Team PHAT Tuesday is proud to announce their 2010 Pedal Partner, Krysta K..
Krysta, a 17 year old high school senior, was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma in December 2008 at the age of 16. She had a tumor the size of a pineapple that had crushed her left lung and was pushing on her heart. In addition, she had a smaller tumor in her right lung. Krysta underwent 12 weeks of chemo therapy and seventeen days of radiation.
The following is part of a note Krysta wrote us:
“…. Thankfully, Hodgkin’s is like the baby of all cancers and is extremely curable so I was able to have a short treatment. On the downside, cancer totally distorts your life, and getting back to normal is one of the hardest things to do...I still don’t think I've hit normal yet. During the 4 months that I spent undergoing treatment, I made quite a few very close friends. Last October, one of them passed away, and right now, one of them has relapsed. At this time, I have had my one year off chemo scan and I'm just taking it one day at a time. My friend who has just relapsed also has Hodgkin’s, and so it has been such a reality check for me that cancer can come back, even the baby kind. You are never done with cancer, no matter how much you want to be. I love the idea of the PMC because it raises money just for the Jimmy Fund, who gives us a lot of fun things to do when we are getting treatment. I painted pottery, made bracelets, followed their bead program, watched movies, used their iTunes program, and went on the spring training trip to Florida. There are not enough words to say thank you for giving all of these opportunities to me. It is because of you riders and the money you guys raise that make treatment less difficult. These are all things that I looked forward to. They were the upside of treatment. Thank you for riding! I am really excited to be apart of PHAT Tuesday!” - Krysta
Krysta is graduating from high school in June and plans to attend Syracuse University in the fall to study fashion design.
We are very happy to welcome Krysta to the PHAT Tuesday PHamily! Her story brings a different outlook to our team, that of thanks and hope. She is proof to us that our commitment to the Pan-Mass Challenge and the funds it raises for the Jimmy Fund are making a difference in the lives of cancer patients and their families. It also reinforces to us that there is still more work to be done.Welcome Krysta!
