Dear Friends:
The end of 2007 brought a spectrum of emotions for our family. On November 8, 2007 our then 27 month old daughter, Catherine, was diagnosed with brain cancer. Her tumor is inoperable and is located in the center of her brain (so a safe dose of radiation cannot reach it). She has undergone 16 months of chemotherapy which we hope will end soon.
Like all small children on chemo, Catherine has required countless trips to the ER, several blood and platelet transfusions, and tons of medical procedures as minor as a finger poke and as major as the removal of an extra kidney (God had given her three kidneys – He must have known one of her kidneys would die). The chemo has taken its toll on her body; she has lost some hearing and nerve functioning. We hope that once the chemo leaves her body over the next year, her body will rebound and she will become an exuberant toddler.
On December 27, 2007 our second daughter, Sabrina, was born. She has grown into a healthy, vibrant fourteen month old. She has brought joy and energy to our household.
We are thrilled that Catherine’s brain tumor is no longer visible on the MRI scans. Her medical journey has given her a resilience and perseverance far beyond her three years. She can make a puzzle with her right hand while nurses start an IV in her left hand. We pray daily that her tumor will never return and that “you had cancer when you were a toddler” will be nothing more than a story we tell her when she is older.
So, 2008 was a year of survival for us. Now, we want to help raise money to find a CURE for cancer. Therefore, we will participate in Lauren’s Run on Sunday, May 3, 2009 to raise money for CURE Childhood Cancer at the Concourse Office Park. Because we will have Catherine and Sabrina with us, we will participate in the 2K (which allows strollers).
If you want to run in the race with us (on TEAM CATHERINE), register online at
http://www.firstgiving.com/victoriarowan and select the “Join This Team” icon.
If you want to donate via a credit card, go to our fund raising web site at http://www.firstgiving.com/victoriarowan.
If you want to donate via cash or check, give that to one of us personally or mail it to us. Please make checks payable to CURE Childhood Cancer.
If you want to learn more about our family, please look at our blog at www.ver70.blogspot.com. We post updates and pictures on there regularly.
Lastly, we would ask that you pray for our daughter Catherine and for all children stricken by cancer. It is our hope that if Catherine’s children or grandchildren ever have a brain tumor, the cure could be as simple and safe as a pill or a shot. Maybe a vaccine will someday be possible? Just a few generations ago, children died from such diseases like tuberculosis. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if our grandchildren could read about cancer in their history books as a disease that ONCE killed people? Thank you so much for your efforts to CURE Childhood Cancer!
Robby and Victoria Rowan
(404-202-0150 or 770-920-0705)
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