For the last few years I'd been doing a volunteer thing at a Children's Hospital. My friends would tease me about it, acting like I was Mother Theresa. Nothing could be farther from the truth; my volunteerism was largely a hoop to jump through for getting into medical school - and there was no better way to jump through this hoop than hanging out with some adorable kids, playing with hotwheels, and watching Toon Disney. Sure I saw some kiddos who had been dealt a bad hand someway or another, but they were resilient, happy, and well... kids. What hit me the most over those few years giving high fives to kids coming out of surgery wasn't a kid even; it was two young parents who just learned the results of their elementary-aged son's biopsy. I offered my pithy consolations of kleenexes and styrofoam cups of water and I felt a deep and cutting sympathy. Wrapped up in their tears of heartache, confusion and uncertainty, there was an overriding current of grace. I'm not much one for vulnerability and connecting with strangers but that moment, the looks on their faces - wanting nothing but time with their child and all the wisdom that science and their oncologist had to offer - it still cuts me deep. 

Part of the horror of cancer is battling the unknown. Research grows every day, but only incrementally and federal research funding is preferentially awarded to the study of adult cancers for various economic reasons. So this is why I'll be shaving my horrible-hippy-haircut in March, not just to raise money but also to raise awareness for the most vulnerable patients and families, the most innocent, those who've yet to enjoy their fair share of life.

Please consider giving, any amount helps, or sharing this page so that our University can reach our common goal and make a tradition out of raising $100,000/yr for pediatric cancer research.