Therapy dog surprises boy fighting B Cell ALL leukemia 💛

Meet Nolan! He is eight years old and fighting B Cell ALL leukemia. He was diagnosed in July and because he also has Trisomy 21, his treatment plan is longer and harder. More chemotherapy. More hospital stays. More side effects. Since his diagnosis he has only been home for about thirty days total. Even with all of that, his personality never slows down. He runs the halls. He hands out hugs to every nurse he sees. On the day Emma visited, he was exactly who his mom described. Fun. Energetic. Ready to dance. Ready to make a new friend. Emma and Ellie are part of the @childrensnationalmed pet therapy team, a volunteer group of about twenty therapy dog teams and four facility dogs who spend time with kids like Nolan. It's hard to describe the impact of these visits. You can feel the room lift when a child gets a moment of joy and connection. Children’s National is a not-for-profit hospital, and programs like pet therapy rely on donations to exist. They help kids be kids during the hardest chapters. Thank you for helping make these visits possible.