Yet another reason to continue to tell our story. Only 4% of funding goes towards childhood cancer research.
#morethan4. http://myfox8.com/2017/06/22/photographer-documents-6-families-fight-with-childhood-cancer/
Wil has surgery #7 this morning. We are both up early and anxious. He is so worried his migraine will come back, he said just tell the doc we are not doing anymore surgeries. I don't even have the heart to tell him how many more he will have to endure the next few years.
Our neighbor Becky Brickson Austermann nominated Wil to be honored as Guarantee Electrical Company cancer child for their Pedal the Cause team. 100% of the donations go toward childhood cancer research in St Louis. If you have the means please consider a donation in Wil's honor. #wilswarriors
Register for Wil's corporate team to ride;
https://www.mypedalthecause.org/team_profile.jsp?MemberID=918
Or make a donation in his honor, under Becky Austerman who nominated Wil as Guarantee Electrics' Cancer Kid:
https://www.mypedalthecause.org/riders_profile.jsp?MemberID=96194
PEDAL THE CAUSE (PTC) https://www.pedalthecause.org/ is a nonprofit organization in St. Louis,
Missouri with a mission of raising money for cancer research through an annual
cycling event. 100% of the money raised by Pedal the Cause stays in St. Louis
to fund cancer research at the Siteman Cancer Center and St. Louis Children’s
Hospital. Since 2010, Pedal the Cause has donated over $15.8 million, funding
84 innovative cancer research projects.
Ride for a Child (RFC) is
a special program of Pedal the Cause that pairs teams with pediatric oncology
patients at St. Louis Children’s Hospital. It is an inspiring way for cyclists
to connect with a child who is receiving state-of-the-art care and more
advanced treatment for cancer as a result of the funds raised by Pedal the
Cause.
Through pre-event
meet-ups and events, teams are able to form a meaningful connection with their
child and family, with many teams and families staying in touch long after the
event. For participating children, RFC offers an exciting distraction from
their treatments and gives them a supportive team of individuals that will
train, fundraise and ride in their honor.
Guarantee Electric is riding in honor of Wil Ohler:
Wil was a normal 16 year old teenager in many aspects, he
had just gotten his license and loves to hang out with his friends, plus you
can always find him attached to his cell phone. Wil is full of endless energy
(never stops according to his teachers :), he looks out for others, always
knows how to bring a smile to someone’s face, he is fearless, tough as nails,
and if there is a crowd with lots of laughing, Wil can be found in the center
of it.
Wil is an elite level soccer goalie, he plays for
LouFusz-Geerling. Many of his weekends are spent traveling to play in the
National League. He is a two-time state cup champion and regional champion. Wil
works hard for his soccer dreams, he works out several nights a week with his
soccer team, additional nights with his goalie coach, runs on his own, works on
his vertical jump, and even completed weight training this winter with his
Lindbergh High School football friends for fun. He loves all sports, soccer,
basketball (was the freshman MVP), baseball (catcher), hockey, swimming, and
lots of others. Basically a normal teenage boy who watches SportCenter and
knows way too many sports statistics.
Although Wil is a dedicated athlete he is also in Show
Choir, where he loves to sing and dance, as well as take lots of good natured
kidding from his athlete friends. His mom likes to say it is because he was
raised with two older sisters, Kristen and Kate, who brainwashed him with “High
School Musical” his whole life. Wil loves to attend plays and art museums.
Whenever he travels out of town, he always manages a trip to the local art
museum as well as finding out what the “locals” do for fun. Social Media has
him with friends all over the world.
Wil’s diagnosis was a shock to his family, as well as his
soccer community and high school. Looking back, he had three broken bones this
school year, struggled with migraines, and multiple sinus infections. The day
of his diagnosis, his pediatrician even
joked that Wil was “paying the
electricity bill” at the office with all his illnesses.After Wil’s family was
told of his cancer (no need to tell that
story, as it is as awful as anyone can imagine finding out your child has
cancer), Wil actually broke the news to his friends on SnapChat. The diagnosis
is still very new to him and his family and friends, it is hard to say exactly
how it is effected his family, except that everyone's lives have been
permanently changed. Everyone struggles
to stay positive. It is hard to know that his life is put on hold to fight
leukemia. The summer of being 16 should be Magical,
not spent fighting this horrible disease. For those that do not know, there is
NO cure for Leukemia. The best case scenario is for him to endure 205 weeks
(3.9 years) of treatment to achieve remission, but he will never be “cured.”
This is too much for an adult to comprehend much less a very promising teenager,
just figuring out who he is and what his future will hold.
Many other people are further along in their fight against
Leukemia and may have figured out what is next. We will have to wait and see
what it holds for Wil. He and his mom talk often about what good he wants to
come from this and they are always on the lookout for ways to “pay it forward.”
He uses the hashtag #wilswarriors whenever anyone does anything kind for
another human being, especially hoping to pay it forward to teenagers and young
adults who are suffering.
Wil is a warrior, he is fighting this disease, physically,
spiritually, and mentally. He appreciates everyone who is helping him help
others. He hopes that some day there is a cure for not only leukemia, but all
childhood cancers. Thank you for supporting pedal for the cause for Wil and all
children who are warriors in their fight against cancer.
Wil is being treated at Mercy’s Cardinals Kids
Cancer Center, while we realize that this is not STLCH, we know that childhood
cancers are drastically underfunded. All children's cancer centers in St. Louis
work closely together to discover a cure.
We would love to see more attention paid to childhood cancers,
especially Wil’s T-cell ALL diagnosis.
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