2019

My 10th Shave ('10, '11, '12, '13, '14, '15, '16, '17, '18 & come July '19)

Over 51 Years Post Diagnosis myself of Stage IV High Risk Neuroblastoma

I stand in solidarity with ALL OF THE CHILDREN

My voice belongs to all of them, to all of their families.

Over the years, I’ve had people ask me:

~“If your battle was so long ago, why didn’t you just move on from it?”~

~“What made you stay in this fight, when you could have just as easily walked away from it?”~

~“Wouldn’t it have made more sense to put it in your past, and never look back?”~

The thing is, Childhood cancer isn’t just something I can move on from, walk away from, or never look back on. Instead, Childhood cancer is a menace, a horror story that holds the kind of action that not only keeps me on my toes but pulls me to the edge of my seat time and time again. It is a constant reminder with every turn, and it can shake me to my very core!

#NoRetreatNoSurrender

Given my story alone is one thing, but when it is told in conjunction with the stories of others, it becomes something more.

Allow me to tell you a bit of my story first, then I’ll fill you in on why I keep speaking up and standing up #ForTheKids! On January 22 1968, at a mere 8 1/2 Months of Age, I was diagnosed with Stage IV High Risk Neuroblastoma. I had surgery to remove my Right Kidney and a 2 1/2 pound tumor the size of a big man’s fist; this was followed up with chemo, which consisted of 250 INDIVIDUAL shots given directly into the tops of both my hands to dissolve what remained of the cancer on my Left Kidney and the outer lining of my Stomach. I was deemed most likely terminal. I wasn’t expected to see in my 1st Birthday. On diagnosis day, I became a Survivor; but I also became an Underdog! With that being said, I need to share a bit about “The Boy” that I’ll be honoring with my Shave in 2019. Kellen Markus Murphy Walden AKA “The Boy” had a zest for life that can only be explained by how he came into the world: you see Kellen was born during the fiercest February storm, to a backdrop of thunder booms and flashes of lightning! While I never got the chance to meet Kellen “THE BOY” (or as I call him - my Little Bro In The Fight), I’ll always say #KellenIsForeverTheStorm. You see, over the span of 9 Years from the time my Little Bro Kellen was diagnosed at just 10 Years of Age with a type of brain cancer called ‘Ectomesenchymoma’ - he fought tooth and nail to LIVE, and not just live but to take life by storm and enjoy every single moment!! I followed my Little Bro’s journey for almost that whole time, watching him face obstacles and challenges nobody should ever have to; but my Little Bro Kellen faced with dignity, grace, and a crooked smile that spoke volumes about the spirit & grit of “The Boy” within!! Over the 9 Years that “The Boy” went through this journey, he faced 4 recurrences, he had to relearn how to walk, and yet he NEVER let cancer dictate how he lived!! In his Mom’s words “Kellen beat cancer by how he lived: brave, bold and making the most out of each second fully aware that life is a privilege and every second is a gift.”

According to my Little Bro Kellen’s Mom Jill: Kellen’s greatest/fiercest/biggest wish was that no other child would have to walk through hell from the beast called childhood cancer; and that we should do whatever we can to stop the hurt that comes with it. And mostly, The Boy had Faith that someday, when enough good folks join together, there would be a Cure.

One of the things that came to be when Kellen “The Boy” was stolen away, is the “Kellen Lived List” and one of those things just happens to be: “Stop a bully. Cheer for the underdog.” And knowing just how much of a bully Childhood cancer is, I decided not only to ‘cheer for the underdog’ but to be #PullingForTheUNDERDOGS! I’m all in, my Little Bro Kellen; your ferocity in the face of this beast will forever embolden me to keep at it UNTIL the causes and then the cures can be found!

#NoFearJustAbsoluteFaith

#KellenIsForeverTheStorm

#BecauseKellenLived

#KellenWillAlwaysMatter