Family and friends – my fellow Yoties, St. Luke’s team, and Scribe fam. And anyone and everyone in between.
First things first—I hate asking for money and donations. I feel embarrassed and burdensome and a big waste of your time. But I hope you know that I wouldn’t post or ask for something so public and so in-your-face unless the issue truly meant a lot to me.
As some of you know, 6 months ago, I had the privilege of joining the Duke PA Program in Durham, North Carolina, which has been amazing but difficult. Eight hours a day, 5 days a week, with words in books I can’t even pronounce, have reduced me to 5% tears and 95% emotional eating, ad nauseam.
But things changed in January when we started the oncology unit. Things changed when we started seeing patients. Over the last few months, learning hematology, oncology, and the pediatric populations these conditions affect, shed new light on my “first-world-8-hours-of-class-a-day-problems.”
These are the patients who’ve given my didactic year the motivation, drive, and meaning it needed. These are the patients who ultimately influenced my elective trajectory in pediatric oncology. But most importantly, these are the patients who could benefit from your kindness and generosity. And for them, for these kids, I’ll never feel embarrassed, burdensome, or a waste of time to be their advocate and supporter.
So if you made it this far, congrats! My apologies for always being so long-winded. But if you have the time or the funds, please consider donating, sharing, or liking this link in support of St. Baldrick’s pediatric cancer research.
Cheers!
Ps. And yes, I’ll be shaving my head for the first time at the end of this fundraising event, come May. #nohairdontcare