JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Life is anything but normal for four-year-old Aspen Peterson-Armengol, diagnosed with Embryonal RMS, an aggressive form of childhood cancer.
Being immunocompromised, Aspen isn’t able to play on public playgrounds, something that Eric Newman, the CEO of the Roc Solid Foundation and a childhood cancer survivor himself, is all too familiar with.
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“Play is a gift to the imagination. Play is something that no child should ever miss out on,” Newman told Action News Jax. “You and I choose to lose out on play. But kids diagnosed with cancer, they don’t have that choice.”
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Now, the Roc Solid Foundation, along with volunteers from the Jacksonville community, have brought the playground to Aspen, building her a playset that will hopefully bring her one step closer to a normal childhood.
“The playset provides a sense of normalcy for this family and yes it’s going to provide a safe place for Aspen to play, because yes, public parks become public parks become off limits,” Newman explained at the building of the playset on Thursday.
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Although Aspen and her family weren’t able to be there Thursday morning for the reveal of the finished playground, because Aspen had to be rushed into an emergency surgery, Newman just hopes it gives Aspen something to come home to with a smile.
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“That moment when the family comes around and they see the playset for the first time, guess what they’re not thinking about? Cancer. So we win every single time,” added Newman.
The Roc Solid Foundation plans to keep the initiative going, surprising 30 families in across America with their own playsets, helping those suffering from childhood cancer one smile at a time.
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