I am Alec Bonnard. I met Sam on my high school soccer team, and within half a year of knowing him, had stayed with him on my trip to a soccer tournament across the country. My journey combating didn't start when I was diagnosed with cancer, but when my best friend, Sam Lilly was. It was an ordinary day in the middle of the summer when after having gone to the gym and Goodwill, red patches  that I joked looked like Japan's flag on Sam's bandaid started showing up. We thought nothing of it, but shortly after I got a call from Sam telling me that he had been diagnosed with Leukemia.

All I could do was keep him company and look for gifts I could get him that could maybe lift his morale. It was disheartening seeing him exhausted from the medications and operations he was undergoing, but I tried my best to act like nothing was going on when I was around him. Fast forward a little over a year, many transplants, multiple changes in his treatment plan, and thousands of hours of hard work put in by Sam to overcome this strenuous challenge, and Sam was finally beating Cancer. Of course, he still couldn't go out into the sun, had to wear a mask around always, and had plenty of other recovery challenges to face, but we could now start our second step in combating cancer.

 Sam, who was already in contact with other, younger patients battling cancer, invited me to talk to come and hang out with them. I was honored. To be able to share the company and light that I tried to bring to Sam during his recovery process already meant the world to me, now, we would be able to do it together! We first visited Max, who was 12 years old at the time and facing cancer. We had a blast whether we were playing Mario Kart or building swords out of cardboard. Then we visited Tristan, who was 7 years old and staying in a rental house near the hospital while he had his stay in the Stanford Children's Hospital as he faced a reccurence of his cancer. WIth Tristan and his parents we played games like Monopoly Deal or  Parcheeze. Visiting Tristan and Max not only brought immense joy to Sam and me, but it was one of the only ways we could hang out given all of the ever-existing health rules Sam still had to follow.

When Tristan's dad, Tyler, shared with us the awesome opportunity that the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society offers to help combat cancer, Sam and I knew we had to do it. This would be our third step in combating cancer. 

I had already known Oliver as an extremely capable, hardworking, and passionate friend, and knew he would be willing to help me in such an endeavor. Sam and I were lucky to have our first choice of team member accept working with us.

This year, I’m proud to be a part of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s (LLS) Student Visionaries of the Year Campaign, working to raise as much as possible for LLS’s mission. Aware of the fortune Sam had in having love, support, and guidance from his family- Kathy, John, and Zack- who worked hard to be the best informed possible and always be there for him throughout his journey combating cancer, we knew how important it was to work to extend this privilege to everyone. For that reason, the patient support pillar of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, which 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 other tools, resounds with me.

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

Thanks to your support, we can work to combat cancer collectively and ensure everyone has access to the treatment they need!
 

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