Faithful army,
We are entering into the final stretch of intense chemotherapy treatment that Ethan will have to endure. On Wednesday, July 23rd Ethan will begin the next phase called Delayed Intensification, that will last 63 days. As I've mentioned before, our team has continually prepared us for the fact that this will likely be a rough stage with lots of big gun chemos working to eradicate any tiny, hidden cancer cells that may still be lurking. The phase begins July 23rd and so will likely end by the end of September or early October.
And we would love your help. Really, we couldn't have gotten this far without our faithful Team Ethan and now is a time to rally up our troops for this next phase. So, we have 3 tangible ways for you to get involved and help support us and Ethan:
1. Join the Team Ethan Prayer Team.
We have been so thankful for your faithful prayers during this season of our lives and so during this next phase, we want to put together a specific team of people who are committed to praying for Ethan (and us) every day while he endures this next rough round of chemo. Grandma Sheila will be leading this team - a team we hope is filled with people from different cities and states - and will send out an email each day with a verse to meditate on and how to pray specifically for Ethan each day.
***If you would like to join the Team Ethan Prayer Team - send an email with your name and preferred email address to prayforethan@gmail.com***
2. Walk with Team Ethan at the Light the Night walk on September 27th.
Light the Night is a national event held in hundreds of cities across the country where survivors and friends and family impacted by blood cancers all walk together in an effort to raise awareness and fundraise money for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society to help find permanent cures for blood cancers and more treatment breakthroughs.
Light the Night on September 27th in St. Louis just so happens to coincide with the end of this next rough phase of treatment. Our goal is to gather a huge group of people - family, friends, friends of friends! - to walk together at this event in celebration of Ethan completing the toughest 8 months of his 3.5 year treatment. Our team captain is Auntie Lindsay who will be leading the charge for Team Ethan! Light the Night.
Please join us! To register to walk, visit our Team Ethan Light the Night website here:
http://pages.lightthenight.org/gat/StLouis14/TeamEthan
And click "Join" to register. If you'd like to help us fundraise you can also make donations on our website.
3. Help us fundraise for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society with Team in Training.
Team Ethan is also signed up with Team in Training - which is a branch of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society where you can sign up to train for a particular race and also fundraise for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society at the same time.
Pete and I are signed up with Team in Training to run the Rock N Roll Half Marathon in St. Louis on October 19th. Not only are we excited to get some running in but we are absolutely thrilled to be able to raise awareness and money that will go toward The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society to help with research toward more permanent cures for blood cancer and increased survival.
You guys, the research that has been conducted in just the last 30-40 years has completely changed the outlook on survival of blood cancers, particularly for children. 40 years ago, surviving a diagnosis of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) for 4-6 months was a miracle. Today - cure rates are in 80-90% for ALL - because of the treatment breakthroughs that have been made.
We want to contribute to the effort, but need your help to make it happen. Please consider making a donation to our Team Ethan Team in Training page - truly every dollar can make a difference. You can visit our fundraising page to make a donation, and learn more here:
http://pages.teamintraining.org/gat/rnrstlou14/teamethan
(And if you'd like to join our training team for the Rock N Roll (half or full) and fundraise with us, let me know and I give you more information!)
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So, three big asks but for a big cause. And you'll be hearing more from us on these opportunities but we wanted to get things rolling early! If you have questions, please don't hesitate to ask. I can't say enough how much we have appreciated the support and prayers. You guys - near and far - have been so good to us. We love you and are so thankful for you!
GO TEAM ETHAN!
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