Daddy came home to read and give us a bath and tuck us in. We were kind of excited to see him and crawled over him twice but we were also kind of over him. We were ready to reunite our super crib. Before we went to sleep we got to see Nai Nai, Aunt Loni and Buo Buo.
Mommy is doing much better. We were excited to here about all of her walks, bicycle rides, delicious nutrition and everything. We also got some interesting and hopefully helpful reports about mommy's illness. We are very thankful for all the great friends and support we have from all of the corners of the world.
We were touched by daddy and mommy's friends Uncle Sty and Aunt Megan for their touching bad ass organization - Stumble for Donors. Apparently it's a long story and is included at the bottom of the post for anyone who remembers stumble for hunger or is just awesome. (Uncle Sty means the world to us... he makes us laugh so much so thank you for being you... except for your ND roots).
Here is our day:
STUMBLE FOR DONORS!
Short synopsis:
A fun run/walk to register people for the National Marrow Donor
Program's Be The Match Registry and donate a little money, with pre-run
drinks in Decatur and post-run pizza in Lake Claire. April 6, drinks
starting at 1p, run at 3p (times tentative but fairly close). Inspired
by/in honor of our friend --- roughly one of the ten nicest people in
the world --- fighting a leukemia relapse. Registration instructions
near bottom.
The backstory:
***Stumble for Donors:***
Approx 2003: A grad school friend (let's call him RDB) stumbles out of
the Thirsty Ear campus bar after closing it down with friends. A cabbie
quotes him a price to which he says "F* that", decides to run to Central
Square for more cabbies/cheaper price. There, he finds the same price,
says "F* that", and proceeds to "run"/stumble the four miles to his
apartment in Alewife.
Approx 2005: Ben Wang and Kim Brigati gather their MIT and Harvard
friends for the "Stumble for Hunger"... they rent out the Thirsty, drink
all night, do a stumble/"jog" together along RDB's course, and have a
pizza picnic at the end. All attendees register, and the proceeds and
any additional donations go to a local food bank.
Approx 2012: Mark pulls an RDB after the Decatur Craft Beer Festival
when there's no room in the car for him, runs from downtown Decatur to
his house in Lake Claire.
MEANWHILE:
2011: Ben and Kim welcome to the world their adorable twin daughters.
2012: Kim is diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia. Treated and goes
into remission.
2013: Kim's AML relapses. Non-responsive to chemotherapy.
2013: Kim has a bone marrow transplant --- fortunately, her sister was a
full HLA match.
2014: Still fighting.
It's hard to explain what nice, amazing people Ben and Kim are. Always
smiling. Always upbeat. Always helping everyone else around them.
Always having fun and enabling their friends to have fun. Pretty much
the role models of the kind of person I wish I could be. To have these
kinds of obstacles put in front of such amazing people has always just
seemed wrong.
But really, from 2,500 miles away, there isn't much substantive we can
do. We wish we could somehow make their lives better or easier, but we
can't.
Recently Megan realized there are a few things we can do: we can
register on the Be The Match Registry (Kim got a match, but many people
don't). And we can drink and run and donate, just like Ben and Kim and
RDB would do.
And so was born, "Stumble II: Stumble for Donors".
On April 6, 2014 (rain date 4/13), we'll be gathering with some willing
friends in downtown Decatur to down some drinks and re-run/walk Mark's
course to his house (about 3 miles), followed by some pizza. To
register takes just a little effort:
*** REGISTRATION INSTRUCTIONS ***
--- 1) Sign up for the NMDP's Be The Match Registry:
http://bethematch.org/Support-
Those who are already on the registry or are ineligible need only state
so. Registration takes ~5 minutes, includes a health questionnaire.
NOTE: it takes up to two weeks to receive your materials, so please sign
up by March 20.
Also NOTE: the registry says their costs to register someone are ~$100,
but it is waived for donors under 45. While I'm sure they'd definitely
appreciate you helping towards that cost if you can, I think they'd also
rather have people on the registry even if you can't cover the cost
(hence their waived fee but request for donations).
--- 2) Send Mark an email ( stumbleForDonors@gmail.com
<mailto:stumbleForDonors@gmail
and that you are now on the registry (or are ineligible); include your
T-shirt size. Deadline March 20.
--- 3) Please send/give Mark $25 for registration --- some will help
offset T-shirt, drinks, and pizza costs, with proceeds going to NMDP via
bethematch.org <http://bethematch.org>
--- 4) BRING YOUR KIT on April 6! (Or drop it off with Mark in advance.)
There's nothing better than collecting DNA while pre-gaming for a run!
That's it. We hope you can join us. If you can't join us --- we hope
you will join the Be The Match Registry. That's really the main goal of
all of this. If you do, let me know, and we'll get you a T-shirt.
Caveats:
1) Run not required, but highly encouraged! We'll be running together,
and *not* at a fast pace. Walking is also an option, as well as driving
(if by a proper DD).
2) Drinking not strictly required, but fun is! I can't drink like a
grad student anymore, so there are no expectations that everyone is as
"tired and emotional" as at Stumble for Hunger --- but definitely
welcomed! (look up the term if unfamiliar)
3) We're working to make this kid-friendly: finding a bar/restaurant
that should be OK for kids, Mark tentatively plans on pushing the
jogging stroller, and kid-friendly snacks at the end (in case pizza
isn't already).
We hope you can join us, or at least join the registry!!!
- Mark and Megan
how nice to have both grandmothers and several aunties around!
ReplyDeletekim, glad you are getting up and about.
stumble for donors is such a great idea--thank you mark and megan!