Normal Moments’ founder, Tricia Fragen’s daughter, Melissa, was diagnosed with osteosarcoma, a bone cancer, a few days before the beginning of her sophomore year of high school. We battled valiantly through chemotherapy, septic shock, many surgeries, radiation, and the side effects of it all.

Without her dear friend, David, who stepped in to care for the dogs, plants, and house during extended hospital stays both locally and out-of-town, she says she “never would have survived.” David wasn’t the only person to step up to assist. “Sometimes, when we had to be at the hospital on a cold winter morning, I discovered that my neighbor had gotten up early and shoveled my drive way. On those special days, I had some extra time to share with my daughter and one less cause for exhaustion.”

When Melissa stopped eating everything but sushi, friends and family created the “Sushi Fund” at her favorite restaurant so that I didn’t go broke feeding her. And when no one else really understood what it is like to sit by your child’s side while her body struggles to survive, Sheryl was there to reminisce about her similar experience and I knew I was not alone.”