On Saturday night, we had a wonderful event in honor of my honored puppy patient Brody. Half the money went to LLS and half to Brody's vet bills. We had a band, opportunity drawings, pizza, gelato, Flying Dog Doggie Style Pale Ale, and a yummy array of wine and other beverages, but most of all we had great people rallying on behalf of a friend in her time of need. Allison, we love you and you amazing dog! Thanks to all who came out to make the night a rousing success and who kept this secret for weeks!

Today is a bittersweet day. According to the Jewish calendar, my dad's lymphoma took him 5 years ago today. It is also the evening that starts my favorite Jewish holiday--one which Dad would have loved. We spend a week with as much time as possible outdoors in a little temporary shelter with branches for a roof that leave gaps to see the sky through. We eat there, listen to baseball games, read, relax, watch nature. Dad had his evening rituals in RI that involved sitting in our backyard or on our deck doing similar things. He would truly love Sukkot. So on this day, I make his famous Beef Stew with Tomato Chili Dumplings (this year in vegan form), and think of all my wonderful memories of Dad. I recite the mourners kaddish (a celebration of the goodness of God) at services, and light a yartzheit candle that burns for 24 hours in his memory. I rededicate myself to a life that honors him and celebrates the things he loved. And I try to give back, rededicating myself. as well, to the fight against the cancers that have taken so many, many people I love, because of whom my life is so much richer. Celebrate my dad with me. Donate in his memory. Enjoy the days we still have here on this beautiful planet. Treasure your own health. Feed a bird, Plant something. Build a stonewall. Kiss a bulldog. Read a book. Sing. Whistle.

I love you so much, Dad!

A huge thank you to all the Eagles fans who donated $480 today before the home opener! Your generosity will go a long way toward saving lives!!!

Racing to Save Lives

Welcome to my new Team in Training Fundraising Page! Yup, I'm at it again. “ALREADY??!!?” you ask. YUP.

I had really intended to take at least a year off before my next TNT event. But then last week happened. First my best friend and former roommate Allison called to say that her beloved sheltie, Brody—who has been her faithful companion through a whole bunch of nasty medical stuff of her own and who is a huge source of joy and love in her life—has been diagnosed with a very fast moving lymphoma (they removed a growth in his nose that was affecting his ability to breathe and want to start chemo before the oncology vet even gets back from vacation because they are afraid it will grow back that fast) that can't be treated with radiation because of its location. Allison is devastated. Before Brody's diagnosis was even confirmed, I got an email about Candy Hill, the sister of a close family friend from my childhood (close like I still call her Aunt Dee in my 40s even though there's no relationship). Candy was just discharged after 40 days at the hospital. Doctors have tried every chemo regimen known to work in her type of leukemia, with no success. Her body is just continuing to produce more and more leukemia cells. She's seen experts at the best hospitals, and all they can do right now is monitor her blood and platelet counts twice a week. They say at some point they will lose their ability to regulate these too. Dee is a perfect match for a bone marrow donation to her sister, but the doctors can't get her sister well enough for her body to handle the transplant. What could I do, hearing these things, but sign right back up to raise money and awareness about how far we need to go in the battle with blood cancers. I want to give people like Allison and Dee hope for their loved ones and I want to give Candy and Brody and all the other folks/critters dealing with these illnesses safe and effective treatments.

I will run the Philly Half Marathon on November 21st in memory and honor of many, many people: those I have loved and lost—my dad, my friends Pete, Terry, and Freddie, my old boss Ernst—for those still in the thick of battle, like Lyndsey—the little girl who was my inspiration last season—and a colleague who is fortunate to still be “watching and waiting” in his battle with lymphoma—and for the survivors—like our friend Nancy who has won her battle and gone on to work at Hosts for Hospitals, which serves patients and families by providing local homes in which to stay while they are treated at hospitals far from home. But there is no question, this one is especially for Candy and for Brody and for those who love them most. I hope that this run will give them hope, and more importantly, that the funds I raise will go quickly to develop new treatments that are safer and more effective than those we have now.

If you are in Philly on November 21st, please come out and cheer on the TNT participants from around the nation who will have trained and fundraised long and hard to save lives. And please, give whatever you can to help us find new and more effective cures for those we love battling Leukemia, Lymphoma, and Myeloma!

I'll post updates on my training below, so you can see how I'm doing!

THANKS SO MUCH FOR YOUR SUPPORT!

Beth Parks Aronson