To the Editor:

In June 2011, my seven-year-old daughter Bria was diagnosed with Stage IV Wilms tumor. It’s a rare form of cancer of the kidney. Although she ultimately lost one of her kidneys to this disease, she has not lost her passion for life.

On March 5 of this year, Bria completed her final treatment. She will be able to join her school mates very soon and enjoy life, as all young children should! The past eight months have been very hard on my family and me. But due to a huge outpouring of love, support, and prayers, we have endured this very trying time in our lives. I know that I will never be able to truly express and convey my gratitude and appreciation towards everyone who has help us in many ways. The number of people who helped is many, so I apologize in advance for anyone whose name I have not mentioned here. Although not mentioned here, you are always mentioned in my prayers!

I want to send out a tremendous thank you to Mike and Denise Caballero (whom until my daughter’s illness, we did not know). Mike and Denise organized a softball tournament as a fundraiser, so a special thank you goes to all the teams who participated in this event! In addition, Mike organized a charity poker tournament. These two events not only helped us financially, but it also gave us a much needed distraction from the daily trials this disease presented us with. I would also like to extend a heartfelt thank you to The Christian Church of Bayonne for all of their prayers and support. It’s in times like this that our true faith is tested and we’ve persevered. Thank you to the following people and organizations for their generous support and well wishes: Mike Miselis and Cal Ripken Baseball, Bayonne Little League, Bayonne Police Department, Jersey City Police Department, Bayonne Blimpie Base, Passion LLC, Rockwell Securities, Erik Infantes Foundation, and Hoboken Gold & Diamond.

Again, I am sorry for the many names that were not mentioned. But of course, all of this would not have been possible if it was not due to the tireless efforts and dedication of all the medical staff at St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital in Patterson, N.J.

BETTE ANN ZUK