Travel Season Has Begun
Thank you all for the kind comments on Andrew’s recent birthday. It’s so bittersweet that we got to have 14 amazing birthdays with him and have suffered through 16 without him. I know I am tremendously blessed to be Andrew’s Dad, but the pain of missing him is indescribable. And yes, 15 years later. I know I can’t change what has happened, but I can’t help but think what life would be like if Andrew was still here. Thank you, though, for keeping Andrew’s memory alive and building his foundation.
The busy season has begun and I have trips to LA, Seattle, DC, Alabama, Austin, New Orleans, NYC, Barcelona, Austin again, and Amsterdam. All in a 8 week period! It’s all good because it’s either talks to college students who help us tremendously in raising money to help families and fund research or it’s for really exciting research conferences that we are involved in. There is so much exciting research going on. The picture below is from my trip to Seattle Children’s Hospital last week. Very proud to support the great work that they are doing there.
I am pleased to report that our recent research grant cycle has closed and we received 32 very impressive proposals. Our world-class Scientific Advisory Board will be recommending 10 of those proposals to me. We will be awarding $1,500,000 in this cycle. You, B+ Nation, are changing the landscape of childhood cancers.
And while that impact won’t be felt immediately, what is felt immediately is the financial assistance that we offer each week through our Family Assistance Program. Each week, we give out around $100,000 to pay rent, fix cars, remediate mold, preserve fertility, and many other critical medical and living expenses. I am proud to say that The Andrew McDonough B+ Foundation is the leader in providing this kind of assistance throughout the United States.
Pasted below is an example of a family that we helped just last week. Look how much young Roman has endured in his short three years of life. This is a request from Roman’s hospital Social Worker.
I’m writing to you on behalf of Roman, who is followed by the Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Department for a recent diagnosis of cancer – acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Roman was first diagnosed with AML in 09/2020. He completed therapy in 03/2021 and was found to have relapsed shortly after in 05/2021. He underwent additional chemotherapy to get into a remission in order to receive a stem cell transplant, which was completed in 09/2021. Unfortunately, Roman was found to have relapsed again in 07/2022. He has received additional chemotherapy and is now enrolled in a study with the hopes of achieving remission to get to a second stem cell transplant.
Roman lives with his parents, (redacted) and (redacted). When Roman was initially diagnosed, both parents were working. Mom worked in a hospital and Dad worked as a beekeeper. Mom had to quit her job to care for Roman full time. Dad cut his hours. After Roman’s stem cell transplant, the family looked forward to going home and prepared for “going back to normal”. Mom planned to go back for work, and they were in the process of planning Roman’s third birthday with family. These had to be put on hold due to the second relapse. The family has requested assistance with their utility bills as Roman continues to receive treatment. Given Roman is expected to have another stem cell transplant, we are requesting assistance for coverage for their water and electricity bills.
You can’t imagine the value of lifting this burden off of the family when they have so much to worry about. You make it possible.
Please think about what you can do at your school, company, neighborhood, estate plan or other great ways to help us fight for the 46 kids diagnosed each day.
Finally, I want to share a picture of a friend of mine, Savannah Pauley. It was on this day, 13 years ago, that my young friend passed away. She was one of our first B+ Heroes and that smile could light up any room. Please keep Savannah’s family, and all of the families, in your prayers. Thanks.
Ali & Andrew’s Dad