Photos During Chemo – A Survivor’s Perspective
When I was 17 years old, I was a three-sport varsity athlete, lifeguard and fiercely independent oldest child. I spent most summer nights at bo...
First, Survivor – Now, Volunteer
Dustin Hron is a Care Partners volunteer in the bone marrow transplant unit at the University of Minnesota Masonic Children’s Hospital. A neu...
Remembering Callie
It is with great sadness that we share our dear friend, Callie, passed away on Sat., April 7, 2018 after a two-year battle with pelvic rhabdomy...
Riding to Give Back
In his three years of participating in Great Cycle Challenge USA (GCC), Jeff Freitag has ridden 970 miles — that’s more than three times ac...
A Family Legacy to Fight Brain Cancer
Six years apart, a mother and daughter both passed away from brain cancer. Today, friends and family are honoring their memories by continuing ...
Bravery – MacKale’s Surgery
Kids are fearless, reckless and infinitely braver than most adults. I think that God makes them that way to remind us that he’s in charge, wo...
Do You Want A Warm Blanket?
The summer months were in full swing in August but my 16-year-old body was more like an 80-year-old woman’s in a nursing home. Only a few sho...
Nine Years Later
The passing of time is a gift. I have found time cannot be grasped nor exchanged like currency but nine years after my cancer treatments conc...
I Went There Once
I went to that place once. For just a moment, I thought about what could have been, and I almost lost every spark of joy I had left. Despair al...
Today is What We Have
Connor was only 6 weeks old when he survived an emergency brain surgery. It was in the hours of that life-changing surgery that I learned to ...
Dedicating My Life to Research
Mariah was diagnosed with osteosarcoma when she was 2 years old. After undergoing hospitalizations, painful treatment and amputation surgery, M...
Tougher Than Rocket Science
Osteosarcoma is so overwhelmingly good at overcoming current treatments that it may just take a rocket scientist to help defeat it. Theresa Bee...
Don’t Get Me Wrong
After surviving two cancers and a bone marrow transplant (BMT), it was finally time to start school at the University of Minnesota. I worked so...
A “Button” of Bravery
Two-year-old Joey arrived at the coffee shop fast asleep and nestled against his mom, Ames, when we first met them. Tiny hearing aids poked thr...
Dexter’s Bucket List
My name is Dexter. Everyone calls me Dex. I am 10 years old, and I have terminal neuroblastoma. When we found out the cancer was back, I sat do...
The Guilt That Guides Me
Rallying families to share their children’s stories isn’t easy, because I ask them to open doors to the most intense pain. I share with the...
Justin’s Smile Shines On Through Research
From going to the Little League World Series to heading to soccer practice, Justin Cowen had an insatiable love of sports. You’d often find h...
Pumpkin Pie without Nutmeg
Eight years ago, on a cold and dreary November day, Rob and I picked Zach up from school to take him to our local hospital for an MRI. We wante...