By Greg Latshaw, USA TODAY
Brooke Mulford, who likes jokes and Curious George, is plotting the 5th birthday party she hopes to have next month.
"We'll have a pinata," she says, her voice rising with excitement. "Lollipops are my favorite candy."
The Salisbury, Md., girl can't be sure about that party just yet because her immune system is weak from battling neuroblastoma, a deadly type of nerve cancer afflicting infants and young children. She has endured chemotherapy, stem cell transplants, ambulance rides and hospital stays at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia for a month at a time. Even so, she's improving, her mother says, and an outpouring of support from people in the Salisbury area is helping provide hope that the party won't have to be put off for long.
Last Christmas, Brooke's legs ached and she spent the day mostly sitting on the couch.
On Jan. 4, doctors at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia figured out what was wrong.
"I can't put into words what it's like finding out your child has an aggressive form of cancer, with only a 30% chance of survival," says her mom, Amy Mulford, 40.
Word quickly spread through Salisbury after Brooke Mulford's cancer was diagnosed. Within days of hearing about it, Doug Marshall, of Delmar, Md., held a fundraiser bonfire under the stars an event he says raised $14,000, despite temperatures that night of only 6 degrees.
Overall, the Mulfords have received about $100,000 in donations this year help that Brooke's father, Rob Mulford, 40, and owner of the Market Street Inn restaurant in Salisbury, calls "overwhelming."
Mayor Jim Ireton says Salisbury doesn't have deep pockets, which is why the rallying cry from this Delmarva Peninsula town has been so special.
Heather Brooks, 33, of Willards, Md., has never met the Mulfords. Yet she helped organize a scrapbooking festival in May that netted more than a thousand dollars for the family.
"Brooke keeps smiling even though she's sick. That could teach us adults something," Brooks says.
When Julia DePena heard Brooke Mulford's story from her high school teacher, she created a "Box for Brooke." For two months, DePena, 17, collected donations from her classmates and teachers. What was mostly spare change added up to about $300, she says.
"My mom had cancer before, then she got better. I thought maybe if I did something, Brooke would get better," DePena says.
The Mulfords, in turn, have set up a neuroblastoma research fund at the hospital and have donated some of the money they've received to other causes.
Shawn Niblett, one of Brooke Mulford's pre-kindergarten classmates, says he sent her a card with flowers, butterflies and hearts on it. The 4-year-old has a message for her: "Come back soon to school," he says.
Amy Mulford says they hope Brooke will be ready for kindergarten next year.
Although further testing is needed before Mulford is declared cancer-free, Brooke's condition has improved significantly in the time since doctors performed the first cancer scan, her mother says. Amy Mulford says doctors performed an MIBG scan on Brooke on Sept. 10 and didn't detect any sign of neuroblastoma in her body. Doctors must next perform a bone marrow biopsy. Brooke will be undergoing radiation treatment through mid-October, followed by antibody therapy in November, her parents say.
They say their daughter wishes she could invite most of her hometown of about 28,000 people to her party. Meanwhile, Brooke says she wants to thank every one of them who sent her "Get Well" cards especially the ones with stickers or jokes.
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