Some events leave an indelible mark on your heart. I can tell you exactly where I was when President John F. Kennedy was assassinated. I remember where I was when I heard Elvis had died, and more recently, when Michael Jackson died. But none of these events affected me more profoundly than when eight-year-old Connor Cruse died July 10, 2009 in Frisco, Texas.
As a friend of the Cruse family, it was devastating to watch cancer ravage his little body during his four-year battle. Connor endured more than 200 nights in the hospital, 14 surgeries, 40 blood transfusions, 2-dozen platelet transfusions, 25 rounds of chemo, two bone marrow transplants and countless painful procedures with visits to specialists in Dallas, Houston, Boston, New York and even Guatemala. It was even more painful to watch the toll it took on his family.
Even as their young son fought for his life, Tait and Joy Cruse were touched by how cancer affected other families they came in contact with during Connor's treatments. While the Cruse's were financially secure, they saw the toll it took on other families, both emotionally and financially. Tait and Joy promised Connor they would do everything they could to keep another child from having to go through what Connor faced. So, the Cruses set up the TeamConnor Cancer Foundation in 2007 to help fund childhood cancer research and to help ease the financial burden on families of cancer patients.
"When we started researching funding for childhood cancer research, we discovered that cancer kills more children each year than cystic fibrosis, muscular dystrohy, asthma and AIDS combined," said Joy Cruse. "Yet the National Cancer Institute allocates only three-percent of its budget to pediatric cancer. Someone has to stand up for these kids. Everyone knows someone's child, friend, cousin, niece or grandchild that's been touched by cancer. We've got to fight back."
Over the past several years, TeamConnor has raised nearly $1 million in its mission to find cures for childhood cancers. They have funded important research at hospitals and research facilities across the country. And the fight continues. More information on what you can do is available at http://www.teamconnor.org.
