10-05-2025
‘So thankful, appreciative': Playset built for 7-year-old with leukemia in Montgomery County
MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Md. () – Seven-year-old Fallon D'Aguiar was diagnosed with leukemia in December. Because of her symptoms, that meant no more public playgrounds.
Volunteers from StarKist and the Roc Solid Foundation were at Fallon's home Friday to bring the playground to her.
The group of volunteers worked tirelessly for an hour and a half to surprise the young girl.
'Incredibly excited to be able to participate, take the time to do this and build this playset for Fallon,' StarKist head of marketing Michael Merritt said.
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Eric Newman founded the Roc Solid Foundation in 2009. He's built playsets for thousands of families across the country.
'Anytime that we can help a family forget about the chaos of cancer, we've done our job,' Newman said.
Once the playset was finished, Fallon D'Aguiar was blindfolded and escorted to the backyard. She took off the blindfold, and a big smile appeared on her face. She wasted no time trying out her new playset.
'Anyone who has had a child that has cancer knows that your life changes drastically,' the young girl's mother, J'amie D'Aguiar, said. 'There are certain times where we can't go anywhere with her because her cell counts are so low. So, this is amazing because we can just pop out to our backyard and then have some fun.'
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J'amie D'Aguiar calls the experience life-changing.
'This is a lot,' she said. 'I mean, I just can't even put the words together right now. I'm a little overwhelmed; more so thankful, appreciative. Just seeing the way that my children are reacting. I mean, they've been excited all week.'
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