Naperville girl uses tragedy to help other families

Phoebe Pruneda and her adopted brother, DiMitri, were born only nine days apart. They were best friends who did everything together from the first day the Bulgarian boy joined the Naperville family at age 3.

DiMitri died of a brain tumor at age 7 in August 2004, and Phoebe still misses him. In fact, the feelings got more unbearable as time went on, said Phoebe, now 11.

"I was all sad and depressed because DiMitri was not here," she said.

Last Christmas, her parents, Joel and Lisa Pruneda, encouraged her to find an outlet for her sadness by doing something concrete.

"My wife and I talked to her and said, 'You gotta keep remembering him and do something about it,' " Joel Pruneda said.

Phoebe did.

"I went to my room and I thought about it," she said. "Then I came down and I said, 'I'm going to start a foundation, the DKP -- DiMitri Krasen Pruneda -- Foundation.' "

Phoebe decided she would collect travel-sized toiletries and other supplies to help families of sick children deal with long bouts away from home and interminable hours at the hospital.

She knew exactly what those families needed based on the experience of her own family, who stayed at the Ronald McDonald House in Maywood while DiMitri was being treated at the nearby Loyola University Medical Center Children's Hospital.

First off, basics like soap, shampoo, conditioner, lotion, hand sanitizer, tissues, toothpaste and toothbrushes.

"This stuff is important. There would be days where our breath kinda stunk. You have to keep bad breath from going out," Phoebe said.

Also, gadgets that would help pass the time at their loved one's bedside, like gum, toys and coloring books.

"We got really cranky and we needed something to distract us from the sadness of DiMitri's cancer," she said.

Finally, notebooks and pens to offer families something the Prunedas found to be a lifeline during the heart-wrenching months of DiMitri's illness.

"We took turns and we would see each other for a few minutes," Lisa Pruneda said of working with her husband in shifts so that one of them would always be with DiMitri.

"So we just kinda thought of that, writing notes to each other like, 'DiMitri did fine today, no throwing up.' We also wrote down questions and what the doctors said, because it was hard to get all that in."

In just over two months, Phoebe has collected and dropped off at the Ronald McDonald House a total of 66 bags of travel-sized supplies, sorted into what she calls "hospital survival packs," or Ziploc bags filled with all the basic necessities.

Her goal is to collect enough for 2,500 bags, she said.

"I'm telling everyone I know to spread the word," she said.

That includes relatives, friends of her parents; her schoolmates at Beebe Elementary School in Naperville, where she attends fifth grade; and her 15-year-old brother Cody's friends. The effort even reached Cody's former school, Kennedy Junior High.

Phoebe said her motto is "helping the world, one family at a time."

"(People thought) kids were never much use, but if kids help (with this project), that means that they are helping other kids and other families," she said.

To contribute to Phoebe's cause, you can mail items to DKP Foundation, P.O. Box 211, Naperville, IL 60566. For details, call (630) 205-6349; visit www.dimitripruneda.bravehost.com or www.myspace.com/dkpfoundation; or e-mail dkpfoundation@hotmail.com.