Bedo Bedo Cancer!!!!!

It’s hard to believe that it’s been over nine years since that cloudy afternoon on the baseball field, when Jared’s casual remarks of back pain marked the beginning of our multi-year battle against cancer. It was April 28, 2014, when we sat across from a team of doctors from the Valerie Center in Morristown, NJ and were told "Your child has a form of cancer called Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia and we need to begin treatment immediately". At that moment you come to learn quickly that nothing else matters and that regardless of how hard you have worked to protect your child, you are now completely at the mercy of fate and the proficiency of the doctors you've entrusted to treat your child's fight for his life. Fortunately for us, the doctors and nurses at the Valerie Center in Morristown, NJ along with their team of elite nurses and child life specialists attacked Jared's Leukemia with the same level of dedication and ferocity they'd use on their own children. Thanks to doctors, Halpern, Fritz, Gregory, Neier and staff, Jared's leukemia was in remission within weeks. He immediately began the "Induction Phase" of treatment: four weeks where his young body was bombarded with toxic combinations of high dose steroids and other chemotherapeutic agents designed to eradicate leukemia cells but at a heavy cost in terms of spirit and will. An "Intensive Phase" followed: six separate multi-night hospital stays with 24/7 high dose chemo treatments administered by whom we considered some of the finest nurses in the country. While all this may seem insurmountable to some who have never experienced such a challenge, we consider ourselves the "lucky ones" as Jared successfully completed his three-year treatment in October of 2016. We were fortunate, but there are many families whose children are battling far worse forms of cancer with far less resources, which is why we are asking for your help. The Valerie Center gave us our son back and your generosity will allow another family to receive the same gift. Jared is back to his old self and Leukemia is well on it’s way to becoming a distant memory. He is a junior in High School this year and currently is a member of the Varsity Track and Field team. Every summer, Jared attends Camp Happy Times which is a camp for kids who have or have had cancer run by The Valerie Fund. This camp is a special place to Jared and hosting a team for the walk is another way that he can say thanks! By donating to our team (Jared's Minions) you can help make sure other children continue to receive the same care as Jared from the Valerie Center as they fight to beat this nightmare of a disease, Cancer. Thank you for supporting something that has become so important to us and many others. Lawrence, Susan, Samantha and JARED