Brick family finds way to say thank you BY DANIELLE MEDINA Correspondent PHOTOS BY ERIC SUCAR staff The Griggs family of Roosevelt Drive found a way to thank Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and other organizations for all the care they give to 8-year-old Allison, who has neurofibromatosis type 1. From left, Jennifer Griggs, her son, Matt Clark, 13, Allison and Jennifer's husband, David. BRICK TOWNSHIP - The next can of soda you pop open can make a difference in someone's life. Just ask 8-year-old Allison Griggs. "I tell people to save their 'Happy Tabs' because we take them and turn them into money," said Allison, a second-grader at Midstreams Elementary School. Since January 2006, Allison, along with her parents, David and Jennifer, and brother, Matthew Clark, have been collecting the pull-tabs from soda cans and recycling them for money, in an effort they call Happy Tabs. The money that the family raises - last year it was $500 - goes to charities and organizations like Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Children's Specialized Hospital Toms River, Make-A-Wish Foundation and Children's Tumor Foundation. Eight-year old Allison Griggs holds a handful of aluminum can tabs at her home in Brick on Aug. 23. The Griggses have started a nonprofit organization to benefit Children's Hospital in Philadelphia because of all the help the medical center has given their daughter, who has multiple brain tumors. "We're not a rich family. We can't write $1,000 checks every year," said Jennifer Griggs. "But we wanted to say thank you to all of the organizations who helped us." For nearly all of her short life, Allison Griggs has battled neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1), a genetic disorder that affects 1 out of 3,500 births worldwide. Though NF1 can manifest itself in a number of ways, the most common is the growth of fibrous tumors anywhere along the central nervous system. NF1 can also lead to blindness; disfigurement; skeletal abnormalities; dermal, brain and spinal tumors; and cognitive and learning disabilities. In 2000, Dave and Jennifer Griggs brought their then 15-month-old daughter to her pediatrician, who noticed eight caféau lait spots on her body and legs and sent Allison to a neurologist for an evaluation. Although the neurologist gave Allison a preliminary diagnosis of NF1, he sent Allison for an MRI of her body and brain to check for fibrous tumors. The MRI done in February 2001 discovered a small tumor on Allison's left optic nerve, known as an optic glioma. After a second MRI in July 2001, the Griggses received the devastating news that the glioma on her left optic nerve had doubled in size and there was a new glioma growing on her right optic nerve. "It was the worst day of our lives," said Jennifer Griggs. "But we didn't have time for it to sink in." Because Allison's tumors were growing so quickly, she was sent immediately to Children's Hospital of Philadelphia to begin chemotherapy treatment. She had just celebrated her second birthday. For the next three years, Allison and her parents traveled once a week to Philadelphia for chemotherapy treatments. "As far as she was concerned, every little girl went to the hospital to get plugged in every week," Jennifer Griggs said. "It's all she's known." She endured the complications of the treatment including nausea, loss of appetite, hair thinning, fatigue and a weakened immune system. When she developed an intolerance to her main chemotherapy drug, her treatment had to be stopped. Surgery to remove Allison's gliomas was not an option because they were too far back on her optic nerve and NF1 tumors usually end up growing back anyway, Jennifer Griggs said. As a result of her chemotherapy, Allison developed peripheral neuropathy, a condition that caused her to lose reflexes in her arms, hands, legs and feet. Allison received weekly outpatient occupational and physical therapy at Children's Specialized Hospital in Toms River. Although her chemotherapy treatment hasn't reduced the size of her tumors, it did stop them from growing. "We took that as a sign of success," said Jennifer Griggs, who is a manager at the White Sands Resort and Spa in Point Pleasant Beach. By January 2006, Allison had completed her chemotherapy and occupational and physical therapy treatments. Her gliomas are constantly monitored with MRIs every three months and regular vision screenings. "To see her now, you'd never know how much she's been through," said Jennifer Griggs, who added that Allison loves to dance, color and paint and that her educational achievement is at or above grade level. It was then that the Griggs family decided to start collecting can tabs to raise money and show their gratitude to the hospitals, organizations and people who helped them, and continue to help them, through Allison's battle. During Allison's Children's Hospital stays, the Griggs family began collecting soda can tabs on behalf of Ronald McDonald House, where they stayed during her treatments. Ronald McDonald House used the money raised through recycling tabs to help offset the cost of the house. "We collected 200 pounds of tabs for them over the three years," said David Griggs, Allison's father. "So we thought, 'Why don't we do this ourselves,' and the more money we raise, the more places we can help." The Griggses founded Happy Tabs in January 2006. The organization recently received its 501(c)(3) nonprofit charity status. Last year, Happy Tabs donated $500 to charity, which is no small feat when you consider the numbers. It takes 1,836 tabs to make up a pound. The family earns 60 cents for every pound of tabs that are recycled. The Griggs recycled approximately 830 pounds of tabs, or roughly 1,523,880 can tabs, last year alone. Family, friends, neighbors, coworkers, classmates have passed along their can tabs to the family, David Griggs said. "Every class that Allison has been in collects tabs," Jennifer Griggs said. The Griggses have bins set up on their front lawn of their home for people to drop off the tabs they've collected from cans of soda, soup, vegetables, gravy and dog and cat food. "It's really not a hard thing to do," said David Griggs, who works in the Point Pleasant Borough Public Works Department. "It takes time, but they really do add up." So far this year, Happy Tabs has raised more than $600 for their charities. "We just want to say thank you to everyone who helped us," said Jennifer Griggs. "It's the silver lining that we found in the black cloud that is NF1." Can tabs may be dropped off anytime at the Griggs home at 13 Roosevelt Drive, Brick. Charitable donations can also be made to the same address. For more information, visit www.happytabs.org.