Often, I write stories for The Reporter about the efforts to show love and support for children fighting life-threatening diseases. Today, I found out the smiling Weston Keeton, who I wrote about a year ago, passed away yesterday. It's hard to imagine when interviewing these sick children, who are so full of life, that their days are fleeting and their lives plagued with brevity. Rest in peace Weston, your big, bright smile will always be remembered.

Weston Keeton last year.

What amazed me most about Weston is that he isn't even from Pennsylvania, he's from Tennessee, but so many people - from volunteers to doctors - at CHOP fell in love with him that they called him their own, as well. It's incredible how people can love others for no particular reason, affiliation or requirement. Perhaps that is the lesson Weston taught us.

“It’s so nice that so many people want to donate to Weston, pray for him and do whatever they can to help our family,” Julie Keeton told me last year. “Especially here in Philadelphia where we were complete strangers.”

Stay tuned for info about an Easter Egg hunt to help pay Weston's medical bills and funeral expenses at BucksMont Indoor Sports Center next weekend. The egg hunt will be held Saturday, April 5, 2014 at 2278 North Penn Road, Hatfield, Pa. at 1:30 for ages 2-4; 2 p.m. for ages 5-7; and 2:30 for ages 8-10. The event is free with a suggested donation of $5. For more info call 215-996-1170 ext. 101.

This year Christmas time is a little extra special for one 5-year-old Lansdale boy.
Shane Popiny's dad Brett is a police officer. Often when Brett wears his uniform in the house, Shane will reach for the uniform's patch.
One day, Shane said, "Daddy, I want to a police officer just like you."
The obstacle is that Shane has Cerebral Palsy and is often confined to a wheel chair to assist his mobility.
To keep Shane's aspiration alive, the Popinys put together a YouTube video sharing Shane's story and asking police officers to send a Law Enforcement patch to him.
The video shows how the family lives their life and raises Shane.
"We wanted to show people that no matter what a child faces, the family can overcome the obstacle together," Brett said.
Shane received patches from officers all over the country, making him the happiest kid around.

Shane with patches he received from police officers around the country.

"People just attach themselves to his smile and an outpouring of support comes our way," Brett said.

After the networking and support group Law Enforcement Only (LEO) heard about Shane's story, combined with an injury Brett recently incurred while working as an officer, they decided to raise money for the Popiny family to "give them a Christmas."

Since Brett gets paid on a weekly basis, being out of work for recovery has made bill paying difficult and present buying impossible.

With tears in his eyes, Brett accepted the gift of a Christmas from LEO yesterday at Toys 'R Us in Montgomeryville.

Each of the Popiny's children, Dominic, 7, Shane, 5, and Gianna, 2, were able to spend $400 on any toy of their choosing, while the rest of the $3,100 raised for the family was given to Brett and his wife Colleen to pay their bills.

Shane in Toys 'R Us yesterday with his new flying "Cars" toy.

"It's a complete surprise and overwhelming that so many people came together to do this for us," Brett said. "This just goes to show that part of what holds us together is our larger family in the law enforcement community."

This is the second time Brett said he has been amazed at the support for his family. In February, the family won our "Sweetest Thing" contest, after readers decided they deserved a night out for all the do for their children.

To donate to the Popinys during this difficult time or show your support you can reach Colleen Popiny through e-mail at colleenpopiny@gmail.com or P.O. Box 41, Hatboro, Pa. 1940.

Do you remember this beautiful North Penn graduate Ayisha Hussain, who was diagnosed with Osteosarcoma, a bone cancer that originated as a tumor in her spine, in 2010?

The girl who, though battling cancer, fundraised for Children's Hospital of Phialdelphia and the Ronald McDonald House?

Unfortunately, Hussain lost her battle to cancer yesterday and while her family celebrates her life at the North Penn Mosque today, we are reminded that we can show our love and faith in this girl's courageous fight by honoring her memory.

"Cancer took Ayisha's life this morning, but she kept fighting and kept smiling the whole way through," friend Alison Wallach wrote in an e-mail to us. "Being featured on the Lansdale Love blog meant so much to her to reach as many people as possible with her message of hope and awareness."

Hussain and her good friends, organized by Melissa Ronnan,  continue to work to raise money for the Ronald McDonald Family Room at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. Purchase a T-shirt or make a donation in Ayisha's name to the cause that will help better facilitate the families who are spending time in the hospital at the sides of their sick children.

"I love to spend a lot of time at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia having sleepovers with my Ayisha. The first time I ever slept over we were wondering the halls of the oncology floor late at night," Ronnan wrote on the fundraising page.

"Every time I went there I saw what life was like living in the hospital. I was only there over night, these families are there for months. This made me want to step up and find a way to get donations to fill the Ronald McDonald Family Room's cabinets. This wish list provides donations from individually wrapped snacks to kitchen supplies. There is definitely a way we can make this happen, but with your help," Ronnan wrote.

This project is something Ayisha started with her friends - a simple cause of something she saw could benefit families like hers.

Ayisha this past May.

Jen Mohn, mother of Hannah Faith Mohn, a 3-year-old who struggles with a debilitating neuromuscular disorder yesterday spoke of the year-long battle with Hannah's insurance company to get her new $34,000 wheelchair approved. They finally received the wheelchair in the middle of April.

"It's like a full-time job trying to get something approved by insurance," Jen said. "There needs to be regulation in terms of approving these necessary pieces of equipment. It needs to be more personalized. I know we were asking a lot for this wheelchair but if they came to actually see Hannah they would understand."

With the difficulties in getting funding for equipment for Hannah to be independent and mobile, the Mohn's often fall on community support. In February The Reporter ran a story chronicling Hannah's story and her need and the community responded in astronomical ways. 

With the community's support, the Mohn's were able to retrofit their minivan to fit Hannah's new wheelchair.

Within a week of the article running on the front page of The Reporter, the Mohns could afford this $3,600 cost. Read the letter chronicling the response here.

Jennifer Connor, Community Engagement Editor at The Reporter, plans on investigating the challenge for families with children with special needs to get funding for necessary costs in an upcoming series. If you are a family with a special needs child and want to share your story and struggle, email Jennifer at jconnor@thereporteronline.com.

The Mohn family, Jen and Tim with their son Andrew,6, and daughter Hannah Faith together on Saturday February 16,2013. Photo by Mark C Psoras\The Reporter