The Reason

Well, where do I begin?

I have wonderful family, including my very supportive husband Andy, my parents, and two sisters, Amy and Stephanie. They have always been there for me, and I love spending time with them! Amy is my middle sister, and is happily married to Ben. Stephanie is the baby of the family, and as much as I think that she got away with WAY more than I did, she still got caught a lot (darn those parents that know other parents!!).

Stephanie has an inspiring story that I will briefly share - because it is part of the reason for me doing what I am doing now! In February of 2006 (I will never forget this), Stephanie was diagnosed with Ewing's Sarcoma bone cancer. She had essentially been mis-diagnosed for nearly a year - why would anyone suspect that practically 1/2 of her hip bone had been eaten away by the tumor, and that was what was causing her limp? She endured 9 months of intense chemotherapy, as well as radiation. The treatment was a success, and she went into remission.

If you are interested in learning more about Ewing's Sarcoma Bone Cancer, please visit: http://cancer.stanford.edu/bonecancer/bone/ewing/.

Stephanie re-entered nursing school, and started clinicals in Fall of 2007. She was doing great - working extremely hard at studying and eating healthy (she is the picture of health!!). That is, until Thanksgiving weekend 2007. That weekend, Steph looked really pale and was lethargic. We went to the ER the day after Thanksgiving, and were sent to the UW Hospital for tests. Our nightmare was realized the next Monday, when we were told that she had Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia (ALL). We later found out that this caused by her treatment for Ewing's Sacroma, which was a 1 in 10,000 chance.

To learn more about ALL, please visit: http://www.leukemia-lymphoma.org/all_page.adp?item_id=7049.

It was terrifying to watch my sister again fight cancer. She was so much sicker than before. But, she was so strong - she is so inspiring! She needed to get a bone marrow or stem cell transplant, the process of which is essentially killing all of her bone marrow to make way for the transplanted bone marrow, which will the cancer cells. Amy and I were tested, and were heartbroken to find out that we were not matches. To show a glimpse of Stephanie's character, SHE was the one comforting me. I had tried so hard to not show my emotion, but I was devastated by not being able to help my sister.

However, Steph was so fortunate to be able to find a great match in the international bone marrow registry. All we know is that the donor is a male, and that hopefully in a year we will be able to know who he is and thank him either in person or on the phone. He is a hero! The good news is that now all of my family is on the registry - so hopefully we can return the favor.

If you are interested in also getting on the registry, please visit: http://www.marrow.org/.

Stephanie had her stem cell transplant in March of 2008. It was successful (it engrafted), and she has had very few complications due to graft versus host disease (a situation where the transplanted stem cells start to attack the "host" or body of the person). She is happy, healthy, and moving on with her life! She still has to have tests every few months and doctor appointments every couple of weeks, but life is good. She plans to resume her nursing studies this coming January!

To learn more about stem cell transplants, please visit: http://www.leukemia-lymphoma.org/all_page.adp?item_id=5965 or http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/stem-cell-transplant/MY00089.

I am also running in honor of my Uncle Todd, who is a survivor of Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma, and in memory of my Uncle Tom, who passed away in June of 2007.

The next blog will talk about what I am doing to support blood cancer research and patient support.