History
Break the Grey initially began as the dream of one student named Sarah Boesing. Sarah was born with a terminal kidney disease, and spent a lot of time at the children's hospital in her hometown. While there, she had a chance to meet and interact with many children and families facing childhood cancer. After her kidney transplant in August 2001, she felt God leading her back to the hospital where she grew up, specifically to the cancer patients there. Two years of tossing around ideas and seeking God led her to begin Break the Grey.
Break the Grey first took place on the pediatric kidney/cancer unit of Kosair Children's Hospital (7 West) in Louisville, KY on January 27, 2006. Each child received a "bundle" of age-appropriate toys, candy, and a stuffed animal, all wrapped in white tissue paper and secured with a colorful ribbon; each parent received a gift basket with a coffee mug, coffee or tea, lotion, an encouraging devotional book, and candy; each sibling received a board game or other age-appropriate toy with which to play with their brother or sister.
Break the Grey has received local and national recognition, with articles in the New Albany Tribune (read it here) and The Courier-Journal, as well as a spot on WHAS 11 News on January 27, 2006. The Association of Christian Schools International also recognized Break the Grey as an Exemplary School Program for the 2006-2007 school year.
In November 2006, nine months after the first Break the Grey party at Kosair Children's Hospital, Sarah was diagnosed with an unidentified immune system defect and began treatment immediately at KCH. In February 2007 she switched to weekly subcutaneous IgG infusions and had her sights set on finishing her treatment protocol in May 2008. Unfortunately, in January 2008 she was told that her immune deficiency was incurable, and likely irreversible. At least another year was added to her treatment time. By God's grace, she was able to come off treatment, and received her last infusion on Sunday, April 26, 2009.
After being monitored closely with monthly blood checks, it was confirmed that she had relapsed on October 7, 2009. Sarah had a port placed and immediately began a relapse treatment protocol. She and her family continued to search for answers, and sought a second opinion from an immunologist at the IU Simon Cancer Center in Indianapolis, IN. Following further testing and treatments, Sarah once again received her last treatment on March 11, 2010. She returned to IU Medical Center on June 8, 2010 for follow up tests, and received word of her official remission in July 2010. Her port was removed on November 23, 2011 and her immune system tests came back stable in January 2012.
This journey further spurred Sarah on to pursue her work with Break the Grey. Since the first party in January 2006, God has blessed Break the Grey with opportunities to minister to individual families outside of the hospital setting, expanding it from an annual party to a year-round ministry reaching approximately 100 families in five states.