supporting Wonders & Worries - helping children cope when a parent has a chronic or life-threatening illness.

The Halder Family - Ashley, Rob, Nikki and Samantha

Who we help

In October 2008, Nikki Halder had been living with a low thyroid condition for years. She and her husband Rob had recently celebrated the birth of daughter Ashley and their daughter Samantha was just two, when Nikki fainted while the family was in Michigan visiting her parents. She went to the local ER, and with little Samantha on her lap, Nikki collapsed in the waiting room and her heart stopped. “They ripped Samantha away from me—they had to because my heart had stopped,” says Nikki. “When I came to about 15 minutes later, she was still screaming.”

Doctors adjusted the medication she had been taking for her thyroid problem, but Nikki still didn’t feel well. After two weeks, Rob brought her back to Austin, where a cardiologist diagnosed her with Neurocardiogenic Syncope – a condition that causes her entire body to shut down during times of trauma or extreme crisis.

Then in 2009, while on a family trip to New York City, Samantha began screaming and wouldn’t stop. “We couldn’t figure how what was wrong. She screamed until she completely exhausted herself, and when she woke up, she’s start in again,” says Nikki. “I finally spoke with a child psychologist, who thought Samantha’s behavior sounded like classic symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome (PTSS).”

Back home in Austin, Samantha’s behavior worsened. She screamed all night long and wouldn’t let Nikki leave a room without her. A friend found Wonders & Worries, and within a week Samantha began seeing W&W Child Life Specialist Kim Fryar, and Rob and Nikki also received support. “It was incredible. Within two months everything was put back together,” says Nikki. “Our family is so different because of it. Not only did Wonders & Worries help Samantha, but they helped Rob and I learn how to support her, now and in the future.”

All of the money raised through the Classic will help W&W help families like the Halders. Currently, nearly 400 people in more than 250 families receive support from W&W. The event’s goal for this year is $300,000, which will provide support for more than 650 families.

About Wonders & Worries

According to the Texas Cancer Registry, 21.4% of adults who are diagnosed with cancer report they have a child under the age of 18 currently living with them. These are children who watch their mommy lose her hair, who wonder why their daddy is too tired to play, and the most common worries are “Can I catch cancer?” “What will happen to me?” and “What did I do to cause this?”

Wonders & Worries helps children cope when their parent or caregiver has a chronic or life-threatening illness like cancer, ALS, heart disease, Neurocardiogenic Syncope, and more. All services are offered free of charge to anyone – and are available in English and Spanish.

Who We Help

Chronic and terminal illness does not discriminate against age, gender, race or socioeconomic status. As such, W&W's services are provided to ANY family with children (ages two to 18) that has an adult family member coping with the diagnosis of a chronic or terminal condition. Our target population includes any child who has been affected by a loved one's life-threatening or chronic illness in Central Texas (Travis, Williamson, Bastrop, Caldwell, Burnet and Hays Counties).

To date, more than 2,800 individuals in Central Texas families have participated in one or more of W&W's five programs.