WELCOME TO MY TEAM IN TRAINING (TNT) HOME PAGE!

I would first and foremost like to introduce you to a most special lady.  My Nana.  

I cannot adequately describe who Nana is because that would inevitably take up too many web pages.  But, believe me when I tell you that she is one of the most incredible people one could ever hope to meet.  She is my grandmother—my dad’s mom. Her name is Donna.  She survived breast cancer in the 1980s.  She was diagnosed with leukemia in 1993 and was given three months to live.  She then proceeded to revolutionize the cancer industry by taking part in multiple experimental drugs to cure leukemia in patients, including herself.  She was the 1 patient out of 20 patients to survive in 9 different experimental treatment studies.  After years of fighting, she was deemed cured of leukemia. She has been featured in publications and was an honored teammate for her own Team In Training team.  She has been able to see three more grandchildren come into this world and grow up.  She has seen six grandkids graduate high school and five graduate college.  She has watched as three of her grandchildren got married and started their own families.  She has gotten to know two great-grandchildren.  She has moved across the country to enjoy life in the mountains. She has gone on countless gambling escapades to Lake Charles and Las Vegas.  She has lived.

On March 29, 2014, Nana passed away.

She passed away from complications due to severe brain atrophy from all of the experimental drugs that saved her life and countless others.  

From the time she was diagnosed in September 1993, Nana went on to fight and thrive and live for 259 months.  Considering she was given 3 months to live at the time of her diagnosis, this astounds me every time I think of it.  

Donna has impacted more lives than most of us could ever hope to touch in multiple lifetimes.  For this reason, I am setting a goal that reflects this life-altering existence.  

On May 3, 2015, I will run my first full marathon.  It is my desire to have 259 donations of $100 each by this date.  For every $100 you donate, you in essence honor one month of the life Donna was never meant to live.  There is a matrix below of the months and years from September 1993 to March 2014.  If you would like to chose a specific month of a certain year that you hold a particular memory or milestone with Donna, you may dedicate this to her.  I will update this sheet weekly with the names (unless you choose to remain anonymous, in which case I will put “Anonymous”) of those who would like to reflect on those times with her.  I realize the grand scope of this goal, yet I cannot seem to fathom that she deserves anything less.  Nana’s arms extended far and wide and allowed for anyone to step inside, no matter who they were or what they had done.  She saved so many lives when she saved her own.  

Please join me in honoring her in such a big way.  I can assure you, Nana deserves every bit of it.  Keep your arms open...

Please know, regardless of the matrix below, any amount you donate will be saving lives.  I truly appreciate all of your time and efforts in fighting for the cure of this terrible disease. 

"Dance. Smile. Gamble."