Last Christmas eve, the Dickey family had two things they had to do; celebrate the birth of Jesus, and mourn the loss of the family patriarch. My grandfather, the man whose name I was given, died of cancer and left behind 12 children, around 33 grandchildren and somewhere near 9 great grandchildren. To be honest, the numbers are so comically high, that I am not even certain if they are accurate.

With those numbers, statistics state that at least one of these 64 people would end up being a career criminal. However, as of the date of this message, not one member of the Dickey family has been anything less than a decent member of society.

Now I want you to imagine that my grandfather had gotten cancer about 80 years earlier than he did. That's 65 stories in the book of human existence that never would have happened. All of their individual societal accomplishments erased from the annals of history. Their contributions to their individual communities dissolved. This is what happens every time a child's life ends.

Cancer is a terrible way for an 85 year old man's life to end. It's definitely not the correct ending for a man that I considered to be a legend in my own life. Can we please agree that no child should be subjected to such a fate?

Instead, let's let these children finish their stories on their own terms. Let us get together and just end this once and for all. You can raise money or give money. Either way, please, don't sit on the sidelines any longer.