I am proudly joining Sean Harmon's team, "Let Hope Rise", with a personal goal of raising $10,000 for the fight against Leukemia and Lymphoma. 

Sean asked me to join his team  because I was an unfortunate witness to his brother, Christopher's battle against Leukemia at a mere three years old. 

Christopher's mother, Mary, is one of my dearest childhood friends. What I saw the Harmon family endure over the years will stay with me forever. Some of the memories that I am about to share, I will never forget.

The indelible impression of the first time I went to the UCLA Children's Cancer Ward to visit Christopher & Mary & saw these children with IV's, catheters, hospital gowns, & heads that had no hair. The pain of seeing this firsthand will never leave me. I thought how difficult each day must be for these beautiful young children, & why them? Instead of outside playing w/family & friends, they were inside a hospital hooked up to tubes & machines w/a very serious illness. Believe me, if you ever see this for yourself, it will never leave you. 

On another visit, Mary had gone out of Christopher's room & down the hall. At that moment a nurse came into the room with the biggest needle I've ever seen, & had to insert it into Christopher's thigh, & I had to hold him down so that the nurse could perform her task. Can you imagine watching this being performed on a 3 year old child? I had to swallow hard & hold him as instructed. One doesn't forget that image of that needle which looked like a railroad spike going into his thigh. 

There is one experience which just left me flattened. Christopher shared a room w/an infant. I entered the hospital room one time to see the mother cuddling the baby to her breast. She was very sad, & I later learned that the infant had terminal cancer & would not survive. Imagine an infant who never had the blessings of having a full life, only a few moments on earth, & then gone. This was heartbreaking & even today, decades later, I can see the face of the mother holding the child. Just devastating. I walked out to my car & do not remember driving home. All I could think of was that poor mother & a child who had only a passing moment on the face of planet earth. 

I hope that I have been able to convey what a difficult & scary time this was for the Harmon family, & all of the families that I saw & encountered during those years in Christopher's young life. He beat back this dreaded disease which is the #2 killer of our society. He is now working hard in college, getting good grades, & looking to achieve a full life.

I know that all of us are bombarded with charitable donation requests all of the time, but I hope that in reading my story you will be able to contribute to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society so that your donation can be used by this terrific organization to continue to move forward in their goal of eviscerating this miserable disease once & for all.

I need your help to reach the goal that I have pledged to Christopher & his family of $10,000. Please consider this request as a dedication for all, as there is no family that isn't touched in some way by cancer.

On a personal note, my husband has been a victim of both cancer & lymphoma, & he is still active & enjoying our life together because of the wonderful medical advances made possible by contributions from folks like yourselves to this great organization.

Thank you, & may you have a long & full life without ever being afflicted by this devil called cancer. Together we will Let Hope Rise!

I am proudly joining Sean Harmon's team, "Let Hope Rise", with a personal goal of raising $10,000 for the fight against Leukemia and Lymphoma. 

Sean asked me to join his team  because I was an unfortunate witness to his brother, Christopher's battle against Leukemia at a mere three years old. 

Christopher's mother, Mary, is one of my dearest childhood friends. What I saw the Harmon family endure over the years will stay with me forever. Some of memories I will never forget are:

The indelible impression of the first time I went to the UCLA Children's Cancer Ward to visit Christopher & Mary & saw these children with IV's, catheters, hospital gowns, & heads that had no hair. The pain of seeing this firsthand will never leave me. I thought how difficult each day must be for these beautiful young children, & why them? Instead of outside playing w/family & friends, they were inside a hospital hooked up to tubes & machines w/a very serious illness. Believe me, if you ever see this for yourself, it will never leave you. 

On another visit, Mary had gone out of Christopher's room & down the hall. At that moment a nurse came into the room with the biggest needle I've ever seen, & had to insert it into Christopher's thigh, & I had to hold him down so that the nurse could perform her task. Can you imagine watching this being performed on a 3 year old child? I had to swallow hard & held him as instructed. One doesn't forget that image of that needle which looked like a railroad spike going into his thigh. 

There is one experience which just left me flattened. Christopher shared a room w/an infant. I entered the hospital room one time to see the mother cuddling the baby to her breast. She was very sad, & I later learned that the infant had terminal cancer & would not survive. Imagine an infant who never had the blessings of having a full life, only a few moments on earth, & then gone. This was heartbreaking & even today, decades later, I can see the face of the mother holding the child. Just devistating. I walked out to my car & do not remember driving home. All I could think of was that poor mother & a child who had only a passing moment on the face of planet earth. 

I hope that I have been able to convey what a difficult & scary time this was for the Harmon family, & all of the families that I saw & encountered during those years in Christopher's young life. He beat back this dreaded disease which is the #2 killer of our society. He is now working hard in college, getting good grades, & looking to achieve a full life. I know that all of us are bombarded with charitable donation requests all of the time, but I hope that in reading my story you will be able to contribute to the Lukemia & Lymphoma Society so that your donation can be used by this terrific organization to continue to move forward in their goal of eviscerating this miserable disease once & for all. I need your help to reach the goal that I have pledged to Christopher & his family of $10,000. Please consider this request as a dedication foall, as there is no family that isn't touched in some way by cancer. On a personal note, my husband has been a victim of both cancer & lymphoma, & he is still active & enjoying our life together because of the wonderful medical advances made possible by contributions from folks like yourselves to this great organization. 
Thank you, & may you have a long & full life w/o ever being afflicted by this devil called cancer.