Ride for the kids

Today I went to Longwood Gardens for the Celebration of Life Ceremony which takes place at the end of the Ride For The Kids a fundraiser for The Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation.

My friend Tina has a daughter, 11 years old, who is a brain tumor survivor. Lea is a beatiful, shy 7th grader. She plays outfied, mostly right field, on her community softball team and says that she likes science best in school. About three years ago she was diagnosed with a brain tumor. Lea's tumor was intertwined with blood vessels making removal dangerous. So despite the doctor's best efforts, part of the tumor remains in her brain. With devotion from her mom and the care of her doctors, she is doing well and helps her mom look after her 7 year old brother, Michael.

Lea and 6 other children, ranging in age from 4 to 15, were the 'stars' of today's ride which raised over $158,000 for pediatric brain tumor research. I learned today that the expense of the research is so high and the number of people that need it is considered so low (about 2000 annually) that public funding is not readily available so doctors at hospitals like CHOP rely on private foundations such as the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation. I heard today from a doctor (who also happened to be Lea's surgeon) that it wasn't that long ago that the words cure and malignant brain tumor were unheard of in the same sentence. Through the efforts of the motorcycle riders today and the friends and families of the kids, these kids have hope for a future.