PLEASE READ, please.. FOR HANNAH KOMAI and BRIELLE MURRAY. 4th Annual Walk For Wishes.
January 19, 2011
I'd like to do the Walk this year for my friend Hannah Komai and a 12-year-old girl named Brielle Murray, instead of doing my Angels Baseball theme like last year.
Hannah Komai has become a dear friend of mine over the last 7 months. We went to high school together. She graduated just a year after I did. She'll be turning 21 on January 26, but will not be able to have the typical birthday party of a 21 year old. Hannah was diagnosed with Osteosarcoma (bone cancer) in July 2010. In October she had her knee and 7 inches of her femur replaced due to a large mass in her right knee. She is very lucky not to have lost her leg, as it is typical of Osteosarcoma patients to lose limbs. She has a long battle of chemo still ahead of her, but she's as funny as can be and is continuing to push forward. I thank God every day for bringing her into my life and allowing me to be there for her in ways many of you will never understand. It is tough having cancer and fighting the battle on your own. I did it. I am still doing it. But my hope is that no one will ever have to be the same. Because it is a lonely and agonizing life. I hope to one day start an organization for children, teens, and young adults to gather together and help support one another. No one can say they understand what you are going through unless they have had cancer themselves. For now, it is just Hannah and myself, and Hannah and Gino. I hope to make this grow into a great organization. I love this girl.
I have been following Brielle Murray's story for about two years now. I have never met this girl before. I have only talked to her grandfather. Some might find it weird why I am so passionate about this girl's story and never even met her. In my five years of being a cancer patient I have never found a case similar to mine, not even close. I am the only person with my cancer, I have had so many different kinds of surgeries and treatments that there is not one person that is even close to being like me. But Brielle and I have so much in common. And when I read her updates I cry in pain because I know exactly what she is going through. The words that her grandfather and mother write on her website are some of the exact things that I went through. And Brielle has become an amazing writer herself over the last few years. They talk about her pain levels and her way of life and it brings me back to the early days of my diagnosis. We have had so many of the same treatments, a couple of the same surgeries, some of the same hospitals, both grand marshals in a parade, both getting support by our churches, both having the same kinds of pain, and so many other things that make me feel connected to her.
Brielle was diagnosed with Alveolar Rhabdomyosarcoma in January 2008, just 3 years ago almost to the day. She will be turning 13 on January 29. She's been through so many ups and downs going back and forth between remission and new growths. She has had so many different doctors trying to find the right treatments for her, but her cancer is aggressive, and has managed to come back many times. When Brielle was able to go back to school with her friends in the Fall, we all thought it was a turning point for her after being absent for so long. But last week after her recent scans, they got the news that the cancer has spread to her spinal fluid and have given her weeks to live.
On Monday, she had a pinpoint radiation treatment call Gamma Knife Radiation (exactly what I had) where they are trying to slow down the growth of these tumors to give her more time. Today, Brielle and her family are on their way to Hawaii for 10 days. A trip that I took for myself just 5 years ago, the week before my 16-hour brain surgery. I know exactly what will be on their minds during these next couple of weeks.
(Go to my last Facebook Note on my page for more information)
This is why we must Walk for Hannah, Brielle, and all the other people who have been affected by this horrible disease. I hope you can join us this year for the Make-A-Wish Foundation's 4th Annual Walk For Wishes. We are raising money for children with life-threatening illnesses TO GO, TO MEET, TO HAVE, or TO BE almost anything he or she can imagine.
I had my wish in 2007 to go to New York. Brielle was finally able to do her wish just a few months ago on a Disney Cruise. We need to make more wishes come true and can only do so with your help.
For info on how to sign up or donate, you can visit the event page I made:
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=123940494326024
We will be getting T-shirts made to wear at the Walk in Hannah and Brielle's name. Information on pricing and sizes will be coming soon!
Thank you for taking the time to read this. And please keep these amazing girls in your prayers.
God Bless,
Michelle Ford
www.briellemurray.com
http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/hannahkomai
Hannah Komai has become a dear friend of mine over the last 7 months. We went to high school together. She graduated just a year after I did. She'll be turning 21 on January 26, but will not be able to have the typical birthday party of a 21 year old. Hannah was diagnosed with Osteosarcoma (bone cancer) in July 2010. In October she had her knee and 7 inches of her femur replaced due to a large mass in her right knee. She is very lucky not to have lost her leg, as it is typical of Osteosarcoma patients to lose limbs. She has a long battle of chemo still ahead of her, but she's as funny as can be and is continuing to push forward. I thank God every day for bringing her into my life and allowing me to be there for her in ways many of you will never understand. It is tough having cancer and fighting the battle on your own. I did it. I am still doing it. But my hope is that no one will ever have to be the same. Because it is a lonely and agonizing life. I hope to one day start an organization for children, teens, and young adults to gather together and help support one another. No one can say they understand what you are going through unless they have had cancer themselves. For now, it is just Hannah and myself, and Hannah and Gino. I hope to make this grow into a great organization. I love this girl.
I have been following Brielle Murray's story for about two years now. I have never met this girl before. I have only talked to her grandfather. Some might find it weird why I am so passionate about this girl's story and never even met her. In my five years of being a cancer patient I have never found a case similar to mine, not even close. I am the only person with my cancer, I have had so many different kinds of surgeries and treatments that there is not one person that is even close to being like me. But Brielle and I have so much in common. And when I read her updates I cry in pain because I know exactly what she is going through. The words that her grandfather and mother write on her website are some of the exact things that I went through. And Brielle has become an amazing writer herself over the last few years. They talk about her pain levels and her way of life and it brings me back to the early days of my diagnosis. We have had so many of the same treatments, a couple of the same surgeries, some of the same hospitals, both grand marshals in a parade, both getting support by our churches, both having the same kinds of pain, and so many other things that make me feel connected to her.
Brielle was diagnosed with Alveolar Rhabdomyosarcoma in January 2008, just 3 years ago almost to the day. She will be turning 13 on January 29. She's been through so many ups and downs going back and forth between remission and new growths. She has had so many different doctors trying to find the right treatments for her, but her cancer is aggressive, and has managed to come back many times. When Brielle was able to go back to school with her friends in the Fall, we all thought it was a turning point for her after being absent for so long. But last week after her recent scans, they got the news that the cancer has spread to her spinal fluid and have given her weeks to live.
On Monday, she had a pinpoint radiation treatment call Gamma Knife Radiation (exactly what I had) where they are trying to slow down the growth of these tumors to give her more time. Today, Brielle and her family are on their way to Hawaii for 10 days. A trip that I took for myself just 5 years ago, the week before my 16-hour brain surgery. I know exactly what will be on their minds during these next couple of weeks.
(Go to my last Facebook Note on my page for more information)
This is why we must Walk for Hannah, Brielle, and all the other people who have been affected by this horrible disease. I hope you can join us this year for the Make-A-Wish Foundation's 4th Annual Walk For Wishes. We are raising money for children with life-threatening illnesses TO GO, TO MEET, TO HAVE, or TO BE almost anything he or she can imagine.
I had my wish in 2007 to go to New York. Brielle was finally able to do her wish just a few months ago on a Disney Cruise. We need to make more wishes come true and can only do so with your help.
For info on how to sign up or donate, you can visit the event page I made:
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=123940494326024
We will be getting T-shirts made to wear at the Walk in Hannah and Brielle's name. Information on pricing and sizes will be coming soon!
Thank you for taking the time to read this. And please keep these amazing girls in your prayers.
God Bless,
Michelle Ford
www.briellemurray.com
http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/hannahkomai