I want to keep this simple. I received an email from my friend Emily this morning. Emily was my best friend growing up in Clinton and is still a dear friend of mine. I met her boyfriend Aaron last summer and thought he was a wonderful person! He was recently diagnosed with lymphoma. It always sucks when people get cancer, but it sucks more when it’s somebody young and (obviously) somebody close to you.
A lot of runners and bloggers do fund-raisers/bake sales for this sort of thing. That’s not really my style. I don’t like to make people jump through hoops for a donation. I CAN do something like that. I could say, hey, if you all help me raise $2000 I will run the Rock ‘n’ Roll St Louis Half-Marathon for the cause. But let’s do this instead. If you can, give a small donation. If you can’t, that’s okay too. But I bet you can give a little something. Let me assure you that Aaron fully deserves what you can give.
I’m going to put Emily’s beautiful email here. Visit the link, see what you think. Look within yourself. Don’t make me sponsor a bake sale, please!
Dear Friends and Family,
Thanks so much for all of your kind words and encouragement since my boyfriend Aaron was diagnosed with lymphoma. He completed round #4 of chemotherapy last Wednesday and has a follow-up PET scan today to determine how effective his treatment has been so far. After this, we hope Aaron will be done with the chemo and start radiation therapy. I am happy to report that it’s been a long time since he’s been immobilized by the tumor in his hip — the road to recovery is long though. He so misses the outdoor activities he loves — mostly hiking, biking, and mountain climbing!!
Many of you have asked how you can help out Aaron during this time. As you may know, Aaron is a special education teacher at Chase Elementary School in Athens and he is unable to work until his immune system is stronger. Unfortunately, he’s also out of sick leave, no longer receiving pay and facing mounting medical bills. Several of Aaron’s friends and family have established an online fundraiser to raise donations for both his medical and living expenses. Our goal is to raise $6,000 for him by September 14.
Will you take a moment to read more about Aaron’s situation and consider contributing to his fund?
http://www.giveforward.com/helpaaronkickcancer
Again, thank you so much for your kindness and support. We both feel very loved in our community of family and friends.
Much love,
Emily