
Like so many others, my life is forever changed because of Brain Cancer....more specifically Grade IV Glioblastoma Multi-Forme.
In July of 2015, my beautiful daughter was only 29 at the time and the mother of two wonderful children (her daughter only 9 years old and her son only 9 months old) when a series of seizures came upon her without any warning. The following month we witnessed her struggle with her first brain surgery when they performed the biopsy that turned our world upside down. The next 14 months were full of doctor visits, medications, surgery, radiation, chemotherapy treatments, pain, sickness, exhaustion...yet Christine fought this battle valiantly to the bitter end which came on October 16, 2016.
Losing my daughter is something I never imagined could ever happen to me. Losing her in such a horrible way just increases the pain. It has given me a mission, however, a purpose. A cure must be found...and soon!! No other family should have to witness such a tragedy or suffer such a tremendous loss.
Brain Cancer has got to be one of the worst things to ever experience. Others don't realize how badly it ravages the heart and soul of its victims, taking away the person they once were before your very eyes. Before this took Christine's life, she had lost nearly all of her sight, her hearing had been greatly diminished, she lost use of her right arm and hand as well as lost the ability to walk due to loss of use in her right leg. She became unable to communicate as she struggled to find the words for even the simplest of things. The medications, treatments, and such caused her to lose her hair, to gain over 100 lbs very quickly which she had no control over, and made her irritable, so very tired, and simply not herself. But who could blame her! I feel like I actually lost my daughter long before the day she passed away.
On September 17, 2017, I will be participating along with my son and his family in Soldier Field @ The Gold Star Families Park in Chicago to support Voices Against Brain Cancer - an organization whose mission is to find a cure for brain cancer by advancing scientific research, increasing awareness within the medical community, and supporting patients, their families, and caregivers afflicted with this devastating disease.
Participating in this walk and raising funds for research is only the beginning for me in my pursuit to honor my daughter's fight, in sharing her story so that others may understand how real the fight is, and in helping raise the tremendous amount of money that's needed to find a cure for this monster of a disease. In the near future, my hope is to become more involved with "Voices Against Brain Cancer" as well so that others on this journey through no choice of their own may know they're not alone and that there are those of us out there that truly understand their struggles and their pain.
To join me in my efforts and become a member of our team, click the "Join" link to the right.. Traveling to Chicago to participate with us is not a requirement in order to join our team, as you can also join us virtually and help with our cause.
If you are not able to join me and my team for the event, but would still like to support us with a donation, simply click on the "Donate" button directly to the right.
I hope you will consider joining the team or making a contribution towards my fundraising efforts to find a cure for brain cancer. Thank you in advance for your support! Together, we are walking and running to cure brain cancer!