ORLANDO, Fla. – Carmen Dossett is an oncology social worker at AdventHealth in Orlando.
She made a stop at the Salvation Army headquarters to talk about a family she’s working with that is facing one of the hardest challenges, cancer.
“They are a young family, 40s and 50s, the parents. The wife is going through breast cancer. She’s had a double mastectomy and she’s going through chemo and radiation,” Dossett said.
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Due to HIPPA, Dossett could not disclose their names but said the family has three children who are in need of Christmas gifts this year.
According to the Salvation Army, the ages of the children range from 10 to 18 years old.
“I would like, mostly, I just want them to have some relief on that day and some happiness and some light to come into their family that day,” she said.
Last month, Carmen placed a request for the family to be adopted through Salvation Army’s Angel Tree program.
“You can tell in their voice at times they’re pretty stressed and as I got into the stories with him and his wife, I realized this is a family that needs a good amount of support,” she said.
Dossett moved to Central Florida from Mississippi six months ago, where she learned about the Angel Tree program.
And as a mother herself, she knew she had to step in to help this family.
“If that were to happen to me, it would be tough, so my heart goes out to this family especially because the mom is the central being of the family is not able to do her motherly role,” Dossett said.
Dossett said her goal is to uplift the family and bring them joy during the holidays.
“I just wanted to bring light and joy into their Christmas day because it’s a challenging time for them right now,” she said.
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