Teams are made up of individuals. Without them, there is no team.

I have a mission-to help find cures and more effective treatments for blood cancers. To accomplish that mission, I’m participating in a sports endurance event as a member of The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s (LLS) Team In Training. Like the other members of TNT, I will be raising funds to help find cures and better treatments for leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin’s disease and myeloma. I’m improving the quality of my life by participating and with your support, I can help improve the quality of life for patients and their families as well.

Let me tell you my personal reasons for joining with TNT once again.

The Irish phrase mo chuisle means “my heart” or “my pulse,” and it’s a phrase that’s used to refer to someone dear to you. In our case, Mo Chuisle is my mom, Margaret Mary Durkin von Ebers, who passed away on November 30, 2010 at the age of 86 of complications from myelodisplastic syndrome, or MDS, a blood cancer sometimes called pre-leukemia. MDS is one of the many blood and bone marrow diseases LLS supports through fundraising, research and advocacy.

My wife Jennifer and I are veterans of two marathons with Team in Training (Chicago 2005 and 2006), and Jennifer also ran the 2007 Chicago Distance Classic with the Team. Our interest in the Team in Training mission stems from a number of personal experiences with blood cancers. In fact, my Uncle Bernard Durkin was diagnosed with leukemia as a teenager in the 1920s. Back then, the diagnosis was a certain death sentence – there was little that could be done other for the patient than to provide comfort during his last days. Later, a friend and swimming teammate of mine succumbed to leukemia in 1979, during the summer after our junior year in high school. In 1996, my Uncle Don von Ebers was diagnosed with leukemia at about age 70, and passed away the following January. And then just a little over a year ago, mo chuisle, Margaret von Ebers (whom I like to refer to as “My Sainted Irish Mother”) was diagnosed with MDS, which, in younger, healthier patients ordinarily is treatable. But given her age and overall health, the treatment course would not have provided her much quality of life, and would only have extended her life by a short period of time. So, electing to forego treatment, she passed away a few months after the diagnosis.

And that brought Jennifer and I back to Team in Training, this time to train for the Christie Clinic Illinois Marathon which will take place at the home of my undergraduate and law school alma mater … and on my 50th birthday too!

Please consider making a donation in honor of Mo Chuisle. We greatly appreciate it.

Meanwhile, you can track my progress on my running blog, Running … From Chicago, and you can likewise follow Jenn’s food and cooking blog, Slim Shopppin’, for updates, recipes and excellent nutritional information.

And for more about the life of Mo Chuisle, see my post entitled “Herself.”

Thank you!

Please make a donation in support of my efforts with Team In Training and help advance the research for cures.