Thank you for supporting our family’s fundraiser for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS)!
In August 2017, Lauren was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive form of lymphoma. She was 36 years old and six months pregnant with Taylor. Brynn was 4 years old at the time.
Chemo started immediately, requiring five days of in-patient hospital stays at Cornell for each round – four rounds while pregnant and two after Taylor was born.
Thankfully, her oncology team was confident that the treatment plan would work and be safe for Taylor. Over the last decade, LLS had funded the research that found effective treatment and a cure for this type of cancer.
Taylor was born on November 7, 2017 absolutely perfect (and with a full head of hair)! Her own immune system was temporarily suppressed because of one of the chemo drugs received in utero. Thankfully, she won't remember her own experiences with blood tests, IVs, oncologist visits, and a hospitalization.
Today, Taylor is a normal, healthy kid. She’s smart, funny, and determined. We all adore her!
Lauren and Taylor are alive today because treatment was available, effective, and safe in pregnancy; people cared, took action, and raised money; and that money went to LLS to support the best researchers and doctors who found a cure for us in time.
Not everyone is so lucky. That is why we run races, share birthday fundraisers, attend LLS events, and do everything we can to raise money to make sure that everyone is as lucky as we were.
Thank you!
Lauren, Dan, Brynn & Taylor