In 2017, our first-born daughter Marley was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive type of cancer called neuroblastoma. She was two and a half years old, and my wife Lindsay was 20 weeks pregnant with our second daughter Delaney. Nothing could have prepared us for what the next few years would look like. Multiple rounds of chemotherapy, a ten-hour surgery to remove the tumor, weeks of radiation treatment, extended stays at Riley Hospital and IU North, an absolutely brutal treatment of immunotherapy drugs, multiple trips to Chicago and New York City to see specialists, more doctor visits and blood draws that I can count, several unexpected emergency trips to the hospital, and an extensive and logistically challenging neuroblastoma vaccination clinical trial in New York City turned our lives upside down.
We are SO fortunate and grateful that Marley is cancer-free today. We have met many amazing families along this journey whose stories do not have happy endings.
Less than 4% of the federal budget for cancer research is dedicated to childhood cancer. St. Baldrick's Foundation helps change that by being THE leader in fundraising support for pediatric cancer research. I shave my head to raise money AND awareness to this tragically underfunded sector of the medical field. I do it as a thank you to all of those who have helped Marley and our family along the way. I do it to honor those children who have passed and to those who are still fighting.
Thank you to all who have donated to our team already. If you haven’t already, please consider even a small donation. 100% of the funds go directly to supporting pediatric cancer research. The same research that helped develop treatments that saved my daughters life.
