I'm a proud participant in the Pan-Mass Challenge - a bike-a-thon that raises more money for charity than any other single athletic fundraising event in the country - to bring us Closer by the Mile to a cure for cancer.
I ride in support of my nephew SEBA. He is one tough little dude. Here is his story as described by my sister.
"We went to our regular 2 month checkup with only typical new baby questions. He had no symptoms of anything except a few “bug bites” and residuals from RSV he had prior. Our pediatrician immediately was concerned with the “bug bites” and sent us to Boston Children’s Emergency Room.
Our life changed drastically on May 19, 2023 when we learned that our 2 month old had leukemia.Thankfully, Boston Childrens was able to recognize this in time right before he started struggling to breathe. Here we learned that the “bug bites” were a symptom of leukemia that doesn't happen often. The leukemia had been running rampant through his body. The white blood cells were taking over, making his blood clot, and wreaking havoc on his lungs- causing him to struggle to breathe literally in the ER. He was then placed on a breathing tube.
He was admitted into the ICU and was sedated. His white blood cell count was astronomical and his little body was going to be fighting severely as he underwent immediate chemotherapy. He was sedated with fentanyl and morphine as he went through his first round of chemotherapy.
This young warrior was able to fight through this critical stage as doctors and nurses monitored his vitals, breathing, and organs. These days literally felt like a whirlwind focused on saving his life every minute.
Luckily, when that critical stage was over, he was weaned off sedation, went through withdrawal, the breathing tube was removed, and then he was able to stabilize relatively quickly. He had persevered and we were able to move onto the oncology floor at Children’s. Through the incredible care of his team, and the absolutely amazing staff on 6NE, Seba was able to progress through his next 4 rounds of chemo without any additional complications. We were discharged October 13, 2023 with his leukemia being in remission.
Our story is one of hope and positive outcomes. We were fortunate to have the immense support of family, friends, and coworkers who stepped in and literally nourished us emotionally, physically, and spiritually. We also are incredibly blessed to have Boston Children’s Hospital and Dana Farber in our backyard. Their unbelievable dedication, teamwork, and research provided our son’s path to recovery. There are so many families who still do not have answers for the cancer their children have. No family should ever have to go through this.
Our team is riding the Pan Mass to raise awareness for pediatric cancer and to fundraise in order for Dana Farber to focus on finding the cure through research. 100% of donations go directly to the Dana Farber Cancer Institute.
Our team is made up of family and friends who have graciously offered to ride with us as we accomplish this feat in honor of our little guerrero (warrior), Seba. We are the Guerreros por Seba!"
100 percent of every dollar I raise goes directly to Dana-Farber, meaning that your donation has a real impact! Please donate to my PMC fundraising and help me reach my fundraising goal.
