They Met in a Hospital. Now They Work Side by Side for Families.

September 10, 2026

September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. For two members of the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation team, it’s also the story of how this work found them.

A Dad First

Mike Henry’s most important role has never been Director of Advocacy. It was as a dad to his daughter Blair. Blair was three years old when she died of brain cancer in 2020. That loss is why Mike now carries her memory into the rooms where policy and priorities get decided, working to make childhood brain cancer a national priority. He’ll tell you the people he meets in this community deepen that commitment every day: parents honoring their children, survivors living with complex side effects, siblings speaking up for their brothers and sisters.

The Hospital Where They Met

The Henrys spent that time at A.I. duPont Hospital for Children in Delaware, now Nemours Children’s Hospital. Jenn Kelley was part of the care team there. For more than a decade, she served as a certified Child Life Specialist, supporting children and parents through the hardest days of pediatric cancer.

“Jenn and her entire care team made our time at the hospital easier,” Mike says. “Their empathy and constant support gave us the strength to face Blair’s illness. Now, I consider it a gift to be able to work with someone who knew and cared for my daughter.”

“Mike and I met at one of the hardest points in his family’s life, in a moment no parent should ever have to face,” Jenn says. “Now, years later, it means so much to work each day beside him, carrying that same love and commitment forward, just from different seats at the table. It’s one of the deepest privileges of my career.”

What Happens After Discharge

What she saw after discharge eventually brought her to PBTF in 2021.

“This work taught me something important. A family’s needs don’t end when they walk out of the hospital doors,” she says. “The hardest part often comes afterward, once a family goes home, the phone calls slow down, and the world expects them to just move forward. That’s the moment that stayed with me, long after I left bedside care, and it’s why I came to PBTF. I want to help make sure no family faces that quiet stretch alone.”

Someone Who Sees the Whole Family

Today, as Director of Family Support, Jenn connects with families in their happiest moments and their most difficult ones, working to make sure they have guidance, compassion, and somewhere to turn at every stage.

“Every family deserves what Mike’s family had: someone who looks at the whole family, not just the diagnosis,” she says. “That’s the heart of everything we do.”

“I think of Blair every day, just as I think of every family I’ve worked with. She continues to shape the way I show up for the families I support now.”

From Both Sides

Mike has watched her do it from both sides.

“I know the commitment to families that Jenn brings to her role because I witnessed it firsthand,” he says. “She spent years walking alongside families like ours, and she displays that same empathy every day when dealing with our PBTF families. We both work for PBTF because we knew we could make a difference in the lives of the families we serve. I am proud to work alongside someone who helps honor Blair and every child we serve through the work of our mission team.”

Two Sides of One Promise

Between them, they hold two sides of the same promise: push for better treatments and better policy, and never let a family face this disease without support. That promise is possible because of the PBTF community of families, advocates, and donors who refuse to look away.

This month, we honor Blair. We honor every child in treatment. And we honor the people who keep showing up for the families still in it.