The Ride for Roswell is so important to the Western New York community. But more importantly, its extremely important to my family.
I would be honored if you chose to skip your morning coffee & donated that $5 to us to raise money for the Susan Wood Memorial Fund
As many of you know, we lost my mom this spring. Although she had been through the wringer, to say the very least. Diagnosed with breast cancer at age 44 (20+ LN positive) and undergoing radical clinical trials at Roswell Park, including an autologous (self) bone marrow transplant and high dose chemotherapy, requiring a month long inpatient ICU stay. That risk taking, never give up attitude gave her, my brother, dad and I over twenty more years of amazing memories, weddings, grandkids and most importantly the gift of a healthy happy vibrant mom. That all came to a screeching halt in 2021, when as a side effect of her heroism decades earlier, dealt her another blow. Her bone marrow was damaged from her previous treatments, and was now leukemia (technically high grade treatment related MDS with 18% blasts). She again chose to undergo months of chemotherapy, and then when she became eligible, underwent a second stem cell transplant, this time using donor bone marrow (https://bethematch.org/). She pressed on through her ever changing new normal, selling houses (sometimes from her hospital room), making french toast, Mima muffins, and hot fudge, and above all making memories and giving us all the gift of time with her. Despite her sometimes arduous course, when she got admitted to the hospital for a 'quick tune up' this past March, we never could have imagined that just days later we would be saying goodbye.
My mom was always willing to do what it took. She participated in multiple drug trials, saying that if it didn't help her, it would at least help them get one step closer to getting answers for others. She never turned her back on a challenge. And in her legacy, I am raising money in her name for the things she were most passionate about.
Research
Advocacy
& Helping bone marrow transplant patients have access to the multidisciplinary support they need