Day 98 of...98 Days...This journey has come to a close...

Tonight we will know exactly what the fruits of our labor have brought to fund research for a cure for blood cancer. Thank you all for the support you have shown to this very important cause.  The 900,000 affected by this disease depend upon all of us because without a cure they know within the next 10 minutes it could be them saying goodbye to their families and loved ones for the very last time. Harsh I know but very real.  So even though this fund-raising effort for this campaign has come to an end the dollars needed to continue the research have not.  I hope you find it in your hearts to continue to spread the word.  

Though this journey has come to a close for me Light The App the free iPhone application will always be there as another support mechanism for people to light that virtual candle and write a dedication, inspiration or prayer to a loved one still battling blood cancer or to one who as lost the fight.  There you can also continue to donate directly to The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society so they can continue to fund that much needed research.  That is my gift to you and The Society that will keep on giving long after this campaign.  

To our honoree Tressa thank you for being our inspiration.  Every time I opened up the blog to write you were encouraging me to push even harder. Our hope is we touched people with your brave fight and story that they too will help us to find that cure so not another precious life like yours is taken abruptly and painfully away by blood cancer leaving the surviving family forever missing you.

Day 97 of...98 Days...The night before

This is the night before the close of the fund-raising campaign where we are have been working hard to raise donations for research to find cure of blood cancer.  It seems fitting to wrap this blog up tonight with Tressa.  Her wonderful family allowed me the gift of having her as my honoree and I will never forget how even though I never had the pleasure of meeting her she has touched my life in so many ways.

As I have read her journal so many times before it somehow seems fitting to share the last couple of days when Tressa was now home saying goodbye to family and friends. The Leukemia over took her and there was not anything more anyone could do because there just wasn't a cure. She would be taken from her family and loved ones permanently to a place where she would no longer feel pain and finally become free of blood cancer.

It was December nearing the holidays and since they arrived home with Tressa their house had been filled with family, and Tressa’s precious friends. One evening their front yard was filled with carolers from their church. Their stomachs were filled with the wonderful food that was sent from their church family. And their hearts were filled with the love and comfort.

The next day Tressa’s smile was more radiant than it has been in a long time, Tressa seemed to look around the room eyeing all of her close friends and family, and beaming from ear to ear. Tressa had a calmness and comfort demeanor that her family was so thankful for.

In the days that followed Tressa continued fighting a cough, fever and vomiting. But her family and friends continued to pile in first in the morning until the late evening hours to spend their last hours with Tressa.

Then the following day Tressa had passed away.  It was four days before Christmas. The parents are not sure why they were all chosen for this journey but their faith has them believe one day it will be made clear.

Tressa was so very brave and even at the end of her life showed no fear and I am told all who knew Tressa believe in the following "Earth will be at a loss and Heaven will never be the same”. Lookout Heaven...

The fund-raising continues on and with your help you can help fund research and find a cure please spread the word and make a donation.  www.lls.org

Day 96 of...98 Days...Is it for you or for me?

You may have noticed I have been blogging for 96 days straight.  That is really nothing in blogging years I am sure there are those that blog more than once a day have been doing it for years now.  For me this was about a journey.  I committed to blogging about this fund-raiser that I am quite passionate about and thought not only could I share the ups and downs of this road but also selfishly hoped I could empower others to want to join me so we could fund research and find a cure for blood cancer.

What I learned from this experience is that there were days when I wrote about the importance of funding research and a cure that brought me to tears realizing that if I can't motivate others to understand the gravity more loved ones will be lost to this devastating disease.  Other times I found myself angry and frustrated that I wasn't a good enough writer to empower more people to want to join me in this fight.

So I was asked by others was this blogging for you or for me.  I would say both.  When you can put in writing how you feel it is a sense of relief and purpose for these past 96 days I was determined no matter how I was feeling to post a message.  And now we wind down to the last two days of this journey.  For those that followed I could never thank you enough I hope I lived up to the expectations and for those who stopped by I hope you took something away from the messages and you will consider donating to this very worthy cause of saving a life.  Because every night when I opened this blog and see Tressa's beautiful face it reinforces the importance of what we are doing so it never happens again and another precious daughter or loved one is taken away.  

Day 95 of...98 Days...Where does it go?

This is a very good question regarding why even consider supporting this campaign and The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.  It can best be described by a personal story that I read in an e-newsletter I received today.

David Burns even before his initial diagnosis with acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) at age 35, he dedicated his life to teaching martial arts and the value of physical and mental fitness. He went through two rounds of bone marrow transplants which seemed to take effect and put the cancer in remission. At that point David went back to work and became an active community volunteer. His love and service for others has always shown through and for years, as a cancer survivor, he spent time motivating others who were going through treatment. He also wanted to give back by raising money for funding research and ultimately a cure so  others would not have to face what he had gone through.

