Visiting The Harvey Family

As Miss Staten Island, I try to attend and support as many charity events as possible. One of my favorite charity events is Gianna Nicole's Heart of Hope Gala, which I attended, once again, this year. At the gala, I met Pina Harvey whose oldest daughter, Isabella, has leukemia. I introduced myself and asked if it would be okay to come visit Isabella and her siblings in the coming week. Pina immediately agreed saying that Isabella LOVED princesses (who doesn’t?) and would be thrilled. We exchanged information and set a date.

Knowing that Isabella loved princesses and dress-up, I picked up some things every little princess needs; sparkly shoes, a tiara, glitter nail polish, coloring books, crayons, bracelets, etc, etc, etc!

My visit was planned as a surprise and, when we arrived, Isabella was shocked and so excited. Her 3 year-old sister Alyssa and 1 year-old brother Brandon were equally impressed. Alyssa’s twin Michael, however, looked up and then decided that his iPad trumped a princess any day. He remained on the couch intent on his game!

During our visit, we played, colored, polished nails, and, of course, put on makeup. I have to say, Isabella totally impressed me with her cosmetology skills. Alyssa was very enthusiastic and by the time we left her face was completely covered in lipgloss and eye shadow…very sticky but equally adorable!

I was floored by how calm Pina is. She has 4 kids under the age of six, a husband who works long hours (she herself works when he is home), her parents, her Grandmother (who suffers from Alzheimer's) and a dog…all under one roof! She is amazingly strong and focused on her children and getting Isabella better. Right now, Isabella is in maintenance and doing well. She said that Tammi and Jen from Gianna's Heart of Hope Foundation helped to ease a lot of their financial burden and she is truly grateful.

I fell totally in love with this family. Isabella is an amazing, strong child who I know will only continue to get better and better. I made plans to come visit again and bring some of my old dance costumes for the girls. I will also be joining them on September 7th for a Carnival Fundraiser for their Light The Night Team. I can’t wait! Thank you for allowing me to come visit your beautiful family, Pina!