"I just want y'all to know how proud and blessed I am to have you in my life. I want you to always remember that. I want you to promise me that you'll always look after each other. I love you."
~Chris, December 22, 2014

It is nearly three years since Chris passed away from an aggressive grade 3 anaplastic astocytoma. He lived only two years from date of diagnosis in February 2013. During those two years, we spent 15 weeks living in Houston, TX for specialized brain radiation treatment at MD Anderson (MDA) and another countless number of days/nights flying to and from Houston for monthly checkups. Although our family and friends nurtured us from Atlanta and across the country, we longed to be home.

Chris and I were fortunate. We were gifted with the best counsel (thank you, Tom Callaway, for connecting us to Max Wallace of ABC2) and we had the financial resources to go wherever needed for whatever treatment might help Chris. Although there were not any clinical trials for which Chris would qualify (his tumor was particularly rare and there was no funding for it), we chose MDA for their expertise in radiating brain tumors and to access one of the finest neuro-oncologists in the country, Mark Gilbert. (Mark is now the head of the National Institute for Health's brain cancer research). However, this would not have been our first choice. We tried really hard to "stay home."

Emory University's Winship Cancer Institute is a National Cancer Institute Comprehensive Care Center. They have extraordinary resources and amazing, talented physicians and researchers. However, in the area of brain cancer, they don't have a "seat at the table" with the finest minds around the country who are researching, developing and funding clinical trials, and fighting to move the needle in confronting this often terminal diagnosis. Emory has the beginnings of a team, but they need our help and the foundations need to hear our plea and personal commitment in order to launch a big campaign to get us where we should be.

Will (27) Caroline (almost 24) and I want to honor the blessing that Chris was (and is) in all our lives. He told us to love each other, and we think that also means paying that love forward by helping other families access the best possible care for brain cancer here at Emory. Atlanta is one of the largest cities in the country and has the world's busiest airport. Not only can we help folks here, but we can make the travel easier for others--and provide some amazing Southern hospitality.

Please help us support the Beth Jordan Brian Tumor Initiative by donating to our team in Chris's memory. I'm honored to walk alongside Beth and Greg Jordan, and ever so grateful for the leadership she's shown us all. We can indeed make this big idea a reality!

With love,
Laura