Carol’s Team of Hope joins us again this year at our run/walk. Carol has been a strong fundraiser and supporter of our cause for many years and we are so grateful for her support and participation.

“I have been an oncology nurse for 30+ years and have been proud to be part of the Leukemia Research Foundation for many of those years.

I started walking with family, patients, and friends in the late 1990s and began running the 5k in 2007. Shortly after that I formed my team and started fundraising.

My husband, Jim, was my biggest supporter, always there to walk and cheer us on. As an oncology nurse, I saw firsthand how research-based clinical trials led to new treatments that prolong lives and sometimes lead to cures such as in chronic myeloid leukemia.

The ABC7 Gibbons 5K Run and 3K Walk was one of the major avenues for the Leukemia Research Foundation to fund new researchers so I was (and am) totally committed to the cause.

Over the years I treated many people diagnosed with blood cancer but I was somewhat unprepared when my own husband was diagnosed with a rare form of blood cancer, lymphoma of the brain (primary CNS lymphoma.)

I had treated and managed patients with this disease so in one sense I was prepared, but in reality, one is never prepared for what the cancer journey entails. Jim initially responded well to treatment and autologous stem cell transplant, but relapsed two years after diagnosis.

Despite all of my knowledge it still was such an emotional moment. The people at Leukemia Research Foundation reached out to me with so much support, reinforcing my belief in this family of caring individuals.

Because of new medications developing from clinical trials, Jim and I were given almost two more years to enjoy our family and friends, participate in our children and grandchildren’s milestone event, and be grateful for the blessed life we had together.

With Covid-19 in mind this past year, we still managed to support a team locally virtually.

This year we are excited to be back in Grant Park and be together.

I encourage you to join us in the efforts to fund new researchers through the race. Walk the 3K, run the 5K, and donate to a possibility of a cure for blood cancers.”

Carol’s motto? Run happy.