Why I ride…
Dana-Farber saved my life. Twice now!
Nine years ago today, at 9:00 am I was two hours into a 26 hour two-day surgery where a team of doctors and nurses worked tirelessly to remove a massive tumor in the center of my brain. The first day was dedicated to the ‘easy’ part of the surgery which entailed removing part of my skull and peeling away the outer layers of the tumor. Day two involved detangling the beastly octopus-like growth that had entwined itself around 10 of my cranial nerves, including my optic and facial nerves. The incision spanned the entire left portion of my head. It started at my ear, climbed up to the top of my skull, ran to the exterior of my head, and inched back down to the top of my neck.
The surgery was a success despite them leaving a portion of the tumor at the deepest center of my brain. The recovery was long and required more surgery in order for me to regain my vision and full mobility. When I left the hospital I needed a walker and struggled to raise a fork up to my mouth. I will always have paralysis on part of my face, deafness in my left ear, no feeling on the left half of my mouth, tongue, and lower lip, and numbness on a portion of my left leg. These deficits are a small price to pay for the gift of life and the opportunity to spend more time with my family. My scars and limitations remind me to appreciate every day.
In the USA, there were only a handful of surgeons that would consider performing my surgery, and Dr. Ossama Al-Mefty at Dana-Farber and Brigham and Women was one of them. He is a pioneer in skull-base surgery, and I owe my life to him and his team.
6 years later, I returned to Dana-Farber with a breast cancer diagnosis. Again, a team of doctors saved my life.
Cancer touches everyone, and if I can do anything to get one step closer to curing this horrible disease I will. My husband, Mike, and I are both cancer survivors, and Dana-Farber is a leader in research and a trailblazer in medicine.
Many people with my diagnosis do not have the outcome that I had, and I ride for them.
I ride because I can.
No Donation is too small!!
I'm a proud supporter of the PMC because it is leading a charge to beat cancer. In fact, last year 100% of rider-raised revenue went directly to support the Jimmy Fund and the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute's tireless commitment to finding a cure.
