Chicago Marathon, October 9, 2016 …The countdown is on!

They say running a half marathon is like giving birth:

1. During the race, you curse yourself for getting into that situation
2. You have several hours of excruciating pain, followed by total and complete euphoria
3. You walk funny for a few days after
4. You swear you will never do this again…until the pain wears off and you find yourself committing to another race…this time a Full Marathon!​

I can't wait to run through the old neighborhoods of my hometown ..."Sweet Home Chicago!" Once again I'm running with Team In Training, and raising money to fight blood cancer. I'm runnning in honor of my niece Vicki, who lost her battle 6 years ago. I am so grateful for your generous donations to my TNT fundraising page.  Your donations big or small – will help to find a cure for blood cancer. Help Team Platypus reach our goal of $15,000!

Last season our team, called Team b. Strong, raised over $300,000, and funded 3 research grants to honor our patients, Ben, Bernard and Chris, and to fight blood cancer. But the battle is not over yet.  Every 3 minutes someone in the US will be diagnosed with a form of blood cancer.  So we continue to fight…and run… and raise money to find a cure.

Living Victoriously

My journey to this page started nine years ago with a late night phone call: my sister’s cries on the other end of the phone, “Vicki is in the hospital, and the doctors told me she had leukemia.” And in that split second our entire world turned upside down. I had so many unanswered questions – how could this happen to a healthy young college student?  Why was she affected?   Nothing in your life prepares you for this battle, and yet you dig deep and find the strength.

So why do I run? Because it’s much easier to run a marathon than to sit on the sidelines and watch a loved one suffer.  It is something I can do to honor my niece, Vicki who lost her 3 ½ year battle with AML Leukemia on November 8, 2010 at the age of 25.  And it is something I can do to bring hope to the many patients and families who are currently battling the disease.

Please join me and the LLS in giving hope to the hundreds of thousands fighting leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin’s lymphoma and myeloma.

The donation you make today will help the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society fund treatments that save lives everyday, like immunotherapies which use a person’s own immune system to kill cancer.  You can make a difference in the quality of life of those battling with leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma. Your secure online tax-deductible donation will help fund lifesaving research, education, and patient services while providing help and giving hope to thousands of families.

Please take a second to see if your work matches gifts - it's a quick and easy way to double your impact.

Thank you for your generosity and support,

Much Love,

Maureen