By Jocelyn O’Neill
In February of 2013 I was three when my dad was diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma, a currently incurable type of blood cancer. Thanks to his doctors and treatments available he is still with us today, for which I will be forever grateful. Now, I’m a rising Junior at Greenwich High School and my dad continues to receive treatment at New York Presbyterian Weill Cornell Treatment Center in New York City. Every month, he travels there for chemotherapy and other treatments that have kept his cancer undetectable for forty months with a thirty day reprieve. I’m truly so incredibly happy and thankful that he is still here today and is able to go out and do fun things with my mom, younger brother, and I. We are hopeful that with new treatments becoming available he will be able to continue to live an even longer life.
In 2024, when my dad was introduced to the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation (MMRF), he was able to connect with others fighting against Multiple Myeloma and share his personal experience while listening to those of people in similar situations to him. Therefore, my goal is to help as much as possible to sponsor the discovery of new treatments through my fundraising efforts, so that families like ours can enjoy more time together. This year, I have been working to raise money for the MMRF by participating in and fundraising for their yearly walk/run in New York City. For the past two years, my family and I have participated in their walk and worked to raise money for the organization. Last year, due to the generosity and support of our friends, family, and community, our team (The Undetectables) was able to raise a total of $18,592 for the walk.
This year, wi th permission from Mel Stottlemyre’s family, we will be proudly walking in memory of him and have raised our total team goal to $130,126. Mel Stottlemyre Senior, for those of you who don’t know him, is a baseball legend who bravely battled Multiple Myeloma. Most notably, as a pitching coach, Mel Stottlemyre earned four world series titles with the New York Yankees and one with the New York Mets.
Working with my dad, I have created texts, emails, Facebook & LinkedIn posts and contacted as many people as possible to gain support and donations for the walk. My personal fundraising goal for the MMRF walk/run is to raise $25,112 with the support of my family, friends, St. Paul’s Church, Greenwich High School, Greenwich Businesses and the overall Greenwich Community. Anyone can help by donating to my fundraising page or even participating in the MMRF walk/run on October 11th at 8:30am at Hudson Park, Pier 76, New York, New York. There is no deadline for donations. If you would like to donate to the MMRF, my page is linked below or you can mail a check to the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation at 383 Main Ave, 7th floor, Norwalk CT 06851 and reference The Undetectables Team in the memo section of the check. Also, feel free to call the MMRF at (203) 229-0464 if you have any questions or concerns. All donations are appreciated.
https://give.themmrf.org/fundraiser/6286894
My name is Jocelyn O’Neill and I am a rising Junior at GHS. I live with my mom, dad, and younger brother in Riverside CT.
