Inspirational Stories

The cancer diagnosis was devastating, and the loss was more than anyone should have to bear. We lost our wonderful son, brother, fiance & friend Larry, on August 15th. He was 30 years and 18 days old. He had his whole future ahead of him with his soul mate, Vicki. Together, they were planning a wedding for seven weeks away, making plans for children and looking forward to a long life. He never made it down the aisle, never got to raise those babies and was taken from this earth way too soon. Larry was a bright light in our lives and is missed every second of every day. We walk to raise funds to help fight and find a cure for this awful disease.

Larry was our warrior. He fought from the second he was diagnosed. He remained strong and positive throughout his 28-day battle with Leukemia. He constantly worried about everyone around him. He asked us to take care of Vicki and help with the dogs and house, and he wanted to thank the nurses and doctors for their care; he, indeed, was an amazing, caring young man. He endured multiple rounds of chemo, intrathecal chemo, bone marrow biopsies and continued testing. He did everything the doctors asked him to do. His battle was cut short, and I pray that no mom has to go through this with their child ever again.

Larry was given the chance to preserve fertility and took advantage of it. Even though he is no longer with us, his heart lives on. In July 2020, his beautiful daughter (La)WREN(ce) was born, named after her daddy. We fight so that every little girl has the chance to meet their daddy, even if he has cancer.

Team Hetzel has raised over $90,860.00. We have also started a team in London, Ontario, Canada, that has raised over $10,250.00. We will continue to fight the fight until all blood cancer patients are given the best possible outcome.