Inspirational Stories

Greetings from a friend in Canada! I am a two-time blood cancer survivor and marathon runner all because of the love of friends in The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS)!

I had a life saving stem cell transplant from an American Naval Serviceman named Nathan Barnes who was in Japan when he saved my life. (2011-12). My stem cell transplant was May 2012!! A year after my stem cell transplant a friend took me to Alaska and ran a marathon for me with Team in Training! (2013). I was so inspired by that moment that I bought a pair of shoes and started running and have not looked back. Disney was my first marathon in January of 2015, and I spoke on behalf of the LLS that day. I got to meet Nathan at Disney late 2019!! Life is beautiful!!

Three different friends ran for me with Team In Training (TNT), and in the summer of 2013, a year after my life-saving stem cell transplant, a friend took me and my son to Alaska and ran a marathon for me! This April will be my 10th marathon in 10 years after my stem cell transplant.

I have participated in many Light The Night (LTN) events and two Man/Women of the Year events online. The first was in the summer of 2020 online with friends in Colorado, and most recently I was helping a friend who is about an hour outside of New York with his Man of the Year campaign.