This is a screen shot from Dr. Sandi Glahn's Facebook page. Her nephew is Jonathan Patterson--the young man I've been talking about here. Like Sydney Galway, he was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia this year and has been near death's door. No exaggeration. 

Two days ago, they found a 100% perfect bone marrow match for him in Germany. I'm astounded by this grace. If he tolerates the treatment, he will be cancer-free. This was also Sydney's outcome. 

For all of you who have given of your money and encouragement, thank you. This is what your efforts avail. 

TUESDAY is the last day to give toward this personal effort to raise these life-saving funds. Would you consider making a gift right now? I'd love to surpass $4,000!

The countdown to Tuesday is on ... and to the race too. It's two weeks away. Cue Chariots of Fire theme song.

If 18 people gave $26 each right now, we'd hit our fundraising goal of $3,500! With the deadline for giving on October 24 right around the corner, now is the time to contribute if you'd like to help this fight against blood cancers.

Why does it matter?

• Sydney Galway, my friend's 19-year-old daughter, is doing much better because of treatments your dollars help to support.
• Jonathan Patterson, my friend's nephew, relapsed only days after finishing his first round of chemotherapy. 

Sydney and Jonathan have the same form of blood cancer (AML). Your gift matters because no patient responds exactly the same way as another patient. We need new trials that lead to new treatments.

What does your gift do?

In more than 40 years, the US Food & Drug Administration approved a new drug for treating Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML), one of the most aggressive blood cancers. Read more about the breakthrough drug here. THIS is what your gifts have the power to do.

Let's not allow another 40 years to go by without new treatments that produce new survivors.

Thank you!

PS: I'll be running 18 miles in the morning, and the countdown is on for the NYC marathon on November 5. I run because my health is a gift. I run because I can and they can't right now. But we can all run the race together--some sweat, some cheer, some drag us across the finish. Thank you for however you are running this race alongside these deserving patients.

My friend, April, ran the last 8 miles of a 14-mile run with me a couple weekends ago--2 more miles than she had planned. I was trying out a new route that included greenways and trails littered with fallen trees and inches of wet Carolina clay from the previous evening's storm. 

I had told April to meet me at the entrance to one of the greenways. I was going to call her when I was about 20 minutes away. So, imagine the joy and relief I felt when I looked up from picking my way through a narrow, wooded, unfamiliar path to see the only other person I'd seen on that trail--April! She had started out even without my call, hoping to find me along the way. That kind of love softens my hard and jaded heart. 

She ran with me and walked with me when I couldn't run another step ... and also when I got us lost. She refused to let me stop when all I could do was whine and beg to quit. She helped push me through to the point in the photo above--with that blessed bench--and called her husband to come pick us up from my GPS misread.

By the time my watch clocked 14 miles, I was flooded with relief ... and a deep gratitude for a friend's many extra miles. When you give to this effort, you are helping real friends, real sisters, real relatives and loved ones to persevere with tangible hope. You only have 8 weeks to give to this TNT fundraising challenge, so if you'd like to cheer someone on with your generosity, please contribute before October 24!

As for me, this weekend will hold 16 miles. April won't be with me, but she will have fueled my heart for the long haul. And when it's over, I plan to take a cue from my brilliant dog, Max, and lie down.

"Weeping may last through the night,
    but joy comes with the morning" (Psalm 30:5b)

Day after day, I've been out the door by 5:20 a.m. to run. It's July in North Carolina, so even the early hour can bring thick, soupy humidity. Some mornings I think I can't do it, but then I think of Sydney and Jonathan. They don't have a choice but to get up and get out there. To try again if they want to live.

So on Saturday, I set out to run 8 miles, and was treated to this sunrise and these horses grazing in a field. I thanked God for the new morning--and the health to run to greet it. My prayer for my friends is a simple begging, "Let them live. Let them live." I run and repeat,  "Please let them live to see more mornings like this."

I'm so grateful to be alive. Each morning is a gift. Would you please help my friends and millions like them see many more beautiful mornings to come?
 

Please give as if it were your own child in need. And let's hit $3,000 by August 1!

In May, Jonathan Patterson, 22, went from attending college classes, working, and volunteering with kids to fighting for his life.

We sat at the picnic bench outside our favorite watering hole in Dallas--Oak Cliff Coffee Roasters. Within minutes, my dear friend and mentor, Dr. Sandra Glahn, delivered the news: her nephew, Jonathan Patterson, 22, had just been diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia or AML. 

In early May, Jonathan--a busy college student--began feeling tired and congested. He pushed through to make it to classes, work, and AWANA, where he taught children about God's love. Then a dark spot appeared on one of his front teeth. Exhausted, he slept several days away, and then another dark spot appeared on one of his upper front teeth--but this time, it was accompanied by intense throbbing.

His dentist--who X-rayed his teeth and found everything to be normal--told him to see a doctor immediately. Blood tests showed acute leukemia. The physician called Oregon Health & Sciences University (OHSU) and talked to the doctors there, then directed Jonathan and his mother to go to the ER immediately. The OHSU team would be waiting. 

Jonathan quickly developed pneumonia and was moved to ICU. "We almost lost him," his mom said. The OHSU team administered an experimental medication--the kind such as those tested by LLS--and his immune system rebounded. Now in rehab, Jonathan must gain weight in order to have a second round of chemo. 

Your gifts to LLS and this Team in Training fundraising effort are not dollars in the wind. They fund the research necessary to find cures for cancer, and they mean that families such as Jonathan's have the resources and support they need in their most critical hours. Would you help me hit 50% of my fundraising goal by Friday, June 28? For Jonathan. For Sydney. For your loved one?