Please read on for my daughter's story.

My daughter Amanda was diagnosed with osteosarcoma September 2020 at the age of 16. She had chemotherapy starting that September through May of 2021. During her treatment, she had 2 surgeries, the first was to remove the tumor from her tibia which involved an extended knee replacement where the upper part of her tibia and the lower part of her femur were replaced with titanium. She is still getting used to her mechanical knee which will never allow her to run or jump like other kids. She had a second surgery to remove nodules from her lungs because there was concern they were metastasized osteosarcoma. Thankfully, they were not cancerous but had to be removed "just in case" because osteosarcoma is a very aggressive cancer that often metastasizes to the lungs.

The chemotherapy that has been shown to work best for osteosarcoma can damage hearing and heart function. There are kids who get hearing aids after osteosarcoma treatment and/or end up with cardiomyopathy. The same treatment that was used in the 70s is still being used today!

Research for osteosarcoma treatments is terribly underfunded as is the case with most types of pediatric cancer. There are so many who go through this treatment and fight so hard only to ultimately and heartbreakingly be defeated by the cancer.

We are so very lucky that Amanda was able to be treated at Children's Hospital of Colorado. We have had such an incredible amount of faith in her oncologist and orthopedic surgeon. They not only have treated Amanda like family but are some of the best at what they do. Families travel from many miles around for their kids to be treated at Children's Colorado but we are so lucky that for us, it's less than a 20 minute drive. 

Besides being the best place for miles around for kids to receive treatment, Children's is involved in research and always trying to improve the types of treatment available for these kids.

Every penny raised by my Courage Classic team Wheels of Justice goes to the Center for Cancer & Blood Disorders at Children’s Hospital Colorado. Our money goes to fund primary pediatric oncologic research as well as mental health and wellness care for families and patients dealing with a diagnosis of cancer or blood disorders.

This year we ride for Trevor Kling, a competitive baseball player and a competitive bowler who died at the age of 14 from an untreatable brain tumor.

Please give what you can.  You can donate as little as $5!  Thank you from the bottom of my heart!