Wounded Knee Update

Well, the Country Music Marathon here in Nashville is just around the corner. If my wounded knees and gimpy ankles cooperate, I'll be in the thick of it attempting to stay upright for 26.2 long miles on the morning of April 30th. I've been training hard the last couple of weeks but I'm still not entirely convinced I can do this! I sure am going to give it my best shot though. Part of the reason I am so determined is that I am raising funds for essential cancer research. If you'd like to make a pledge, you can do so online at my pledge site. With the diagnosis of my dear friend Wes King with cancer just a few weeks ago and the continuing battle against the dread disease by one of my students here in Franklin and two of my correspondence students in New York, I am more committed to this cause and this work than ever before.

My goal is to raise $5000 for St. Jude's Children's Hospital. I've still got a long way to go. I am going to run in the RC Cola/Moon Pie race this July, either the Chicago or Boston races in October, and finally the Memphis St. Jude race in December. But, I would love to get the bulk of the fundraising done now so that I can focus on the running as the year starts to wind down. Won't you help?

The reason I picked St. Jude as the focus of my fundraising efforts is actually very simple to explain: this nationally renowned children's charity hospital is one of the most remarkable and effective medical research institutions anywhere in the world. St. Jude has treated children from across the United States and from more than 70 foreign countries. And yet ability to pay is never an issue because St. Jude is the only pediatric research center where families never pay for treatment not covered by insurance, and families without insurance are never asked to pay. Not one penny! Not ever! Zip! Zilch! Nada!

The treatment of children and the onging research at St. Jude includes work in bone marrow transplantation, chemotherapy, the biochemistry of normal and cancerous cells, radiation treatment, blood diseases, resistance to therapy, viruses, hereditary diseases, infectious diseases, and psychological effects of catastrophic illnesses. Vital work, indeed. And again, always made available to families regardless of their financial means.

Obviously, this kind of care is very expensive. Won't you help me support the remarkable ministry of St. Jude to children and families battling cancer? Please donate now and come back to visit my St. Jude sponsor site often. Tell others about what I'm trying to do. Learn how my effort to help find cures and save lives is going. Oh yes, and do pray for my weary old knees and ankles to hold up!