Little did he realize he was not only raising money for research and a cure for others but for himself as well because tragically, after 14 years David's cancer came back. Recent chemotherapy has put him back in remission, but the thoughts of a third bone marrow transplant in his future, are now part of his daily life. Still, he retains his optimism, living each day to the fullest and doing the things that make him happy which, of course, involves people. He expresses gratitude for the support of many people in his community, who are rallying 'round in this new phase of his cancer treatment; and to The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) as well. "Over the years," David says, "I think I've read every piece of literature LLS publishes on AML. The more information the better when it comes to battling cancer. And last year, we received a check from LLS to help pay for treatment-related expenses. Since I am not currently working, those dollars were very helpful."

I could share literally thousands of the same type stories.  Blood cancer comes out of nowhere can attack what  seems to be the healthiest of individuals.  They go through the painstaking process of  battling back and in this case twice and then they believe they beat it because it goes into remission.  But then it comes back with vengeance.  So to answer your question where does your donation go it goes to not only funding research to find a cure and sometimes the where does it go it also goes towards helping those fighting fund treatment when they can no longer afford it.  Please Donate Now!

Day 94 of...98 Days...It's FREE

What a great word FREE it always gets everyone's attention.  If it's free people want it.  It doesn't matter if they can use it or not there is something about getting something that's free. It's the thought well maybe someday I can use it. Then you think of some things people will pay for that's not FREE.  It stems from everything to the ridiculous just because to the over the top extravagant because they can. But FREE attracts everyone from all socioeconomic backgrounds transcends against race or religion.

The word free has many meanings to it as well. There is the idea of being free and all that it brings including the land of the free. Then there are those people that aren't free. You think well maybe it's because there incarcerated and deserve to lose their freedom.  What about the 900,000 individuals who aren't free? They are not free and are locked up within their very own private hell because they are sick. They are so sick with blood cancer one that has overtaken their body that they either find themselves in intensive care, chemotherapy or other therapies. It was like the cancer has stripped away their freedom from living a normal life and every 10 minutes it's like one has been executed and taken away from their families.

It may not be free to donate to a cause like this but when you do it means funding research for a cure and giving back a life and you can't put a price on that can you?  And if it's free your after then look at it this way with your gift you are helping others to become cancer FREE!   Donate Now

Day 93 of...98 Days...The Erupting Volcano

The Volcano in Iceland has certainly created massive disruptions to innocent people who were just at the wrong place at the wrong time. It's Mother Nature taking hold and no one has any control over it.  Pilots are testing going up in the ash clouds to see if it's safe.  They are all looking for that safe fly zone.  Everyone thought the Volcano had calmed down and then today it erupted with force again sending another Volcanic Plume in the air.  No one really has the answer on how to fix the situation other than to wait it out or try alternative routes to gain back some normalcy in their lives.

Does this sound a little familiar?  Let me describe it in this way here is an innocent body many times a mere child being taken over by massive eruptions of a different type of volcano one that spreads blood cancer. No one can control it because simply there is no cure.  Doctor's are testing new therapies to get the loved one affected to a safe zone. And just when it appears things are calming down and everyone is breathing a sigh of relief because the loved one has beaten it and because it has gone into remission.  Then all of a sudden wham the blood cancer erupts again takes hold of your child, family member and loved one with such vengeance.  It leaves everyone stunned wondering how it happened.  So again the family resorts to the existing alternative therapies since there is no cure and they are just searching for a way to gain some normalcy for the family and loved one still fighting for their life.

In this case we do have an option together we can stop this internal volcano eruption spreading blood cancer by funding research and finding a cure. It's not too late and no donation is too small $5, $10 it all adds up and can make a difference.  Donate Now and let's give back the lives to those who are battling.

Day 92 of...98 Days...The Journal

Through this journey of 98 Days there have been times I shared with you Tressa's story of her brave fight before she lost her life. I go to visit her journal that her family kept during her battle it has always kept me grounded on the importance of funding research and finding a cure for blood cancer.  And my hope is it gave you a glimpse of a child fighting for her life and the parents doing all that they could to save her.

I was in the middle reading the last days of her life when she had a massive fever and coughing up blood.  She had just gone through another round of chemo and there was a source of an infection in her abdomen they could not repair.  She was very scared and confused and her parents watching over for she had been in ICU for 53 consecutive days and this new wave of Leukemia was too much.  It was at that time Tressa's parents decided it was time to bring Tressa home.

As I was reading her journal and Tressa's last days at that very moment we received a new dedication on the Light The App free iPhone application. It was someone reaching out to their loved one asking them to keep fighting.  It felt a little surreal reading about Tressa and at the same time one who is in the midst of fighting for their life against blood cancer.  Together let's save a life and change what could be the ending for so many...  Donate Now.