WHAT WE DO
About Us
The De La O Foundation is a registered non-profit organization established to honor the memory of Jocelyn and Jaxeni De La O. Jocelyn De La O was a patient at Texas Children's Hospital's Bone Marrow Transplant Unit. She was admitted into the hospital in September 2013 to receive a bone marrow transplant. The hospital stay is typically about 3 weeks long and the patient has to be isolated from their family and everyone outside of the hospital due to risk of infections, only the caretaker can be with the patient in the room. Her donor was a stranger and the transplant was successful. The hospital stay was
supposed to be about 3 weeks long
but she had complications so the
weeks turned into months.
While in the hospital she told her
parents and sister that she wanted
to start a foundation for the patients
in the BMT unit at Texas Children's
Hospital. Being in an isolated room
for weeks gets pretty depressing
and very boring. She wanted the
patients to feel at home away from
home and have something to look
forward to while being in the hospital.
She decided to name it De La O Foundation and she wanted to do the non-profit organization in memory of her youngest sister Jaxeni who passed away from cancer when she was 7 years old. She designed a logo with a lady bug to represent Jaxeni because Jaxeni loved to draw lady bugs. Jocelyn laid out all her plans and ideas for the De La O Foundation. She wrote a list of gifts the patients would receive in a gift basket when they are admitted into the hospital, Christmas presents, birthday presents, and many more ideas for the patients. Not only did she want to help the children, but also the children's families because most of them come from out of town and out of state. She knew the parents also needed help with gas, parking garage fees, and more. Jocelyn left us all her plans written in a notebook. She passed away in November 2013 at 16 years old due to complications.
We know that with Jocelyn's plans and our dedication we will make a big difference in the lives of the children receiving bone marrow transplants at Texas Children's Hospital. Jocelyn was a very happy and loving girl who always had a beautiful smile on her face and we want to see a smile like that on all the patients at the BMT unit at TCH.
