TO MY FAMILY, FRIENDS, AND GRACIE SUPPORTERS EVERYWHERE!!! LET'S GOOOOO!!!
On December 23, 2019, my daughter, Gracie, was diagnosed with B-Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL). It was the day before Christmas Eve, and six days before Gracie turned two years old. It was also the scariest day of my life. Later that evening, Gracie was admitted to Boston Children's Hospital to begin seven weeks of inpatient treatment. At the time of Gracie's diagnosis, I was six months pregnant with my third child. On Valentine's Day 2020, Gracie was discharged home from the hospital and began a two year outpatient course of leukemia treatment at The Jimmy Fund Clinic, Dana-Farber's outpatient pediatric clinic. A month after Gracie came home, in mid-March 2020, the whole world came to a grinding halt as the pandemic changed life as we all know it. Two weeks after that, on April 1, 2020, our family welcomed our third child, Benjamin. In the span of just a few months, our family confronted a pediatric cancer diagnosis, weathered the onset of a global pandemic, and welcomed a new baby into the world. All the while, Gracie continued to undergo treatment for leukemia. Led by Dr. Andrew Place, Gracie's medical team saw Gracie and our family through 26 months of leukemia treatment. We are blessed that Gracie completed treatment in February 2022, and she is now cancer-free.
Gracie and our family are forever grateful for the outstanding medical care that she received at Dana-Farber. Physician-scientists like Dr. Place work tirelessly to develop novel therapies that reduce the toxicity of treatment and improve patient outcomes. One hundred percent of every dollar raised by the DFMC team supports the Claudia Adams Barr Program in Innovative Basic Cancer Research at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. These funds are fueling some of today's most promising basic cancer research.
On April 15, 2024, I am running my first ever marathon to support the amazing research at Dana-Farber. I am absolutely thrilled to be taking on this challenge and to have the opportunity to give back to Dana-Farber. I am running to bring hope to patients, children and families everywhere. I am running so that we all can head toward the ultimate finish line: a world without cancer.
I humbly ask for your support as I take on this fundraising challenge. There is no one reading these words that has not been touched in some way by cancer. Everyone benefits from the cutting edge research that takes place at Dana-Farber everyday. Please help me give back to a place that has given so much to Gracie and our family.
I am dedicating my Boston Marathon run to Gracie. To all that she has endured, to all that she has overcome, and to the opportunity that she now has to grow up and achieve her own dreams. I am running to generate hope. Thank you so much for your support. It means the world to me.
With hope and love,
Jen
THANK YOU TO THE FOLLOWING LOCAL BUSINESSES FOR THEIR UNWAVERING SUPPORT OF MY BOSTON MARATHON RUN FOR DANA-FARBER!
