This photo is a good reminder of a memory we’ve been retelling lately. It was 3 years ago and we were visiting NYC with my parents. It was incredibly hot in July and we were walking through Central Park when a sudden summer storm drenched us. Because there was lightening we couldn’t shelter under a tree and we had to run quite a ways for the nearest cover. By the time we arrived everyone was completely soaked. There was nothing to be done so we all looked at each other and burst out laughing. Except Ryan. At 3.5 years old he sobbed “Make it stop, I don’t like it! Make it stop!” We tried explaining that we couldn’t control the weather but it took along time for him to calm down.
While this is quickly becoming one of those funny family stories that gets retold and retold of how Ryan wanted to control the weather, it is also a reminder that storms of all kinds are better weathered together. Being together with family and being able to share that moment of laughter and tears made it lighter than it would have felt alone. Thank you for supporting our fundraising efforts to advance myeloma research. Thank you for being with me in the storm.
What is Multiple Myeloma?
Multiple Myeloma is a cancer of plasma cells found in bone marrow. Normal plasma cells help the immune system fight disease, but when plasma cells become cancerous they grow out of control and can produce a tumor called a plasmacytoma. If someone has more than one plasmacytoma, they have multiple myeloma.
Why support this event?
Defeat Multiple Myeloma’s mission is to raise awareness of multiple myeloma while supporting research that seeks to discover new treatments, improve the quality of life for myeloma patients, and ultimately find a cure for this devastating form of cancer. Funds from the 2024 Defeat Multiple Myeloma event will continue to support immunotherapy research and clinical trials at Fred Hutch which are using CAR-T cells and have shown very promising early results for patients.
