Memories, whether good or bad, are often defining moments in one's life. Our ability to look months and years back, capturing moments and emotions of certain events is awe-inspiring. Early teenage years often hold memories like growing up with friends, little league championships, first kisses, or school dances. My teenage years are filled with memories like the night of July 10, 2005, getting home from a baseball tournament late at night, heading straight to my dad's computer and googling "Hodgkin's Lymphoma Survival Rate." Andrew, our teammate, best friend, and brother had not made it to the tournament; his mom had taken him from my friend Nicole's graduation party to the hospital the night before with ongoing stomach pains. Many hours of tests over the next 24 hours would bring the news that 13-year old Andrew wouldn't be coming home to us for a while. Instead, Andrew needed prep for the fight of his life.
Memories of Andrew continue to live with me to this day. I remember when I saw him at St. Mary's football practice the first time he got out of the hospital. I remember being in a hotel bathroom on the road trip back from vacation in Florida, helping him shave his head because his hair started to fall out. I remember the many high school dances Andrew spent in the middle of the dance floor giving everything he had to prove he was the best dancer at St. Rita. I remember his epic high school parties. I remember the days I came home from school to the news that Andy's cancer came back. I remember August 16, 2009, the day before I left for college and found out he didn't want to continue treatment. I remember texting my best friend Jamie about weekend plans and him responding "I'm going home, Andy wants me to come back." I remember the chair I was in at Burge Dining Hall when I took my mom's phone call 48-hours later on November 20, 2009, hearing the words that changed my life: "Andy just died."
Being a part Andrew's life and journey shaped me in so many ways. Aside from individual memories, one thing I always hold onto is that Andrew didn't want cancer to define him. He underwent 5 years of treatments and the only other treatment he sought was that of a normal kid. He refused to let cancer hold him back from growing up and making as many memories as he can. That essence of his journey is what inspired us to create Walk It Out For Andrew (WIOFA). Working with Advocate Children's Hospital's Oak Lawn and Park Ridge campuses, WIOFA annually funds the Teen Hematology and Oncology Support Group, which takes teen cancer and blood disease patients on fun experiences like Bulls and Blackhawks games. More importantly, though, the group gives the kids exactly what Andy would want: the opportunity to feel normal and be a kid again. Treatment can be ruthless, but with WIOFA we can provide an escape from that, even if just for a few hours.
Although one of my best friends has been gone for 7 years, I'm comforted every day knowing his life inspired me and my friends to keep fighting for others like him. And I know he's proudly looking down knowing just 19 years on this Earth has led to so much more.
"Be more. Be Andy."
Review from #MyGivingStory