Welcome to Team Lily and Ed! 2024 is our third Big Climb and we invite you to join us and support us as we step up to take blood cancers down!

Team Lily and Ed began as a support effort for Lily Gribble and Ed Menger. Lily was diagnosed with B-Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia in January 2021. Ed was diagnosed with Hairy Cell Leukemia, a variant of Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia, in February 2022. Both Lily’s and Ed’s leukemia types are rare and aggressive.

Lily endured months of chemo and radiation, culminating with a bone marrow transplant in July 2021. Sadly, Lily developed immune-related challenges, which led to rounds and rounds of immune-suppressing drugs. As a result, Lily succumbed to an opportunistic infection and she died just weeks shy of her 16^th birthday.

Ed underwent chemo treatments in May of 2022 and, while he still has traces of cancer in his blood, he is feeling better and hopes to beat his Big Climb time of 28 minutes set last year!

We welcome you to join our team and help us raise money to defeat all types of blood cancers – leukemia, lymphoma, myeloma, and Hodgkin’s disease. The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society is the voice for all blood cancer patients seeking access to quality, affordable, coordinated care. It is also the single largest funder of cutting-edge research to advance cures. Just 30 years ago, Ed’s leukemia was incurable – now there are two different chemotherapies that have proven effective in fighting HCL.

Thank you for supporting Ed, the Gribble family, and LLS as we step up together to bring blood cancer down!