Hey Team,
This image is so fitting for the first weekend of training for many reasons. There are many of you who are signing up for your first event with TNT, your first half marathon/marathon/triathlon/century ride, your first fundraising endeavor. There are also many of you who are signing up for second/third/fourth event with TNT this season. All of you know that without you, we cannot reach the LLS vision of a world without blood cancers. We cannot assist patients with medical assistance, provide education materials or support them emotionally throughout and after treatment.
It’s because of people like you that we can say, LLS is making Someday, Today!
This season we will be honoring a young man named Drew George, who is a sophomore at Worthington Kilbourne High School and a three sport scholar athlete. He was 15 years old and had just been experiencing fatigue for a couple months, so he went for a blood test to see if he might have mono. He was referred to Nationwide Children’s Hospital on November 7, 2013 for another blood test. The doctor put leukemia and lymphoma at the bottom of the list because he had no other symptoms. The family got a call later that afternoon that Drew had leukemia and we were to be admitted to the hospital that night. Drew was at home waiting to go to basketball practice, but instead his parents had to sit him down and tell him he had cancer. Before they went to the hospital, Drew went to basketball practice to let his teammates know what he was facing and that he really needed their support to fight the battle of his life. That was the beginning of his journey.
Update on where Drew is today from his mother Julie O’Donnell –
“Through all that Drew has been through: bone marrow biopsy’s, CT scans, MRI’s, ultra sounds, echocardiograms, ekg’s, MRV’s, blood and platelet transfusions, ICU, nausea, vomiting, mouth sores and much more, Drew NEVER said “WHY ME?” He faced each round with determination to beat cancer and so far he has! His bone marrow is NORMAL and he has 100% of his sister Tori’s cells, NO LEUKEMIA! HE IS MY HERO! He is stronger than all of us put together and he’s fighting the good fight. The hardest part might be the healing process because he’s now at home but can’t do all the things he is used to doing. Thank you for choosing Drew to be your team hero! He is so thankful to everyone who has supported him and he is very excited to be able to be a part of a group who is raising money to find a cure for cancer!”
Depending on Drew’s health – he, alongside his mother Julie, will be in attendance at the Season Kickoff this weekend to share with you more about his personal battle. While Drew’s sister Tori was a perfect match for Drew, many patients are not as lucky. This is a reminder of the importance of being on the national bone marrow registry. If you have not registered yet, please consider doing so. http://bethematch.org/Support-the-Cause/Donate-bone-marrow/Join-the-marrow-registry/
On behalf of patients and their families – we thank you for your dedication to the LLS mission. We look forward to supporting you both in fundraising and training throughout the next 4-5 months. If you ever have a question, please reach out to your TNT staff person Alysia Smith at (e) Alysia.Smith@lls.org or (p) 614.498.0409.
GO TEAM!
Central Ohio Chapter Team in Training Blog 