My name is Matthew Welch, and I am a sophomore at Potomac Falls High School, in Sterling, Virginia. I am on the Varsity football team where I play Running Back and Linebacker. Football is extremely important to me, and I would love to be able to play in college one day. I am also 1 of 8 kids in my family and the third to youngest. I am honored to have joined the LLS Student Visionaries of the Year campaign of 2025, in hopes of raising money and making a difference, in honor of my younger sister, Karalyne Sahady.

I was 8 years old when Karalyne was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) at the fragile age of 10 weeks old. She was practically still a newborn, and I will never forget the day my mom picked me and my siblings up from school and took us to the hospital to potentially say goodbye to her. Karalyne almost didnt make it through those first days. There were so many tears and fear.  My parents had to move in to the hospital to care for her, over the course of several months, while my sisters and I moved in with our grandparents. Karalyne's cancer spread to her brain, and it was decided she would have to have a Bone Marrow Transplant with extra brain radiation, in a whole other state, where my parents would have to live with her for another 3 months. As hard as this was for my baby sister, it was almost as hard for the rest of us too, on a different level. We were all still kids needing our parents too. I had never even heard of a kid, let alone a baby, getting cancer. To say it turned our world upside down is an understatement. It affected our entire family greatly, and it's the reason I am here today asking you for help.

Karalyne deserved better. She deserved a better chance. She deserved better treatments that wouldnt cause her to have a seizure disorder that stopped her development. Her treatment plan was designed for adults with fully developed brains. At only two months old, her brain was just beginning to develop. She never had a chance.  She will never walk, talk, eat, drink, or be able to function on her own. The treatments that saved her from cancer, also took away her ability to live her life. Her story is my why, and I have a vision for a world without cancer, but again, I need your help.

As a global leader in the fight against blood cancer, LLS:

• Funds cutting-edge research leading to breakthroughs in immunotherapy, genomics and personalized medicine that are improving and saving the lives of patients
• Provides free education and support for blood cancer patients and families, including personalized, one-on-one support, assistance with identifying and enrolling in clinical trials, and more.
• Mobilizes thousands of advocates to drive policy changes that accelerate the development of new cancer treatments and break down barriers to care.

Please consider joining this fight by making a donation today. All donations are greatly appreciated and tax-deductible. Please visit my website often and tell friends who would also like to donate!

Thanks to your support, my efforts will help pave the way for less toxic treatments, child-designed medicine, and ultimately a world without cancer.

On behalf of blood cancer patients everywhere, thank you!

For more information about LLS, please visit www.lls.org.