Katie is an athletic 16 year old junior at Andrean high school. April 20, 2011 doctors found a large mass in the right parietal lobe of her brain after weeks of severe headaches. She had brain surgery April 26th to completely remove the 3 inch tumor, and has done radiation and chemotherapy for the last 8 months. Katie loves all sports, but softball in particular. She pitches and plays first base for her travel and high school teams. The sport means so much to her, that 6 weeks after brain surgery she was back on the softball field with her teammates playing. She continues to play in spite of the side effects from her chemotherapy treatments and is determined to make the Andrean softball varsity team again this year. She has continued going to classes, football games, basketball games, dances and anything else she can possibly talk her parents into and refuses to let cancer slow her down. The staff at school says she’s such a positive person, and she always has a smile on her face. Her close friends and family endearingly refer to her as “Rock Star” since she knows no limits and believes anything is within her reach.
In June 2011 Katie’s friends (all 700 of them) got together over a weekend and dyed purple strips in their hair, while Katie and her mom, dad, sister, brother and uncle shaved their heads in support of her battle. The event was full of fun, laughs and beautiful people. Katie’s family is planning to attend this St. Baldrick’s event in support of the battle to end pediatric cancer forever and we hope you come out and help!
Be a hero for kids with cancer! Join this St. Baldrick's event, and whether you decide to shave your head, volunteer, or donate, we hope you'll be a part of the excitement. The St. Baldrick's Foundation is a volunteer-driven charity that funds more in childhood cancer research grants than any organization except the U.S. government. Get involved and you'll be giving hope to infants, children, teens and young adults fighting childhood cancers.
Any questions please contact us at teamhfd@gohammond.com
