January 27, 2010

Dear Friends and Family,

As we write this letter, I am sitting in the ICU with our son Harry, who suffered serious and life threatening complications in December to remove a new tumor growth in his head. Harry has been battling a brain tumor for nearly 5 years and sadly, despite our hope and belief that he was finally in remission, it returned in October. During surgery to remove this growth, Harry suffered a brain bleed that resulted in a pseudo aneurysm and small stroke. He has a long road ahead of him to recover from these injuries. Unfortunately, because of the brain bleed, the surgeons were unable to remove all the tumor and Harry will have to undergo experimental treatments in the months ahead to stop the tumor from recurring again. 

As you can imagine, riding this year's PMC has new meaning to us. Without the incredible team of doctors and nurses at Children's Hospital Boston and the Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Harry would not be alive. It is also with the incredible support system here that Kevin and I have been able to support Harry and provide him the comfort he needs. Kevin and I have directly benefited from many of the programs funded by our PMC team, Pedals for Pediatrics www.pedalsforpediatrics.org. These include parking vouchers (we never realized how expensive it is to park at the hospital week after week), funding the resource rooms where parents and patients can research treatment options as well as access games, toys, and books. 

Pedals for Pediatrics has also support a brain tumor bank where researches can used tissue samples to learn more about specific brain tumors as well as test various treatment options.  Harry will directly benefit from this program as specific options are researched and explored for him. 

 will show you the impact those dollars have had: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dj1h3NRzKeg.

Other programs and cancer research initiatives funded by the Pedals for Pediatrics team include: 

        •       Mortgage assistance to families who cannot meet their financial obligations while caring for a sick child

        •       A bereavement coordinator to support families when a child passes away

        •       A hospital-to-home program that enables nurses to visit families as they transition home and help them ease their anxiety

        •       Laptop computers to provide entertainment and help patients stay in touch with friends and loved ones

        •       The International Nursing Fund which funded five nurses to travel to Africa last summer to provide training and care to pediatric cancer patients in Tanzania

Since Harry's diagnosis, we have been asked if it’s possible to recover from learning your child has a life threatening disease. The answer is "no." But we have learned you have a choice.  You can keep asking "why us?" or you can do something about it.  On August 1st and 2nd, we will be doing something about it as we ride the PMC.

We sincerely hope you'll help us make a difference by donating toward our ride. We appreciate your consideration and thank you for your support of our ride and, most importantly, of Harry.

With deepest gratitude,

Eunice and Kevin