funding from organizations like Four Diamonds, there have been studies on it that have helped inform the treatment for Grace and others. After discovering this complication, Grace began front-line treatment. Her family was grateful that she had very minimal side effects during her time of chemo. Grace’s front-line treatment was long and intensive due to her genetic abnormality. For a full eleven months, the life of the Schneider family revolved around the process. “It is a really hard thing when your child is going through a severe illness and you still have to be a functional human being,” Angela explained, “I still have another child to support, and I can’t just not pay my mortgage because my child is sick. People don’t understand that life still has to go on, and Four Diamonds helps with that.” Grace ended her treatment on January 14th, 2023! On February 13th, 2023, she was officially declared cancer-free! Grace alongside her family and the brothers of DSP celebrated ONE YEAR CANCER FREE just a few days before THON 2024!! We are so thankful to celebrate this amazing milestone with the Schneiders and our Amazing Grace. The Schneider family enjoys days spent at their cabin, at the beach, and with extended family. Angela is extremely grateful for the endless list of family members and friends who have helped the family throughout Grace’s cancer journey. The family was able to attend their first ever THON in 2021 and we are so excited to have them here again for THON 2025! Through everything, Grace has carried herself as a model of strength. Her family admires how she has handled her journey in stride and with so much confidence. Angela recalled when it became time to shave Grace’s hair off. That day, she was feeling emotional, but Grace’s response to the situation was nonchalant: “Just cut it off, Mom. It’s just hair, it will grow back.” Angela is continuously amazed by this attitude from her daughter. “She is truly one of the strongest people you could ever encounter.”
The Wrights
Andrew had just turned 10 when he was first diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. What started as a dentist appointment for a baby tooth quickly turned into cancer treatment decisions. It all started when Andrew, just 10 years old, had to have the baby tooth pulled and was given antibiotics at the dentist. Andrew was always big for his age, so when the dentist dosed him he dosed by age not his size. The infection he was originally being treated for, soon moved from his mouth to his lymph nodes, or so we thought. The doctors tried a few different antibiotics and when that didn't work he sent him to an ears, nose, and throat specialist. After seeing the ENT, he said they needed to have the node needle biopsied. So they had that done and the results came back that it was lymphatic tissue. The ENT then said he wanted to remove the node to have it tested to be sure just what we were dealing with. That's when the world came crashing down, he gave them the results and rushed them to Hershey. Soon Andrew had to go through making decisions on if he would get a port or get an IV site for each treatment. Chemo didn't stop him. It was winter when he was going through treatments, but baseball started with indoor workouts. He would leave Hershey after having treatments and go to the gym for baseball. When baseball was over, football started. Andrew was ready to put the helmet and shoulder pads on and hit the field. As his mom Becky says, Andrew is and always has been a tough, “I'll take anything you throw at me” kind of kid. When he was diagnosed he looked at me and said, “I got this”. Andrew is an extremely tough kid and pushed through all treatments and was officially considered cancer free in 2011! We are so proud to say this will be our 7th year being paired with the Wright Family and we are so grateful for all the memories and for more to come. In May Andrew graduated from Penn State University with a degree in History and is now working for the Liquor Control Board in Human Resources. We are so lucky to be paired with the Andrew Wright Family and are happy to say this will be our 7th year being paired and it has been nothing short of a BLAST! We always look forward to our tradition every year of going bowling to celebrate his birthday, and can’t wait for more memories to come. We are forever proud of all of his accomplishments, and can't wait to see what he continues to do!
