Welcome to my Light The Night Walk homepage.

Light The Night Walk is The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's evening walk and fundraising event. It is the nation's night to pay tribute and bring hope to thousands of people battling blood cancers and to commemorate loved ones lost.

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. New targeted therapies that kill cancer cells without harming normal tissue are providing drugs and procedures that are improving quality of life.

In fact, in 2009 alone, LLS researchers were conducting more than 90 clinical trials, a critical step in the development of new treatments and cures that will help patients live better, longer lives.

• 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!

"Hypereosinophilic syndrome is a diagnosis of exclusion, after clonal eosinophilia (such as leukemia) and reactive eosionophilia (in response to infection, autoimmune disease, atopy, hypoadrenalism or cancer) have been ruled out." - For the cure of blood diseases and cancers, and a better understanding and cure for HS and those we know little about.

Dean, you are part of such a loving family. So beautiful and strong, it must be an amazing sight to watch over. You are greatly missed, but your life created an inextinguishable glow. It is easy to see your love with us here. This one's for you, and the all the amazing people out there swimming.

"You gotta swim

Swim in the dark

There's no shame in driftin'

Feel the tide shifting

And wait for the spark

Yeah you gotta swim

Don't let yourself sink

Just find the horizon

I promise you it's not as far as you think

The currents will drag us away from our love

Just keep your head above

Just keep your head above

Swim" ~ 'Swim' Jack's Mannequin

=o)

"A young woman was complaining to her father about her life and how difficult it was. "I don't know how I can continue. I am tired of trying. It seems like every time I arrive at a solution another problem appears."

Her father, a professional chef, took her to his kitchen. There, he filled three pots with boiling water. In one he placed some carrots, in another, eggs, and in the last one, coffee grounds.

He let them boil without a word.

The young woman waited impatiently, asking herself what in the world her father was doing. After twenty minutes, the father turned off the stove.

He removed the carrots from the water and placed them on a plate.

He removed the eggs, and placed them on another plate.

Finally, he placed the coffee in a cup.

He looked at his daughter and said, "Dear Daughter, what do you see?"

"Carrots, eggs, and coffee," she answered

He pulled her toward the plates and asked her to touch the carrots. She noticed that they were soft. Then he asked her to take an egg and break it. He pointed out to his daughter that the egg was now hard. Then he asked her to try the coffee. She smiled as she enjoyed the rich aroma and flavor.

"What is your point?" she asked her father.

He explained that the three foods had faced the same challenge--boiling water. Each had reacted to the challenge in a different way. Before the challenge, the carrot was strong, but then it weakened. The egg had been fragile before the challenge, but it toughened through the process. The coffee grains were exactly the same, but in the face of challenge, they vastly improved the quality of the water.

"Which one are you?" He asked his daughter. "When adversity calls at your door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, that seems strong but falls apart and becomes fragile at the touch? Are you an egg, who starts out with an impressionable heart? Do you have a fluid spirit that becomes hard and rigid because of a death, separation, or hardship? Has hardship made you tough and bitter? Or are you like a grain of coffee? The coffee changed the quality of the water, the very thing that caused it pain. When the water caused the most distress, the coffee produced its finest qualities. If you are like a grain of coffee, when life brings you challenges, your best reaction is to take those challenges and turn them into your triumphs."

Take gentle care of your brilliant selves everyone.

Warm and safe hugs.

Channeling love and support to all,

Amanda <3