Team T-Dog Rocks!

Welcome to my Light The Night Walk homepage.Welcome to my Light The Night Walk homepage.

On Saturday October 10h my family and I will join hundreds of other Atlantans at The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Light The Night Walk. LTN is an evening walk and fundraising event that pays tribute and brings hope to thousands of people battling blood cancers and to commemorate loved ones lost.

This isn’t the first time I’ve participated in a Society event. I’ve walked two LTN walks before. I also ran my first marathon through the Society Team In Training program after raising nearly $5,000. Later I served as a volunteer and campaign manager for the Society while in Augusta. During this time I met countless people touched by blood cancers. One little boy - Easton Knowles - stands out in my mind. At the time he was the age of my Madeline (4) and he was already a cancer survivor. With bright blue and sometimes mischievous eyes, he was always scaling something and running around on his two little legs. Just your typical 4-year-old. Only he wasn't. He'd already endured more medical procedures than most of us will ever have to face in our lifetimes. He was a little soldier in the battle for life and thank God he was winning.

Now I know another solider and this time the battle he's fighting hits even closer to home. Walking in this year’s LTN is personal. My 15-year-old cousin Thomas (pictured above) was diagnosed with leukemia in December. He's currently undergoing treatment, and our family wanted to show our support to him and my aunt and uncle and his five siblings by raising awareness and funds for The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. So we’ve committed to participating in this year's Atlanta Light The Night Walk. My parents have always called him T-Dog, so we're walking as Team T-Dog.

Although Thomas is the reason behind our team, I also want to show my support to his entire family, including his mom, my Aunt Nancy. In my pre-mom days, seeing a child suffer whether with leukemia or another one of life's great hurts always made me feel sad, hollow. How can something so horrible be happening to someone so young? But now that I've been blessed with three precious girls, the pain is visceral. It rips me apart.

I'm not saying I can fully empathize with my aunt or any mom who, like Our Blessed Mother, is forced to stand at the foot of her child's cross. However, as a mom, I do have a new perspective. We're programmed to want to protect our children, but there is only so much we can do. I cannot begin to imagine the helplessness my aunt must be experiencing. So I am walking for her and all parents who have to watch their children suffer. (I wrote something on my blog shortly after Thomas was diagnosed that touches upon this theme. If you're interested, you can read it here.)

Now the members of Team T-Dog can certainly set their feet walking, but we need your help, too. So here comes the shameless plea for donations: Please, won't you consider help us raise funds for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society? Every dollar counts (every penny actually!). Details about where the money is directed are below.

To make a donation, you can either visit my fundraising page to make a safe donation via credit card, or you can write out a check to LLS and mail it to: Kate Wicker, 422 Lantern Wood Drive, Scottdale, GA 30079.

On behalf of Thomas, my Aunt Nancy, their entire family, Team T-Dog, and all those touched by cancer, thank you for your generous support.

God bless you!

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) funds lifesaving research that has contributed to major advances in the treatment of blood cancers and treatments for other types of cancer, such as chemotherapy and stem cell transplants. These treatments have helped patients live better, longer lives. New targeted therapies that kill cancer cells without harming normal tissue are providing drugs and procedures that are improving quality of life.

• A donation of $25 provides patients and their loved ones with FREE booklets that contain up-to-date information on their disease and help them make informed decisions about their treatment options.
• A donation of $50 makes possible a Family Support group with a trained facilitator where comfort can be found and experiences can be shared among patients and family members.
• A donation of $100 helps supply laboratory researchers with supplies and materials critical to carrying out their search for cures.
• A donation of $1,000 makes possible one- on-one conversations with health care specialists who provide patients with information about their disease, treatment options, and helps prepare them with questions for their health care team.

Please make a donation to support my participation in the Light The Night Walk and help save lives. Be sure to check my Web site frequently to see my progress, and thanks for your support!