On Saturday, November 10th our family along with some amazing friends will be walking as "Team James" in the The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's annual Light the Night fundraising walk.
As many of you know on July 27th, 2009 I was told that I have a Myeloproliferative Neoplasm which is a very rare chronic Leukemia that at this time has no cure. At some point in the future my doctors believe that I will have to undergo a stem cell transplant in order to prolong my life. In the past 3 years we've met so many people that have been affected by cancer and so many of them dealing with a type of Leukemia. When we were at the MD Anderson in Houston this past April there is an entire floor of the hospital dedicated to those with a type of Leukemia. All the patients there made you feel like a part of the family and were there to support, share their stories, and give you all the encouragement you need - no matter what their present circumstances were. It's a special bond that you just want to help those that are going through something similar or facing something that you know you and your family will be facing soon. It's been a desire since I left there in April to do something more - I want to help - I know if we go through a transplant we're going to need a ton of help. I'll be in isolation for at least 100 days - I'll need help with the kids, help at the hospital, help in isolation, we will need help to make it through - we won't be able to do it alone. Right now I want to do what I can to help people facing those same issues as much as I can.
That's why we decided that we wanted to walk in the Light the Night walk. The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society does so much for Leukemia patients - we've been able to attend a conference held by them for patients with cancer and their care givers where we learned so much. Because of the The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society we were able to attend the 2 day conference for free. With so many medical bills and the price of prescriptions you could only imagine that if patients had to pay for these conferences most just wouldn't have the finances to be able to do so. When I go through my stem cell transplant my kids will be able to attend support groups to deal with me being away for so long. The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society does so much for patients and their families. I really couldn't think of a better organization to raise money for! So we hope that you will consider donating to our team - we are trying to raise $500 for our team - even our kids are raising money! Every little bit will help make a difference in a patient and family's life - I know they've already helped us so much and we haven't even made it to the hard part yet. If you're in Arizona and you would like to join our team and walk with us - we would love to have you!
Here is the link to our team's webpage!
Team James
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