Taking down DIPG has been an extremely personal mission to our family since our 4-year-old son Julian was diagnosed in November 2010. Our handsome, joyful little man bravely fought at both St. Jude and Mott Children’s hospitals over seven months until passing away just two weeks after his 5th birthday in July 2011.
Since then, our family has continued the fight Julian started through the Team Julian/Courage for Cures Foundation raising $1 million for pediatric brain tumor research, awareness and patient programs. I had the honor of meeting Chad in 2015, and have worked with Tammi and Jason since to fund research here in Michigan and abroad through The DIPG Collaborative. Our proximity in Bloomfield Hills and our organizations' shared mission led us to become an official ChadTough Family in 2019.
Julian would be 12 now, going on 13 in June. While we miss him every single day, he also inspires us to live our bravest life every single day. And since I can't dance with my guy, I will dance for him and so many others. Thank you so much for your support. We are forever grateful to everyone working and donating to find better treatments and outcomes for this devastating disease.