CHOC Children's Foundation
Long Live Childhood
When Sarah Carey suffered severe complications from Type 1 diabetes at age seven, her care team at CHOC gave her the support needed to manage a chronic illness and inspired her to give back—and become a nurse at the same hospital that changed her health journey forever.
Because of the support of our generous donors, CHOC has been able to be there for Sydney, a teenager who spent her sophomore year of high school fighting a rare childhood cancer.
Thanks to your philanthropy, CHOC is turning sadness into smiles for patients like Carissa, a teen who found the road to mental health wellness with the help of our Cherese Mari Laulhere Mental Health Inpatient Center and through our intensive outpatient program.
At 18 months, Veronica Mercado was diagnosed with high-risk leukemia and treated at CHOC. Now healthy and grown, Veronica is giving back … as a licensed vocational nurse in one of CHOC’s primary care pediatric clinics.
Supported by philanthropy, Mini Medical School is a science and health education series for homeless youth in Orange County. The program was created in 2019 by CHOC providers to spark children’s interest in a STEM discipline—science, technology, engineering and math—and to offer consistent contact with caring healthcare workers to make the hospital experience less intimidating.
Coming full circle at CHOC, from being a former CHOC patient to a CHOC nurse, Veronica Mercado is fully committed to CHOC’s mission and lives it out wholeheartedly.
