Every year, when I tell my students about the different fundraisers I do, I always get asked, “Why do you shave your head?” for the St. Baldrick’s . I simply reply, “I do it because of MARLENE BROWN”. Several years ago at the beginning of my career, I lost one of my students, Marlene Brown, to Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. That experience changed my life. Marlene an exceptional singer in the Amundsen Chorus and the driving force for the Cheerleaders. She was kind and polite even when she faced extreme obstacles. She was diagnosed in September of 1997, the beginning of her sophomore year, she was only 16 years old. We lost her in August of 1998.
I would visit her in the hospital and watched as the disease took her spirit and eventually took her life. The pain I felt from her loss was tremendous, but it was nothing compared to the pain her parents and family felt. Her younger sisters became my students as well, and every year, we remembered those memories and emotions. Over the years, the Amundsen community has lost several students to various forms of cancer. We need to find a cure!!!
On April 1st, I am participating in one of the St. Baldrick's event. I'm having my head shaved to stand in solidarity with kids fighting cancer, but more importantly, to raise money to find cures so family and friends will not have to feel the pain and sorrow associated with this disease.
St. Baldrick’s Foundation is an organization that raises money for Childhood Cancer Research. The foundation works closely with leading pediatric oncologist to determine the most promising research to fund and create funding priorities to make the greatest impact for children with cancer.
Remember Me
by Marlene Brown (1996)
Remember me,
I’ve not gone far.
I’m where you are.
Remember me and how I’ve loved.
From the clouds above,
You feel me in your walk.
You hear me when you talk.
For I am a part of you.
I never left your side.
And I am still alive.
In your heart.
In your dreams.
In the tears you shed, it seems.
And I can not be replaced.
And never should they mock.
Because,
I am in your heart that beats,
your mind that thinks,
And your mouth that speaks.
I am the whisper of the wind.
The snow that falls.
I am the voice that calls in your mind.
That tells you, I’m not far behind.
I am a part of you. Remember me.
Remember me;
I’ve given you life.
Now let me live on in your mind,
in your thoughts,
in the way you breathe and talk.
Watching over you and the struggles you go through.
Let me live on.
For I have not gone.
I am always where I used to be.
I am part of you.
Believe me.
Remember me.
And know that I am here.
To walk you through the storm,
To carry you over the waters.
Remember me!
And give me a place to live on in your heart,
In your mind,
In your thoughts you hold inside.
Remember me.
Please, remember me.
