Become a Citizen of Hope

On October 2, 2012, a team of surgeons at City of Hope medical center sliced open my brother and saw a body wracked with cancer. Nevertheless, they kept cutting, determined to remove what they could of this invasive leech eating him from within.

For twenty hours, my family sat in the waiting room, updated every few hours by doctors or nurses, trying to keep our spirits up and hope alive, a nearly impossible task when faced with such a terrifying landscape.

There was a harpist keeping us entertained at one point, but mostly it was horribly silent.

The cancer had taken over his neck and face. It had spread into his lymph nodes and lungs. It was determined to take his life.

On November 2, 2012, the cancer won the battle, but I find comfort in knowing that my brother died fighting. When everyone else turned him away, City of Hope medical center lived up to it’s name and gave Andrew a last chance for his otherwise healthy 25 year-old body to fight and fight hard.

His funeral display.

In honor of the hope it gave all my family, every October 2 for the rest of my life, I’m donating to help give other families hope.

I’m also asking all of my friends, followers, fans and family members to become a Citizen of Hope by donating to City of Hope medical center.

You can create your own badge at City of Hope’s website.

Why City of Hope?

Their cutting edge bone marrow transplant procedures saved my father’s life from leukemia in 1995. Their state of the art research helps other facilities around the world better their treatments, including the one that saved my mother’s life from breast cancer in 2008. And their skilled surgeons were the last chance my brother had for survival two years ago today.

Beyond that, their facilities are stunningly peaceful for patients, they offer financial assistance to those who can’t afford their treatment, and for 10+ years it has been chosen as the best cancer hospital in the USA.

Hell, I love this place so much, I got a modified version of their logo tattooed on my ankle.

My tattoo.

For more about City of Hope, check out their resource page. To donate, go to the giving page.

All donations made through City of Hope’s donation page until November 1 will be matched thanks to a generous donation from 3M. 

Want to donate to a place that’s more personal to you? Maybe one that gave you hope? GREAT! Tell me what place you donated to and why in the comments and I’ll send them a donation as well. 

Can’t afford a financial donation? Send a card to someone having a rough day. Call a family member you haven’t talked with in awhile. Do something today that helps spread hope, however it may be.

Without hope, the world is an awfully lonely, sad place, so let’s spend at least this one day a year being beacons of hope.