Through my work at N.C. Children's Hospital, I have met many kids (too many kids!) battling cancer. In the fall of 2010, I met a family that would become particularly special to me, Taylor and her mother, Lorrie.
Taylor had been diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) within a couple weeks of turning 12 earlier that summer, and having once been a 12-year-old girl myself, I was in awe of how she took her illness in stride and remained upbeat. Lorrie, too, inspired me, seemingly always smiling and looking for the positive, even in the scariest of situations. She made Taylor's hospital room the must-see destination on 5 Children's, always decked out for the latest holiday or special occasion.
Over the next couple of years, I became rather close to Taylor and Lorrie, riding the roller coaster of ups and downs posed by Taylor's illness (albeit on the periphery) and always hoping I'd hear good news the next time I saw them. When I ran into Lorrie one day late last summer, the expression on her face said it all. I cried openly as she bravely managed the words: Taylor was near the end.
Taylor lost her brave battle in early September 2012, just a few weeks after her 14th birthday. It was then I resolved that I had to do something, something dramatic, to raise not only awareness but also money to fund research in Taylor's memory. I would shave my head for St. Baldrick's, a volunteer-driven charity that funds more in childhood cancer research grants than any organization except the U.S. government.
That's where you come in. Shaving my head is no minor thing. I'm shaving it ALL off! It'll take YEARS for it to grow back! But it'll be worth the sacrifice if I can raise some serious money in Taylor's memory!
Please support me with a donation to the St. Baldrick's Foundation. Your gift will give hope to infants, children, teens and young adults fighting childhood cancers. So when I ask for your support, I'm really asking you to support these kids. Thank you!
Click "Make a donation" to give online, or donate by phone or mail.