Friends and Family,

As many of you know my husband and best friend of 17 years was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia on December 11, 2010. This past year has been most difficult for all of us. Chris has been through it all from 8 rounds of chemotherapy to being in the hospital for months at a time. When he was first diagnosed it was so frightening, we had no idea what to expect but as a family we NEVER lost HOPE. We knew that the chances of survival were low but we never stopped believing that he would get better. The doctors told us that with a bone marrow transplant, that Chris's survival rate is much higher. Chris had so much on his side he was young and in fairly good health. On May 5, 2011 the Be the Match Foundation in conjunction with USC Norris Cancer Hospital had found a perfect match in a non-related donor. This was a miracle!! Our prayers had been answered. Chris never gave up he endured so much. The chemotherapy was terrible, he endured very high fevers and infections, multiple bone marrow aspirations and terrible mouth sores but through this Chris stayed strong mentally and NEVER lost his smile. He would often say "I am going to get through this for us" this is just a bump in the road. Chris received his transplant on June 14, 2011 and came home for good on July 15th. This is what we had been waiting for since December. We always knew that anything could happen but the LOVE and faith we had was so strong. We were living somewhat of our normal lives again. Chris was happy and continued to remain strong and the transplant had been successful his marrow was 97.2% all donor marrow. He was cancer free!!!

This was the chance for us to start over and live our lives happy and healthy. Unfortunately, this was short lived. On August 26th we received news from his doctors that he had relapsed and that his cancer had returned. Chris went into the hospital the next week to receive his last round of chemo. For patients with AML there is no standard of care after relapse form a bone marrow transplant. This news was even more devastating than the initial diagnosis. We had lost HOPE but we still never gave up. Chris never gave up. He wants nothing but to live and see his daughter grow up. Chris's last round of chemotherapy did not put him into remission. So as a family we decided that Chris would come home and live his remaining days with the family and friends that he loves and in the comfort of his own home. Chris had been given 30 days to live as of September 30th. Here we are today and he is still here!!

Chris has been a pillar of strength for Camille and I. With all that Chris has been through this past year, I have felt the need to do something for him and families who are in our same situation. I am asking for our friends and family to unite and support Chris by making a donation. Any donation large or small is welcomed. I’m committed to walking 13.1 miles and raising $3000.00 I will be raising funds to help find cures and better treatments for leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin’s disease and myeloma. With your support, we can help improve the quality of life for patients and their families as well. Hopefully one day we will find a cure.

I do this all for Chris, my husband!!

With Love & Gratitude

Cecilia