Although I cannot be at this event in person, my heart will be with the Skokie School Baldies on March 21st and I will be just as bald! I spent about 6 months bald last year with my niece Leah Emily Anderson who was fighting for her life against a rare form of brain cancer. Leah was an amazing child and a fighter in every sense of the word. Unfortunately for Leah, and many other children, pediatric cancer research is woefully underfunded and therefore lacking in progress. Leah earned her angel wings on December 12, 2012. Leah was my first born niece, my first experience at being an aunt. I could not have loved her more. There were many things I thought I would teach Leah, but I never imagined they would include how to take a bath with your port accessed, how to walk again after surgery, and how to be bald and proud. Cancer made this our reality. The things I taught Leah can never compare to what she has taught me about life, love, strength, and courage. She was not only the bravest child I knew, but she had the most amazing spirit and more compassion for others than most. Leah made me a better person, a more complete person. I remember being afraid to stop the car when she was an infant for fear of her waking and screaming AGAIN, I remember getting in trouble with Shannon when Leah drew a picture of a dragon and a turd in preschool, I remember her face at the beach, I remember dancing with her at Yogi Camp, I remember my heart breaking as I brushed her beautiful blonde hair and having it fall out in the brush and I remember feeling like a part of me died as I stood beside her while she took her last breath. Medicine, science, research failed Leah, all I have left are my memories. Quite simply, if love could have saved Leah then she would still be here. But that is not the case, I was helpless against her cancer, we all were. I still cannot fathom that there are things in this world today we cannot cure, but there are. No advancements have been made in Leah’s type of tumor since radiation more than 30 years ago. This must change! We need funding for the research to help discover new treatments and cures for all types of pediatric cancer. I am asking you to stand with me and in honor of Leah in this fight. Together we can raise awareness, we can raise money, and we can find a cure. 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. Your gift will give hope to infants, children, teens and young adults fighting childhood cancers. So when I ask for your support, I'm really asking you to support these kids. Thank you! Click "Make a donation" to give online, or donate by phone or mail.