Who We Are Honoring

The 2022 Long Beach Athletic Department's "Beauty and the Beast" Gymnastics and Wrestling Invitational is in honor of Eloise and Hunter. The Invitational will be held on January 27th 2022 at Long Beach High School. Below you can read about the journey of Eloise and Hunter. We want to thank the Oceanside Gymnastic Team and Hewlett Varsity Wrestling team in joining us tonight to raise money for Pediatric Cancer Research at Memorial Sloane Kettering Kids Program. Gold is the color that symbolizes the fight against pediatric cancer. On the night of the event our athletes will wear gold to honor not only Eloise and Hunter but also the other kids and families who are in the fight against this cancer.

Meet The Kids

Eloise was diagnosed with cancer at the beginning of the pandemic, just shy of 2 years old, weeks before becoming a big sister. Her life was changed overnight when several surgeries, long hospital stays, and chemotherapy rounds ensued. Laughing and playing again felt unimaginable.
While her medical journey remains complicated, she has been cancer free since Thanksgiving 2020. Her family is so incredibly grateful for the sacrifices families before us made so that Eloise’s treatment was possible, and for the exceptional care she received at Memorial Sloan Kettering Kids Hospital.
When she was first transferred to MSK she would flinch and scream every time someone walked into her hospital room, petrified of what was to come next. MSK KIDS nurses and doctors patiently and kind heartedly engaged her in tons of medical play. Eloise’s perseverance, grit and magnanimous personality shined through.
Her favorite nighttime book became a story about a child with cancer, “Bobo’s Just Fine”, and “Maisy Goes to the Hospital”. Eloise now looks forward to seeing her oncologist, Dr Ortiz, and at the mere age of 3 wants to help him help more children in the hospital feel better.

Hunter is a 3 year old little boy who was diagnosed with Philadelphia Chromosome Positive-ALL on June 10th, 2021. A very rare form of leukemia. Since being diagnosed he has had many hospital stays, some being lengthy. He has had numerous blood transfusions and chemo treatments. And through it all he has been the strongest, bravest little boy. He is currently in remission but because his type of cancer is so aggressive intense treatments are still necessary. We have a long road ahead of treatments and transfusions. His strength is something to admire. His bravery is beyond what I can even comprehend. This little 3 y/o is inspiring in so many ways and has certainly touched so many lives. Hunter is a real life hero.

Please help us raise money for this cause by donating today! We thank you in advance for your generosity.