Alumni Project - Big Thank You! - Notre Dame High School

The power of the human spirit has inspired me again. Sometimes we forget that we have it. But when 32,000 people get together to with a shared goal in mind the results are astronomical. Sure, some folks just like the thrill of a ridiculous physical challenge, but it seems as though most participants in the CM Marathon had a specific cause or a special person they were running for. The mass of purple-shirted people that ran for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society didn’t need much more motivation than a few shouts of “Go TNT” from the crowd to finish their race. Something else took over and carried us across the finish line. That something was the feeling in our hearts that together, somehow, we can beat a horrible disease.

Nine-hundred people came together for the same cause and raised $3 million dollars in one event. Those dollars amount to steps closer to find a cure for all blood cancers. After this weekend, I don’t have a doubt in my mind that we will find a cure. Thank you for being a part-whether you were cheering on the sidelines or made a monetary contribution.

If the thought has crossed your mind that YOU could never do something like this, stop and think again. Is it the miles that you think you couldn’t finish? Is it money you think you can’t raise? Well I ask you to look at it from another angle. Imagine you were just diagnosed with leukemia or lymphoma.

Of course you would. No question about it. You would find strength you didn’t even know you had. All I had to do was imagine what Laith feels everyday-and then realize that the pain would be over when I finished that same day. Laith has been running for an entire year.

A special thank you to all the Notre Dame Alumni and my Piano Students who helped me reach my goal. Thank you again for helping me achieve my goals and the goals of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. If you are interested in experiencing a life changing program, sign up and go for it! Do the half-marathon! Walk the full marathon! Or just encourage the next purple-shirted enthusiastic TNT member who asks you to sponsor them.

My best friend (also my boyfriend) was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma this past May. As of today, Laith has undergone 8 cycles of chemotherapy and is preparing for 3 more cycles, radiation and a stem-cell transplant. The past few months have been a journey in faith and hope and we remain optimistic as Laith awaits word from his doctors about the next phase of his treatment. As I have watched him courageously battle this disease, I have found myself looking for a way to help him and all the other brave children and adults battling a blood cancer.

After Laith was diagnosed I remembered that my best friend from Chattanooga had flown to Alaska with her mother to run a marathon to raise money for a cancer-research organization. I did a little research and discovered the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s Team in Training Program. Team in Training is the largest endurance sports training program in the world, and has helped in raising over 416 million dollars for blood cancer research for cures for leukemia and lymphoma. So I signed up for the program, started running, and have not looked back.

I am asking for your support in my goal of raising $1700 for the LLS. Your donation is 100% tax deductible and 75% goes directly to LLS. I will personally write a check for the remaining 25% once I have reached my fundraising goal. I will be training to run 26.2 miles in Nashville, TN on April 28, 2007.

After reading about this organization’s history I realized that it was through the determination of one family to find a cure for an illness that took their teenage son’s life that this society was founded. In 1949 Leukemia was considered 100% fatal. Since then, the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s commitment to cutting-edge science has contributed to an unprecedented rise in survival rates for some blood cancers. The relative five-year survival rate for people with leukemia, for example, has tripled in the past 40 years. Hodgkin’s lymphoma is now considered one of the most curable forms of cancer, thanks to radiation, chemotherapy or a combination of the two. If you would like to learn more about the Society, Team in Training, or current research about blood cancers visit www.leukemiaandlymphomasociety.org.

This is a challenge as I have never run more than 6 miles in my life! I take this challenge in honor of Laith, knowing that EVERYTHING is possible. Donations can be made by accessing my Team in Training website: www.active.com/donate/tnttn/Chorn. Or return the enclosed envelope to me with a check written to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. You can pledge $1-2 dollars a mile (26.2 miles!) or be a T-shirt sponsor at $60. Your name will be printed on my tee shirt on race day! Or choose an amount that is suitable for you and your family. Please send donations by February 14, 2007. Thank you for being part of the cure!

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Alumni Project - Big Thank You!