As many of you know, Cutler, our now 3 year old son, was diagnosed with a rare form of AML (Acute Myeloid Leukemia) when he was six months old and thanks to many amazing people and organizations he was home recovering from his bone marrow transplant in time for his first birthday.  I am happy to say that as of his most recent oncologist appointment, he is still cancer free and living a normal life.

Cutler riding in a St Jude bikeathon at his school earlier this year.

Through countless nights in the hospital I would sit awake at night wondering why this was happening to us and I finally came to a conclusion that it was to raise money and attention to the noble cause taken on by the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS).  We, as a family, have done this in many ways including Melanie running a marathon, but primarily we do it annually by participating in the Light The Night Walk.  Light The Night Walk is The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s annual fundraising walk to pay tribute and bring hope to people battling cancer.  Hundreds of thousands of participants raise funds for lifesaving research and patient services.  For more than 60 years, The LLS has been solely focused on people with blood cancers. Presently, we have more than $250 million committed to research across the United States and in ten other countries. Every dollar is provided by concerned donors.

LLS invests in the best, outcome based science:

• Anywhere, with no geographic or institutional boundaries
• Without profit incentive
• To meet unmet Medicare needs of people with blood cancers

So how can you help us in our cause?  You can go to our fund raising site at http://pages.lightthenight.org/ntx/Plano12/teamcutler2012  where no donation is too small.  If you are fearful or unable to donate via the internet, we are more than happy to receive checks made out to the LLS at our house:

429 Whisperfield Dr

Murphy, TX  75094

We are also in favor of you forwarding this to your own circle of friends that might be interested in helping us abolish blood cancers.

If you want to join us on the night of the walk, there is a link at the bottom to join our team where you can then set up your own page and raise funds as well.  I highly encourage anyone interested and available to join us on October 20^th in Plano as it is a very special event to be surrounded by so many people dedicated to such an incredible cause.  If you can’t make the event, we will also be having our annual Turning Lemons Into Lemonade Stand that is growing in size and success every year in the near future.