08/01/2017
This weekend is my Isles of Shoals swim. Heartfelt thanks to all who have made a tax-deductible contribution to support my swim for the benefit of pediatric cancer patients, and their families. If you haven't yet, it's not too late. I can assure you, first hand, that your contribution will make a profound difference for a child and family battling a life-threatening illness.
I've been training hard and, on August 5th, I will plunge into the Atlantic in Gosport Harbor (Isles Of Shoals), and won't stop swimming for 7.2 miles until I reach the mainland at Pirate's Cove Beach. I'm hoping to raise funds for two amazing organizations that have helped my daughter, and countless other kids, while being treated for leukemia. They are Make-A-Wish, and Lucy's Love Bus. Please consider sponsoring my swim by clicking on the two sponsor links below, and making a tax-deductible contribution to one, or both of these incredible organizations.
We are now five years removed from our daughter, Sierra's, experience of leukemia, and her miraculous recovery. While still not completely whole, the effects fade a bit more with each passing year. As she prepares to begin college in the fall, we are filled with gratitude and my thoughts turn to all of the amazing pediatric oncology patients we've met. Some of their journeys have ended tragically, and they've left an indelible mark on our hearts. I wanted to take on a big challenge that would both honor them, and help those who are currently fighting the battle. For me, this is a huge undertaking, filled with perils and uncertainty. I'm not at all sure if I can do it. But the challenge pales in comparison to the uncertainty and dangers faced by these courageous kids each moment of their treatment. If I can gather a small fraction of their strength and fortitude, I feel that I have a good shot at making it across.
We have learned that one of the most fatal qualities of an extended in-patient treatment for cancer was its ability to erase the idea of a future beyond treatment and outside the walls of the hospital. In the mind of a young patient with a fresh diagnosis, their past and present are annihilated, but it was the annihilation of the future that was the most chilling. For a child to maintain hope and a happy vision for the future is of the utmost importance to their overall healing. Cancer can negate the possibility of life outside and beyond itself; it subsumes all living. The daily life of a patient becomes so intensely preoccupied with his or her illness that the world fades away. Every morsel of energy is spent tending to the disease. For some, the day-to-day ritual of survival utterly blots out any thoughts of survivorship in the long run. The poet Jason Shinder wrote, "Cancer is a tremendous opportunity to have your face pressed right up against the glass of your mortality." But what patients see through the glass is not a world outside cancer, but a world taken over by it - cancer reflected endlessly around them like a hall of mirrors.
Both Lucy's Love Bus, and Make-A-Wish are incredibly compassionate and effective at helping kids with life-threatening illnesses to navigate the murky waters of treatment, and life beyond their illness. Please sponsor my swim by making a tax-deductible contribution to one or both of these fine organizations that are truly making a measurable difference for countless families like ours.
In Gratitude,
Rob
Make A Wish link: http://site.wish.org/site/TR?px=3684234&pg=personal&fr_id=2339
We All Have the Power to Grant a Wish.
Lucy's Love Bus link: https://www.crowdrise.com/72-mile-ocean-swim-from-isles-of-…
Click here to support 7.2 MILE OCEAN SWIM FROM ISLES OF SHOALS TO PIRATES COVE BEACH FOR LUCY'S LOVE BUS by Rob Tourvillewww.crowdrise.com
