Matthew Kramer

Finding a cure

My family and I have been participating in the Light the Night walk since 2008. My father was diagnosed with AML in the summer of 2007 and after a courageous fight in hospital he passed away in September of that same year.

This was the first cancer in our immediate family and everything happened so fast and was overwhelming. The nurses and doctors in Unit 57 were incredible and the level of care provided to my dad was top notch - we are lucky to live where we do. After he passed away, we had many questions about why and how. The short answer is that we don't know.

I only learned of the LLSC after dad's passing and found out that there is patient and family support, research, and education available. I wanted to get involved and ran my first 1/2 marathon as part of Team in Training in the spring of 2008. After the Team in Training experience I discovered the Light the Night walk (which is much easier than a marathon btw) and from the first experience on we've been supporters. I grew the support from just our family to include friends and colleagues, and through my company Horizon Heating we've helped raise over $200,000.00 for the society. The Light the Night walk, and the events surrounding the event, have been really special for us to remember our dad.

The work the LLSC is doing for research is leading edge and even in the few years since we've been involved I know that the treatments for blood cancers have improved immensely with success rates much different than when dad was ill.

This year will be a bit different, with the virtual events, but we will be there - working towards finding a cure.