My name is Elicia Stern, and my sister Olivia had cancer; Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia to be exact. My sister was diagnosed in 7th grade. I was in 4th grade. I remember when we first noticed a problem and my sister…
Concerning Symptoms Alison "Ali" Verhaalen was an athletic, fun-loving, intelligent, healthy 9-year old girl, until one day she wasn’t. In April 2014, Ali began to exhibit concerning symptoms; her eye began to twitch, she felt dizzy and she frequently threw…
Looking Back to 2019 We first met Dylan Pogodzinski in 2019 when we interviewed him and his family during Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. When he was just four years old Dylan was diagnosed with Burkitt’s Lymphoma, a rare and fast-growing…
A Moment That Changed a Life February 2019 was like any other month. 7-year old Myles Franzke was enjoying his life as a first grader until one day his mother Danielle noticed a rash. It didn’t seem like a normal…
The Initial Diagnosis In April 2017, 11-year old Angel was plagued with a series of seemingly unrelated symptoms; she was tired, had bruising, had frequent nose bleeds, and had a fever on and off. After a trip to the doctor…
Update: A Second Location The Kruepke family continues to support childhood cancer and related blood disorders research. They unveiled their second spirit pump location this week as part of the ongoing Fueling for Childhood Cancer campaign. Now you can fuel…
Growing up, I had no exposure to childhood cancer or related blood disorders. My first encounter was brief: the summer going into my freshman year of college. I was selected to participate in the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association All-Star game.…
June 21, 2013 was just another Friday. Our girls were into their summer break and I was hard at work. Shortly before lunch, my teammates informed me that my wife was trying to get in contact with me and…
Several weeks ago, we had the privilege of meeting many children and families who have been directly affected by childhood cancer and related blood disorders. During that time, we met Austin and his mother Sue. Austin and his mother shared…
The Moment That Changed Everything On March 29, 2015, Jean's life was forever changed. Her beautiful, 10-month old daughter Sara was diagnosed with Hepatoblastoma, or cancer of the liver. Now it was time to wait while the oncology and GI…
