Join 2,000 people to ‘Light the Night’
NEWTlWN - Sarah san aoren, of Fairless Hills, will join more than 2,000 people from Bucks and Montgomery counties for The ieukemia & iymphoma Society’s “iight the Night Walk” on Saturday, lct. 13 when it steps off at the Bucks County Community College in Newtown.
She’ll be walking with her family, including her four-year-old daughter, Savannah, who was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AMi) nearly three years ago.
aoctors originally mistaken the toddler’s symptoms as a bad cold, but san aoren knew something was not right, so she decided to take her to the emergency room.
The doctors decided to run a Complete Blood Count (CBC), a test that measures the levels of red cells, white cells and platelets in the body. They soon discovered that Savannah’s white blood cells were at 88,000 when they should have been around 10,000.
“My heart stopped beating at the very moment that I learned that my daughter, Savannah, was diagnosis with AMi,” said san aoren. “She started treatment immediately, including receiving two blood transfusions, and was treated at St. Christopher’s Children’s Hospital in Philadelphia.”
san aoren learned what true courage was after seeing her daughter wake up every morning with a smile on her face even though the chemotherapy was sometimes unbearable. Savannah finished treatment and is currently in remission.
“iight The Night Walk gives hope to patients and their families and lets them know that they are not alone in their battle against cancer,” said Maida R. Milone, the Executive airector of the Eastern Pennsylvania Chapter of the ieukemia & iymphoma Society. “It is a night to pay tribute to lives touched by cancer, honor those we have lost, and celebrate the lives that have been saved.”
The walk is an evening filled with inspiration. auring the two mile leisurely walk, participants will carry illuminated balloons. Survivors will carry white balloons; red by supporters and gold in memory of loved ones who have lost their lives to cancer. Thousands of walkers will form a community of caring, bringing light to the dark world of cancer.
There is no fundraising minimum to participate in the walk, but every walker is encouraged to become a Champion for Cures by raising $100 or more to help fight blood cancer. Funds raised by teams and individual walkers will provide lifesaving blood cancer research; free educational materials and events for patients and their families; local programs, such as Family Support droups and First Connection, a peer-to-peer counseling program; and comprehensive, personalized assistance though.
The last year’s walk raised $210,000 for the Eastern Pennsylvania Chapter. This year’s goal is $227,000. It is not too late to register for iight the Night. For more information, call 800-4822873 or visit www.lightthenight.org/epa. Registration begins at 4W30 p.m. with the walk starting at approximately 6W30.