How Parker’s Fight Sparked a Blina Backpack of Hope

💛 The Story of Parker’s Pak

A journey we never expected… and the hope that grew from it.

On Leap Day, 2024, our family celebrated one of the happiest moments of our lives. We welcomed a beautiful baby girl — healthy, bright, full of promise — and born on one of the rarest days of the year. We were overjoyed, overwhelmed in the best way, and even featured on the news for having a Leap Day baby.

It felt like everything was falling into place.

We were floating.

We were grateful.

We were blissfully unaware that our world was about to change forever.

Because while we were celebrating new life… something quiet and frightening was happening in the background. My son, Parker — my loud, energetic, always-on-the-move little boy — hadn’t been himself for weeks. The spark in his eyes was dimmer. He wanted to sleep all the time. He wasn’t eating. He just wanted to be held.

My gut knew better. A mother always knows.

A close friend urged me to push for a CBC (complete blood count) — something simple, something quick, something that might give us answers. So the day after we brought our baby girl into the world, we brought Parker in for testing.

We were discharged from the next day as a family of four.

We made it home.

We opened the door.

We set our bags down.

We exhaled… for exactly ten minutes.

Then the phone rang.And everything stopped.

Parker’s doctors told us his labs were critical.

We needed to return immediately.

No waiting. No packing.

Straight to the PICU — the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit.

There, amid monitors, wires, beeping, and fear so heavy I could hardly breathe, we heard the words no parent is ever prepared to hear:

“Your son has B-cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia.”

The room faded.

The world tilted.

And yet, in that moment, Parker needed us more than ever.

That night he received his first blood transfusion.

The next morning, we began our crash course in pediatric oncology — a world no one chooses, but one that thousands of families are suddenly thrown into.

💛 Where Parker’s Pak Was Born

In the whirlwind of treatments, hospital stays, medications, and new routines, we entered the blinatumomab (blincyto) phase — a continuous infusion treatment that required Parker to be connected to a pump 24/7.

And in the middle of sleepless nights and endless worry, a new challenge emerged:

There was no good, safe, comfortable way to carry his pump, medicine bags, and tubing.

Nothing fit him.

Nothing stayed in place.

Nothing felt designed for kids — or for families trying to keep life as normal as possible.

So, like any parent backed into a corner, I got creative.

If the right bag didn’t exist…

I would make one.

And that’s where Parker’s Pak began — not as a business idea, but as a lifeline. A way to give my son freedom to move, to play, to be a kid — even in the middle of treatment.

💛 A Backpack of Hope

Parker’s Pak is more than a backpack.

It’s more than pockets and straps and zippers.

It’s a symbol of resilience, comfort, and the fierce love parents feel when their child is fighting for their life.

I designed it as a mom.

Parker tested it as a warrior.

And now, I’m sharing it with families who deserve support, hope, and something that truly works for their child.

Half of our first production run is being donated to hospitals — because no family should have to go through this journey without help.

💛 To Every Family Walking This Path…

You are not alone.

Your child is strong.

And hope is very much alive.

From Parker’s journey to yours —this backpack was made for you.

How it started