Can you hear “me”? Can you see them?
I am Amanda Haddock, President of Dragon Master Foundation. If you have followed our organization for a while, you’ve probably seen or heard me on social media. We recently sent out a letter from the foundation, and one of our longtime supporters questioned me about it. He said it didn’t sound like my “voice” in the letter. He was right, but not because the letter was spam. You see, I don’t normally talk a lot about the reality of brain cancer. When David was sick, he didn’t really want to be the center of attention like that, so we didn’t go into great detail to preserve his privacy.
Looking back, I wonder if maybe I could have gotten more help for David if we hadn’t skipped over some of the more grueling details. Whenever you get a cancer diagnosis, it’s terrifying. But when that diagnosis has your doctor looking at you saying “we don’t know what to do”, it takes on a level of surrealism I don’t think I can fully explain.
I’ve let my inadequacy keep me from attempting to share the real experience. So I’m learning to share the reality with all of you in new ways. I want you to be hopeful with us for the treatments and the research that we are helping to fund. But I’m afraid we’re doing a disservice to these families when we lose sight of the terror that they are living with daily. We don’t see the struggle they face every day. Part of the work I do for Dragon Master Foundation is to stay by their side during those times. To listen to them as they try to work out which treatments to try next. To cry with them when there are no treatments left to try.
When David was sick, I believed we could find a cure for his type of brain cancer. I prayed it would be in time to save his life. It wasn’t. But today, I’m more hopeful that ever that we are on the right path. We’re so close I can almost touch it, but it remains just out of reach. And another child is diagnosed every day. Another child dies EVERY day. I know you care about these kids, and I’m asking you to act on that.
Tomorrow is Giving Tuesday. Lots of people will be looking to make a donation to something meaningful. You can make a huge impact by putting your voice with ours tomorrow. If you are able, make a donation to our Facebook fundraiser tomorrow. (They have restructured the matching funds to make sure more charities have a chance to get funding. It’s a great opportunity for you to make your dollars go even further and help kids who desperately need it.) Even if you can’t donate, tell your friends and family that this is a cause you believe in. You can make a huge difference by using #NewYearNewHope and making 2021 the year we put cancer in its place! We’ll be kicking things off in our event at 6:45am Central time. Join us tomorrow here: https://www.facebook.com/events/876083923144740
Finally, if you are a bereaved childhood cancer family reading this, I invite you to share a picture of your child. Help put a face to this cause for those who may not be aware.
