Petaluma mom working for a cure

Loss of son moves Banaszek to fight cancer from home|

The bedroom where the memories of CJ Banaszek speak loudest has become an office of hope for children nationwide who are battling the cancer that took CJ’s life as 13-year-old last July.

His mother, Heather Banaszek, is now using CJ’s room as an office for her work as Community Outreach Specialist in Northern California for Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation, a national organization that raises money to fund childhood cancer research projects. “It feels really good and nurturing to work at home and have an office in CJ’s room,” Heather said.

Her involvement with Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation stemmed from a meeting with Liz Scott, mother of Alexandra (Alex) Scott, the courageous girl who created the original Alex’s Lemonade Stand before dying at age 8 with neuroblastoma, a type of childhood cancer.

The two women share not only the heartbreak of losing a child, but also a determination to help others avoid suffering the same hurt.

Alex’s goal was to help doctors find a cure for childhood cancer by raising funds through her lemonade stand. She succeeded to the tune of $2,000. The nation embraced the young girl’s story and, before she died, people from around the world had helped raise more than $1 million.

From there, Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation has grown and, to date, has raised more than $100 million and funded more than 475 research projects at world class institutions.

“I really like that the majority of the money goes to research,” Heather said. “They are doing exciting things in research. CJ had three bone marrow transplants. Hopefully, that can be avoided in the future.”

Before she quit her job to spend time at the hospital with CJ, Heather was Northern California marketing coordinator with Applebee’s. Her marketing experience and very personal interest in the cause made for a perfect fit to work with the Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation.

“My job is to create and awareness about what Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation is all about, and to raise money,” she explained. “I’m excited about the job and the things we’re going to do.”

Although she is the only marketing coordinator for the foundation in Northern California, Heather has a good starting point in CJ’s home town. “I’ll be letting CJ’s Orange Army know he still has a voice,” she said. “He absolutely wanted to make a difference for people.”

She said she would be contacting local schools, starting with CJ’s own Meadow School, to ask them to help by setting up Alex’s Lemonade Stands. While much of the foundation funding comes from corporate partnership, much also comes from local efforts. “It is a very grassroots effort,” Heather said.

CJ captured the hearts of the entire community during his two year battle with myelogenous leukemia, a form of the cancer that is rare in young people. But, through eight months in the hospital, the three bone marrow transplants and the countless chemotherapy treatments he remained strong and hopeful, becoming a symbol of courage for not only those who knew him, but for all who followed his courageous battles via a family Facebook page.

His mother said CJ and his family, which includes father Cas and sister Gabby, were optimistic throughout most of the youngster’s long struggle.

“We always thought he was going to beat it,” Heather recalled. “After the first bone marrow transplant he looked great. We were very optimistic. When he relapsed, that was the hardest time. I absolutely felt like I had a rug pulled out from under me.”

Still, the family remained hopeful.

“I just felt like he was meant to survive it,” the mother said.

CJ certainly tried.

“He really worked at getting to go home,” Heather said. She tells the story of how hard CJ struggled on a step climber to build his strength up enough to climb the 18 steps he needed to get into his room at home.

“The nurses said they never saw anyone who worked so hard to go home,” Heather said.

His family was with him every step of the way. Cas or Heather took turns driving to the UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital every day and were often accompanied by CJ’s sister, Gabby, now a junior at Casa Grande High School. “He had a great relationship with his sister,” Heather said. “They were best friends.” The Banaszeks chose to share their ordeal with the community through a Facebook page and, while at times, public grief can be difficult, Heather said she has no regrets.

“We put a lot out there publicly,” Heather said, “but it was nothing compared to the love and support we got in return. I’ve said thank you a thousand times. I learned by the people around me about the kind of person I want to be - about the importance of just being there.”

She added that others going through similar grief need to know that their hurt is no less real or no less important just because they choose to keep it private.

CJ eventually went home, but it was with the aide of Hospice.

During those final two weeks, Heather and CJ had a lot of one-on-one time that they had never had during his long hours in the hospital.

“It was pretty precious,” she said. “We would play games, watch movies and I would read to him.” There was also time for “that conversation you are supposed to have,” said Heather.

“We did have a chance to say goodbye. There was part of you that wants to say it’s unfair, but it’s completely irrelevant.”

According to Heather, Cas was the one who managed to keep the family’s spirits up, even in the toughest times. “He is great at making people laugh,” she explained. “She even made CJ laugh just a week before he passed.”

“CJ was my bud, my pal,” Heather recalled. Now she is working to help keep other parents buds and pals from suffering and leaving all two soon, as the Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation motto says, “One Cup at a Time.”

(Contact John Jackson at johnie.jackson@arguscou rier.com)

UPDATED: Please read and follow our commenting policy:
  • This is a family newspaper, please use a kind and respectful tone.
  • No profanity, hate speech or personal attacks. No off-topic remarks.
  • No disinformation about current events.
  • We will remove any comments — or commenters — that do not follow this commenting policy.