Gustavo's Mexican Grill Fundraiser!

My Story: Why I'm Here

Dear Friends and Family,

I am honored to announce that I was nominated by my dear friend Reece King as a candidate for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s (LLS) Student of the Year campaign. For those of you who do not know Reece, he is a senior at DuPont Manual High School in Louisville, Kentucky who battled and survived Acute Lymphoblastic Double Haploid Leukemia. Reece was diagnosed as a child in September of 2012. After three years of continuous struggle, prayer, and determination, Reece was cleared in December of 2015. He is now planning to major in business at the University of Kentucky come this fall. I am incredibly excited and humbled to represent Reece during this year’s fundraiser.

Before I met Reece, my grandmother, who I referred to as “King,” passed away of Terminal Pancreatic Cancer. While traveling back from Ireland with her best friend, she began to feel sick. When she arrived home she suddenly became increasingly ill. A visit to the hospital revealed her very severe case of Pancreatic Cancer. Although I was only five years old at the time of her death, the remarkably short sixteen days of life after her diagnosis are still vivid in my memory.

I have several other personal connections to cancer and its traumatic effects. 2019 was a difficult year for the Louisville community as we lost a very important, respected, and loved man. Dr. Perry Sangalli, Saint Xavier High School’s President, was not only a role model to me but a friend. As a freshman at Saint Xavier in 2016 I immediately felt welcomed into the community because of Dr. Sangalli’s warmth and hospitality. One of my favorite memories at Saint Xavier was sophomore year when Dr. Sangalli came to watch me play one of my regional tennis matches. My junior year Dr. Sangalli was diagnosed with Colorectal Cancer and passed away on May 5th, 2019.

Not long after, my family was devastated by the loss of two beloved people. Mary Beaver, my step-grandmother, was diagnosed with Stage 4 Brain Cancer in the summer of 2019. Within the family she was regarded as a Saint. Everything Mary did was for the betterment of others. When my grandfather passed away several years prior, Mary spent her spare time traveling the world, making best of the time she had left. When diagnosed with cancer, Mary’s attitude did not change. She was still the same selfless loving woman. Mary lived a long and loving life but no amount of time is truly enough. She passed away on June 14, 2019.

Shortly after Mary’s passing, my Aunt Gretchen Davis continued to struggle with Terminal Gastric Cancer. Gretchen’s cancer began in April of 2017. Gretchen was one of my favorite people. Her smile, laugh, and sense of humor could light up an entire room. Her happiness was contagious and her enthusiasm was unmatched. Every chance I had to see Aunt Gretchen was a blessing. During her last months of life she was unfathomably positive and pragmatic. When she passed on September 7th, 2019 at age 52, the entire community in which she touched and affected lost an angel.

Just this past Friday — January 17th, 2020 — Saint Xavier’s principal, Mr. Espinosa, announced to the student body that my friend Connor Dixon had been diagnosed with Leukemia. Connor, like Reece and I, is a senior and attended Anchorage Independent School from kindergarten to eighth grade. I have not only known Connor but been his friend for over a decade. The news of his diagnosis was breathtaking. If you do not know Connor personally, to put it simply, you are missing out. Connor is one of the happiest, most creative, intelligent, and genuinely kind people you will ever meet. As soon as his diagnosis was public I knew my campaign would need to be in his honor.

I am writing today to ask for your support in my efforts to help LLS in its mission to ensure access to cures and treatments for blood cancers. I am competing with several other Student of the Year candidates and together we will each put our best fundraising foot forward in honor of all those fighting blood cancer just like Connor.   

While childhood leukemia has the highest cure rate of any blood cancer, it is also still the number-one disease killer among children under the age of 20. This needs to change, and I know that as we come together and partner with LLS we will find a cure.