For those of you who know my story, I am sure you understand my motivation. For those of you who do not, let me tell you a little about myself. I am a 16 year old junior at Springfield High School, I play Ice Hockey and Lacrosse but my biggest accomplishment is that I have survived Leukemia. My journey with this disease started when I was just 8 weeks old. At my 2 month old well baby check up, my pediatrician discovered an enlarged liver and spleen. These findings prompted him to send me for additional testing. The results of this testing landing me in A.I. Dupont Hospital for Children. My diagnosis- infant acute lymphoblastic leukemia. My prognosis was initially very poor. Given less than a 10% chance of survival my parents were devastated. The offering of a clinical trial was terrifying, however with nothing else available to treat infant ALL, the roller coaster ride began. My little body responded to this intense and toxic treatment in many ways. Negative responses included life threatening infections, perforated intestine and a host of other complications that made me a regular in the ICU and caused much anxiety with many close calls....these events kept everyone on high alert. The positive response however was the most important......my white blood cell count drastically went down and the leukemia cells were no longer detected in a relatively short amount of time. I finished my treatment in August of 2000. Owning a story like this, while having no memory of the events that surround it gives you a very interesting perspective. From the time I can remember, my family has been giving back to the very causes that saved my life. I have witnessed this with my parents, my sister, my brothers and many family members and family friends that have sacrificed their time and efforts for others all because of MY journey.
Now is the time for ME to give back, I now want to make a difference....pay it forward. Having your cancer cured on a clinical trial is amazing. Dollars raised by organizations like the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society provides funds to doctors for clinical trials so kids like me can survive.
My goal is to raise a lot of money to aide in funding doctors in life saving clinical trials.
.JPG)
