WINCHESTER When her 7-year-old son Isaiah experienced a brain bleed in November 2013, Ruth Truman and her husband Ryan were told that the bleed was caused by a tangle in his veins.

A few months later, in February, it happened again.

(Doctors) ended up doing a scan then, and found that there was a fine layer of brain cancer on his brain and down his spine and in his spinal fluid. It took quite some time about two weeks for labs and they determined 90% that it was called PNET (primitive neuroectodermal tumor), said Truman.

He was going into radiation, and the doctors said if he survives the radiation, theyll give him about a year (to live). If he survived the chemo after that, they thought it would be a year or two. Now were almost at six years, so Im like this kid is a walking miracle.

As she witnessed her son experience 21 days of radiation, five months of chemo and stem cell therapy, Truman was struck by how many other children and families were going through something similar how they were not alone.

I never knew a kid who had cancer before Isaiah. Its like when you buy a new car, and then all of a sudden everybody has that car when you get thrust into the thing, its like wow I had no idea how many kids had cancer or a medical condition... Its just sad that there are so many kids out there dealing with this, said Truman.

That observation is something that has stayed with her since. It seemed like fate, then, that she stumbled upon Savvy Giving By Design last year, a national nonprofit network of professional interior designers who redesign bedrooms of children who are facing a medical crisis. Truman, an interior designer who previously worked in corporate interior design in Ohio and Maryland before starting Ruth Truman Interiors in Winchester, felt she had found her mission.

I thought about it a lot over the year, and you could apply (to start a chapter), but I thought Im in Winchester, a small town, some of these other places are Tampa, Florida... But it just kept gnawing at me and just felt like this was what I was meant to do. So I applied, and they sent back that theyd love to have us start one in Virginia, she said. The Virginia chapter of Savvy Giving By Design was officially launched in October.

Truman said that theres a misconception that children who are facing a medical crisis are always at the hospital. While they are there often, its in their bedroom that they spend the most time.

They do spend a ton of time at the hospital, but most of their hours are at home, because of their immune system, she explained.

They get bored of their space, and so making it somewhere that they want to come back to from the hospital, that is the key. People just dont realize how much time they have to spend there. Some of the kids have had blood disorders, one of the kids who was paralyzed recently, is not able to go out a lot. So many people dont see that, they think theyre at the hospital. But they dont realize they really are at home all of the time.

And its not just an attractive room that the organization gives to its families many practical upgrades are made with the childs specific needs in mind.

Were not just about making some room pretty for a kid, but these kids do really spend such a huge amount of time in their room. How can we make it more functional and meet their medical needs too, said Truman.

Truman said typical changes include replacing carpet for flooring that is waterproof and cleanable, installing dimmers on lighting since parents often check on their child every hour at night, as well as putting in hypo-allergenic mattresses and bedding, and sometimes additional beds.

From one of the other chapters, one family had three siblings sleeping on the floor in the same room together. We want to provide them with good bedding and beds. Some parents sleep on the floor in their childs room on an air mattress, so we could put another bed in there, she said.

For children with disabilities, the designers meet with specialists who can help them to better understand what needs the child may have, which can be incorporated into the room.

Some kids are in wheelchairs, so space layout, how do we maximize the space in their room so they can move around in a wheelchair. That could be adding bunk beds or built-ins, explained Truman.

Not only does the organization create a new bedroom for the child with a medical crisis, they also redo the bedrooms of the siblings. Truman explained that often in these situations, siblings can have feelings jealousy over the attention their sibling is getting, not fully understanding the pain their brother or sister is experiencing.

When your child has cancer, so many people are generous. I cant tell you how many stories where weve been places, people will pay for our ice cream, our meals, I was in the Disney store once and a guy came up and said, can I buy him a stuffed animal? And yet at the same time, the siblings are seeing this and they are kind of feeling left out. Theyre not understanding, she said.

I just think its so great that we do the sibling rooms. They are going through their own issues with this diagnosis of their sibling. We want them to be a part of this.

On the low end, Truman estimates that it can cost $3,000 or more to renovate a childs room if the organization has to pay in cash for all supplies and labor. Each chapter must raise 100% of the funding themselves, which can be done through donations of products like flooring, lighting, furniture, labor by tradesmen, as well as financial donations to purchase materials and supplies for the room. Work would be completed in four to six weeks.

So far, Ferguson Lighting has agreed to provide the lighting for the Virginia chapters first two bedroom renovations, and Prosource Wholesale Flooring has agreed to provide the flooring. Truman hopes to find local licensed and insured tradesmen who can donate their time to install flooring and electrical, painters and wallpaper installers, as well as businesses that may donate furniture and bedding, dcor, paint, and other necessities. Financial donations are also welcome and can be made online at http://www.savvygivingbydesignva.org or by check.

Once a child has been selected and the room has been designed, Truman said they will post specific items that are needed like pillows from Target, with a link to purchase on the organizations Facebook page, and donors can purchase the item for the room. The Virginia chapters Facebook page is http://www.facebook.com/groups/2105182686449144.

Truman said they already have two applicants, a child in Winchester and another child in nearby Aldie; both children have cancer. Truman said she expects to announce the Virginia chapters first bedroom makeover within the next month.

Ive been in their shoes. I think about me and Isaiah going through that time, if we had gotten something like this how special it would have been, she said.

So much good can come out of a bad situation if you can use it for the good. I think that were thrown things in life that are hard and how can we make them into something good. For me, this is one way that everything he has been through, I feel Im able to give back to people who are going through the same thing.

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There's no place like home - The Winchester Star