Flowers bloom, birds sing, gentle breezes stir a sense of hope and optimism that the spring ushers in. This year the season brings an extra dose of heartache with reminders of what the stark reality is and what promising potential is lost. In May 2025, my son Holden should be playing baseball and graduating from high school with a crowd of lifelong friends. He should be celebrating his 18th birthday. He should be proudly celebrating his brother's graduation from college and planning his own transition to college as a young adult ready to venture out into the world and make it a better place. Instead, 2025 marks the 11th year since cancer stole him just before his 7th birthday. You can read about Holden and his story in more detail here: https://www.stbaldricks.org/hero-funds/invictus
My family witnessed first-hand the incredible devastation of a pediatric cancer diagnosis and the ravages of the surgeries, radiation, and chemotherapies necessary to try to save a child. These treatment measures are so extreme that 2 of 3 survivors suffer long term effects. My family also experienced the harsh reality that in the U.S. 1 in 5 children with a cancer diagnosis does not survive. In the years since Holden's diagnosis and untimely passing we have partnered with the St. Baldrick's Foundation to raise money to support groundbreaking pediatric cancer research. The money you donate to the Invictus Fund allows me to participate in selecting research grants, and generally I select projects that focus on kidney cancers and/or untreatable relapses. Most recently, however, there was an opportunity to support research to optimize treatment for a rare form of chemotherapy-resistant leukemia. I chose it because a college friend had just received this exact diagnosis for her teenager, and I was in the position to act. My friend wrote to me after his treatment concluded and said "Our knowledge about S's mutation and our understanding ... was informed by Dr. Niswander and we would not have found her without you and Holden. Gratitude to you for making that connection possible ... hopefully there is a bit of comfort in Holden continuing to have impact and make the world better from the great beyond." There is solace in knowing that good things do emerge from the darkness, and if you donated to the Invictus Fund in the past please know that you too had a role in changing the trajectory of the life this young man and his family.
In the U.S., childhood cancer is the #1 cause of death by disease for children, and a shocking 1 in 263 children will have cancer before age 20. I offer you my testimony that pediatric cancer is life-shattering, that we can do better, and that we are doing better. Please continue to invest in that hope with your gift of $18 (add more zeros if you like!) in celebration of Holden's 18th birthday and his zest for life. There will be a time when our pooled resources achieve the seemingly insurmountable goal of conquering the scourge of cancer that scars and steals our precious children. With your help and generous donation in Holden's memory, maybe it may be that that time is NOW.
Thank you, from the bottom of my broken heart.
Memento Vivere.
