“Celebrate we will, for life is short but sweet for certain”
-Dave Matthews Band
When my dad was a college
student around my age, he lost his father to colon cancer.
Cancer took away from my
younger brother and me the opportunity to ever meet our grandpop. I wish more
than anything I could have gone to Phillies baseball games with him, tried his
famous shish kebobs, and shown him around the grounds of UVA. But even though
my grandfather passed away before I was born, many of the people he knew and loved
are still alive today. They have taught me everything I know about him, and
through them I am able to envision just what my grandpop was like.
We Wahoos relay in order to celebrate more birthdays! Here's a photo of my grandpop celebrating one of his.
As of 2014, there remains an
astonishing volume on cancer that physicians, researchers, patients, and their
loved ones do not yet fully understand. But if my grandpop’s battle has helped
me comprehend one thing about the disease, it’s this – no matter how many
weeks, months, or years cancer tries to take away, hope and celebration can be
found in every day.
I Relay so that as many individuals
as possible have to chance to know and love all of their grandparents. Although
I never met my grandpop, his courageous experience is a constant source of motivation
for me to raise awareness about cancer in all of its variations.
Together, we can and we will
someday finish the fight!
With RelayLove,
