When her son Denver was just two years old, radio personality Monica Lowe found herself living every parent’s worst nightmare.

Her son had been diagnosed with childhood leukemia and was undergoing chemotherapy; at the same time, her newborn daughter contracted a life-threatening respiratory virus that also required hospitalization. “At the time, people would say, ‘How are you dealing with this?’” Lowe recalls. “You don’t even think about it, you just do it.”  

Monica and husband Pat Martin

Although Lowe’s children are both healthy and thriving today, she still remembers fondly the support she received at UC Davis Children’s Hospital, as well as the generosity of the Make-A-Wish Foundation, which sent her and her family to Disney World when her son was five. Lowe always wanted to do something to give back, and she finally got her chance last February when she and her team at STAR 106.5 started the Monica Lowe’s Valentine’s Day Cards for Kids program. In a surprise outpouring of support from the community, the station was able to collect more than 14,000 cards, which were distributed to parents and children in hospitals throughout the Sacramento region. Next year, Lowe plans to expand the program, since her experiences have taught her the importance of helping families get through even the toughest of times. “In the long run, when you look back at your life, it’s all about family,” Lowe says. 

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