Meet our Honored Heroes

Through our training, we seek to honor and uplift all of those impacted by leukemia & related blood cancers. There are two types of honored heroes, those we run "in honor of," who are currently battling a disease, and those we run "in memory of." We personally have one of each, so we wanted to share these two very special people with you.

We run in memory of my Grandma, Helen Lewis--my Dad's mother. I have many special memories of Grandma Helen. I remember her picking us girls up from school, bringing us home, and making us snacks. One day, she was making us PB&J sandwiches, and she told us she just loved that certain kind of bread, to which one of us replied, "Well, why don't you marry it?" So, she proceeded to tuck the loaf of bread under her arm and hum the bridal procession as she marched across the kitchen! We thought that was just hilarious! She made the BEST Angel Food cake in the world, and she loved yellow roses.

She passed away the week I turned 7, and because we were young, my sisters and I weren't really privy to much of what was going on. I've enjoyed learning more about Grandma since taking on this challenge. She fought Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia, the most prevalent form, which occurs predominantly after the age of 55. Today (24 years later) it is one of the most treatable types of Leukemia, thanks to research funded by the likes of LLS.

We run in honor of 12-year old Wade Pierce. He is a 6th grader at Canton Middle School in Canton, OK, where my mom teaches. Upon returning to school from summer vacation a few weeks ago, Mom learned that Wade would not be back for school this semester. He had been diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia, the most common type of childhood leukemia, and since "ALL" is a rapidly progressive cancer, he was already undergoing treatment.

Since Ben and I had just recently enlisted with Team In Training at the time that Mom learned about Wade's diagnosis, we wanted to honor him as our living inspiration to persevere. Mom told me that Wade visited his friends and teachers at school the other day, and that by the end of his visit, he was exhausted. Please pray for his treatment, that the chemo will reach exactly the right cells and result in an improved prognosis quickly.

If you are able to help with any amount of donation to LLS, Ben has put a hyperlink at the top right of this page - click on the Team in Training Logo to go to our Team page. We feel so fulfilled, knowing we're helping to make even a small difference in the quality of life for these patients and their families. For more info on the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, visit www.lls.org