Happy Valentine's Day!

To all my family, friends, teammates and followers...
Happy Valentine's Day!

I feel lucky to have you all in my life, supporting me in my journey to the Rock 'N' Roll Marathon.

Allow me to share a letter from one of our Honored Teammates,
Jason O'Hara.

I feel proud to be running on his behalf, blessed by my own health that I'm able to do so.

My name is Jason O’Hara.  I’m the one on the right in this picture of me and my mom Jane.  In June of 2004, I was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL).  Leukemia is a blood cancer that affects many people, especially children.  The cause of it is still unknown and there is no 100% cure for it.  After I was diagnosed, I spent the whole first month in the hospital with my mom.  Dad took care of my brothers and sister.  The doctors ran tests and gave me chemotherapy drugs to combat the cancer.  One of the drugs was so bad that the nurses had to mix it in with chocolate sauce just to get me to eat it.  I was always hooked up to an IV pole.  Glad to say that after that month the doctors said that I appeared to be in remission and I was allowed to go home. 

The doctors have put me on a 3 year maintenance program to keep the leukemia in check.  This maintenance program entails blood work every 2 weeks and an intrathecal (chemo shot into my spine) injection every 6-8 weeks.  The blood work has become routine since they put a port-a-cath into my chest so that the medicines get into my bloodstream quickly.  Mom tells me everyone how brave I am.  Mom has made the visits to the hospital fun.  I get to play video games and watch T.V. shows while the doctors are doing their thing.  If everything checks out well after my 3 year maintenance program, there is a good chance that I have beaten the leukemia. 

Thank you all for becoming part of the Team In Training program and supporting patients like me.  The money that you raise will help more than 747,000 people in the United States who are fighting blood cancer.  Only 40 years ago there was only a 5% survival rate for people with leukemia.  Today, with the monies raised by Team In Training and other Leukemia & Lymphoma Society programs, the survival rate is close to 80%.  I thank you very much!  Your support means a lot to me and my family.  Keep me in your prayers.

Thank you for supporting my run, and for providing promise to families 
like the O'Haras!