Each year, people join the ABC7 Gibbons Run for many reasons—to honor a loved one, to celebrate a survivor, or simply to support the fight against leukemia. For some, like longtime participant Kay Vanasko, it’s deeply personal.

My husband, Robert (Bob), was diagnosed with AML in 2002. He went through the standard chemotherapy at the time. During the summer of 2002, we had some great months, playing a little golf and participating in family outings. He had some setbacks that were pretty tough, but we found encouragement working with the doctors at University of Chicago, and we began stem cell transplants. He underwent two of them with a donor we later learned was a doctor in upstate New York.

After the appropriate time, we were able to contact the donor and found his name was also Bob, and he was of Italian descent, just like my Bob. He even looked like my Bob. I continued a letter-writing relationship with him for a few years. I was told that Bob, the donor, had registered with the National Marrow Donor Registry because his sister had leukemia. There was a touching article in the Syracuse, New York newspaper about his decision to register.

Since the loss of my husband, I’ve participated in nearly all the ABC7 Gibbons Runs, sometimes with friends and sometimes on my own. I also hosted annual Kentucky Derby parties at my home to raise money for the Leukemia Research Foundation. Even though I no longer host the Derby parties, I continue to return for the ABC7 Gibbons Run, despite having moved away from the Chicago area.

Bob was a wonderful man. He was the first in-house counsel for the Chicago Board of Trade in the 70s and later maintained his own law practice. He left behind four grown children and five grandchildren. He is greatly missed, even though it’s been more than twenty years.

Stories like this remind us why we walk, run, and raise funds together. Every step taken at the ABC7 Gibbons Run is in honor of someone—and every dollar raised brings us closer to a world without leukemia.

To register, visit: https://leukemiarf.org/gibbons5k/