$175.00

In June 2022, my mom was diagnosed with Stage 4 metastatic breast cancer after several months of intense body pain that resulted in her giving up the activities that she loved. She was admitted to URMC after 2 falls in very short period of time, one of which resulted in clavicle fractures. While in the hospital, she fractured both hip/femur joints and had 2 surgical repairs. Oxygen therapy, blood transfusions, xrays, CTs, PETs, MRIs, blood draws. The diagnosis, so much fear, then a lot of hope. #warrior

The hope came largely from her care providers. Her techs, nurses, residents and rounders, hematology, oncology, transport. All of them. The URMC care team gave my mom a voice, and they gave me dad the knowledge he would need to keep healthy and strong. And so, Mom decided to fight the hardest fight she's even faught. She's a warrior, a beautiful warrior who stands for hope and living her best life.

We set mini goals. We made a PLAN. Mom was afraid that she wouldn't make the 50th Anniversary Celebration week at 'the lake house.' She did. (AND! Mom's care team presented Mom and Dad with a beautiful white cake and lots and lots of cheer on their actual day. This gift, I'm sure, is high on the list of the best they've ever received.) My next mini goal for mom was Thanksgiving, my favorite day, and I couldn't image not sharing it with her. I offered to order from Wegmans, host at our house. Nope. Mom wouln't have any of that. She told me she'd just have Dad do everything, and she'd supervise. And that's how the holiday season progressed. #warrior

Mom has actively participated in her own care, self care all around. She keeps all of her appointments at Pluta and at her other providers to stay on top of her physical self. She attends goes to art therapy and joins in person exercise and Zoom exercises thru Pluta also. She's volunteered to participate in a study about cognition in cancer patients. Now, she's got a crafting table in the dining room, is going back to the Y as an extension of her Pluta program, and she paints rocks on the porch in her Nike sweatpants. She's NEVER stopped stocking her granddog's cupboard with preferred snacks. #warrior

I am proud to participate in the Wilmot Warrior Weekend on September 29 – October 1, 2023. Wilmot Warrior Weekend is more than just a first-class cycling, walk, and running event – it’s a celebration and movement fueled to create new life saving treatments and cures for cancer patients in New York and around the world. All fundraising will advance world class cancer research and survivorship programs at the Wilmot Cancer Institute and the University of Rochester. Please consider supporting my efforts by donating to my fundraiser, not just for my mom, for all patients, their families, and their friends. Warriors.