BY MICHELLE TALSMA EVERSON

Cancer treatment can take over a family’s life in ways that are hard to understand from the outside. There are appointments, medications, side effects, sleepless nights, and long stretches of waiting. For children, it can mean feeling tired, exposed, or unlike themselves. For parents and caregivers, it can mean living with a steady undercurrent of fear while trying to keep everyone moving forward.

Amanda Hope Rainbow Angels was created for families in that space.

The Phoenix-based nonprofit was founded by Lorraine Tallman in memory of her daughter, Amanda Hope, who died from leukemia at age 12 in 2012. Before her death, Amanda dreamed of creating comfortable, stylish clothing for children going through chemotherapy, something that would help them stay warm, feel covered, and hold on to a sense of dignity during treatment.

That idea became Comfycozy’s for Chemo, the organization’s signature adaptive apparel program. Today, Amanda Hope Rainbow Angels also supports children with cancer and other life-threatening diseases, along with their families, through financial assistance, counseling, wellness programs, and what Tallman describes as care for “the here-and-now needs every family often is too embarrassed to ask for.

“Our mission is to bring dignity and comfort into the harsh world of childhood cancer and other life-threatening diseases,” she says.

For many families, the strain is not only physical. It is emotional, isolating, and constant.

The hardest parts are “the loneliness and never knowing from one day to the next what side effect they will have to deal with next,” Tallman explains. “Life and death is always in the back of their minds.”

That is where the organization’s wellness programs come in. Through services such as massage, yoga, aromatherapy, wellness coaching, and sound healing, Amanda Hope Rainbow Angels offers children and parents a chance to pause, breathe, and feel cared for, even if just briefly.

Tallman says those moments can matter in a hospital room.

“Can you imagine, as a parent or a caregiver, having someone who cares about your whole family’s well-being walk into your room and help you feel a sense of peace and relaxation for an hour?” she says.

For a child, that may include breathing exercises to help with stress and anxiety. For a parent, it may be a massage, a quiet moment, or simply the rare experience of being cared for while caring for someone else.

The organization also offers sound therapy for children in the hospital, which Tallman says can visibly change the feeling in a room.

“We have amazing sound therapy programs,” she says. “You should see our kids go from nightmares to calm. When your body is at peace, your body heals faster.”

None of it takes away the diagnosis or the difficult parts of treatment. But it can make the room feel a little less heavy. It can give a child a moment of serenity or a parent a chance to loosen their shoulders. In a season defined by uncertainty, that kind of care has its own quiet value.

A PLACE FOR HOPE

The organization is now preparing for a new chapter. After working toward the goal for about 10 years, Amanda Hope Rainbow Angels recently purchased a property for a new wellness center. Tallman describes the 1929 home near the Phoenix Art Museum as a long-held dream finally becoming real.

“Amanda is in heaven doing the happy dance,” Tallman says. “Hope and healing is felt the moment you walk through our doors.”

The wellness center is expected to give families a dedicated place to receive support, connect with services, and find quietude outside the hospital room. Amanda Hope Rainbow Angels plans to celebrate its grand opening Dec. 1, while also collecting Christmas gifts for 300 children.

“We would love to make every Christmas dream come true,” Tallman says.

For Tallman, the work continues to come back to Amanda’s dream and to the families who are living through childhood cancer now. They need medical care, but they also need clothing that protects their dignity, help with the costs and fear that come with treatment, and support that makes room for the whole family.

Sometimes, they also need an hour of quiet. A soft shirt. A deep breath. A little light in the middle of a very hard day.

To learn more, visit www.amandahope.org.