PAULA SUKENIK TRIBUTE

Welcome to the Paula Sukenik Fundraising Tribute web page! Great news, Lauren had decided to join the race!!!

Lauren and I will be running in the 2008 Nike Women's Marathon and Half-Marathon in San Francisco on October 19th in honor of our mom, Paula Sukenik, who endured a three and a half year struggle with leukemia before passing away on April 12th of 2008.

This will be Lauren’s first half-marathon and she is really excited to run it for such an amazing cause. Lauren just finished her first 10K on August 31st, by running in the Nike Human Race in Los Angeles, so a half-marathon this soon afterwards is going to be a huge undertaking.

As for me, I completed my first marathon, the Disney Marathon, in January and have been training for this marathon all summer. It has been a challenge to find time for training, between traveling, applying to business schools, and keeping up with schoolwork, but it will be well worth it to finish this race in tribute to my mom.

My mother and I were as close as any two people on earth, so I feel like I have experienced leukemia right alongside her. I watched her grow tired of the relentless routine of treatment, and the procedures that she so greatly dreaded. So when I look at this web page each day and see what generous donations my mom inspired, I see a future where less and less people have to endure what my mom endured. I see a person discovering that they do not need a nasty procedure because scientists have found a medicine that will do the same thing. But most of all, I see my mom smiling, because she is proud of the generosity and compassion of her friends, and she is touched to find that she was so very loved.

Before my mom passed, she began writing a book, to spread a message of hope to other cancer sufferers. Although she only finished fifteen pages, I feel confident that between her writing and our interactions I will be able to finish her book in a way that will deliver her message. In order to do so, however, I need your help. I would like to capture my mother's spirit in as much detail as possible, because I believe her attitude to be the perfect model for struggling people to aspire to. She faced adversity after adversity and never succumbed to the temptation to give up. Her fighting spirit is an inspiration, and it will be that to all who read her book, if I am able to do her justice. I plan to include stories, in my mom's book, about all aspects of her personality. So if you have a story that you feel embodies a certain characteristic of hers, or even just a fun memory, please take the time to post it on this website, or e-mail it to kaplicht@ncsu.edu. In addition to helping me develop my mom's book as completely as possible, your story will touch the hearts of all those who come to this website, because they will have a chance to reflect on what an amazing life my mom has led.

Please support Lauren and me in our quest to pay tribute to our mom's life. She took great joy in giving to others, so what better gift to give her than the gift of another's life. When you make a donation to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, you are doing just that. You are giving life, extending life, and improving life for thousands. You are protecting people from the horrible experience my mother endured, and you are doing it in her honor. I know that she is proud of her team.

Thank you for your time and support, and Lauren and I look forward to carrying your tribute across the finish line!