In 2016, My wife Bethany was 16 weeks pregnant with our first child, our daughter Hallie. That's when she was diagnosed with an incredibly rare and aggressive form of cervical cancer (SCCC). It was right then we felt like our seemingly perfect life was starting crumble. We ended up losing our daughter at 19 weeks. Although tiny her footprints left a huge impact on this world. Had Bethany not been pregnant it would have likely been months before they caught the cancer. Hallie saved her momma's life.
Bethany had to endure an intense surgery followed by 5 rounds of chemo and 28 rounds of radiation simultaneously. It has been through nothing short of God's grace, amazing doctors, and Bethany's incredible will to fight for her life that she is still here today. She is now two and a half years Cancer free!
While Bethany was going through treatment she joined a facebook group of women with her specific type of cancer. Through the group she met Kelly a truly amazing woman , who early on Bethany lovingly referred to as her "cancer friend." She was a month ahead of Bethany also going through the same treatment in her own fight with this nasty cancer. She was a Godsend for the both of us. The ability for the two of them to support, commiserate, and just talk to each other, had such a huge impact their ability fight. Since then Bethany and Kelly her "cancer friend" and our families have become some of the greatest friends we have.
When Bethany came across the Imerman angels foundation and told me about their mission to provide one on one support to cancer patients and caregivers. I couldn't wait to wait to meet with the team. Knowing first hand how extremely important it is to have the support of someone who knows Exactly what you are going through.
I will be raising money and running the Chicago Marathon on October 13th as part of the Imerman Angels Team. This will be my first marathon, I was a very nervous at first. Thankfully I had a gentle push from Bethany, in her words "If I can beat cancer you can run a marathon." The main goals for the mararthon are to raise money and show support support for Imerman Angels and to finish. I have also set a somewhat lofty goal for myself to finish in 4 hours.
Every $350 raised provides a connection between those impacted by cancer and a Mentor Angel. Thank you in advance, any and all donations are greatly appreciated.
Finally, if you would like to read more about our story and our personal foundation we have started in Hallie's honor you can click HERE.
Imerman Angels is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization whose mission is to provide personalized connections that enable one-on-one support among cancer fighters, survivors and caregivers. In 2018, Team Imerman Angels participants raised over $320,000 and created over 900 connections between those impacted by cancer and a Mentor Angel. To learn more about the importance of your donations support, click HERE.
