Tues. May 24th
I just got back from Chicago today and I have to tell you about a really impressive hospital that I visited. While not the largest in terms of childhood diagnosis each year, they certainly are up among the top vis-a-vis their passion for the kids. The hospital in question is the University of Illinios -Chicago Children’s Hospital. I had the pleasure of meeting with the Medical Director, a few of the social workers, and got a chance to take a tour. UIC diagnoses about 30-40 new childhood cancer patients each year, with a great deal of them coming from lower income families. The folks at UIC go to incredible lengths to get their kids admitted into potentially life-saving clinical trials. It was very eye-opening as I learned about the impact that income and insurance have on a child’s liklihood of being admitted into a clinical trial. UIC doesn’t have the resources of some of the other fine institutions in this country, but they are doing amazing things with what they have.
The true highlight of the trip, though, was meeting a family that your B+ Foundation has assisted. When the Mom heard that I was there, she waited around because she wanted to express her thanks in person. It was very moving. This Mom is a single Mother of 5 boys who drives 2 1/2 hours each way from Indiana to UIC. Brenden, the younger brother in the picture, has battled through leukemia. Shortly after Brenden went into remission, his older brother (Bob) was diagnosed with osteosarcoma (bone cancer). Can you believe it???!!! It was a real thrill to meet this family. I wish you all could have been there with me to see firsthand the impact that YOUR Foundation is making.
You may recall the “Featured Family of the Week” from a few months ago about a 19 year old boy named Oscar. Oscar is battling cancer and was physically abused by his mother. As a result, he moved out. Due to one of the relapses of his cancer, Oscar is now blind. As I told you at the time, this young man turned up in the Emergency Room at UIC suffering from malnourishment and other challenges. We helped Oscar at the time and you may recall that I reported that Oscar’s goal is to graduate from high school and go to college. I am pleased to report that Oscar will be graduating from high school in about two weeks! What an amazing young man.
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It is with great sadness that I write about the passing of two local young men who died this week. Dorian Hollman was one heck of a tough kid. For those of you who attended the Diamond State Classic, you’ll remember me introducing B+ Hero, Dorian, onto the court. Dorian was 7 years old.
Additionally, thanks to B+ Hero, Noxah Palomo’s family, I had the privilege of meeting a young man named Mervyn who was at A.I. duPont Hospital battling AML (leukemia) just like Noxah and Andrew. Tragically, Mervyn left this world earlier this week as well. I believe Mervyn was 14 years old. Like Andrew and Noxah, Mervyn was a great athlete and his family received a national award in his honor in Chicago earlier this year.
Our prayers go out to both families as they face the absolutely unthinkable. Regardless of how sick your child is and how many lines are going into them, there is NOTHING that can prepare you for the finality of losing them from this world. May God bless them.
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As I say frequently, we MUST do more.
The next time I post a Journal Update, I am going to share with you some truly exciting things that we are going to be doing to “do more” and “do good”.
Live Like Andrew – change the world (NOW)!
B+
Ali & Andrew’s Dad