Cheryl Coey Krummen

Cheryl was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) on February 8, 2007. Almost from the moment she received the diagnosis this single mother of two summoned within herself the confidence, determination and steadfast resolve that made it clear, not only was this disease in for a fight…. This would be all out war!

And she has an army marching into battle with her. In the immediate aftermath, an ever swelling community of family, friends, co-workers and others has rallied to her side. The combination of love, prayers, encouragement as well as her own inspiring strength and supreme bravery resulted in complete remission within three weeks of diagnosis!

Cheryl was sent home soon afterwards and appeared to be on her way to scoring a knockout. However, within a few short days of being home Cheryl suffered a stroke. It made speaking very difficult if not impossible and she lost use of her right arm. Her resolve never weakened nor did her mega-watt smile ever dim.  Apparently the stroke did not see what our slugger did to her Leukemia and she fought back with a determined ferocity and quickly sent that stroke to the matt. She began speaking normally within a week and regained full use of her arm within 2 weeks.

When she isn’t getting frequent outpatient treatments or having to make short stays to combat fevers, Cheryl is enjoying time with her two boys and following a strict dietary and pharmaceutical regimen as she awaits her stem cell transplant scheduled for this spring.  She has been blessed in that both of her brothers have tested as a match.

Those of us lucky to know Cheryl have all found inspiration by her example to be better people ourselves. It is her wish that, upon completion of her treatment, she can work closely with other Leukemia patients to assist, inspire, encourage and motivate them to achieve their own success stories. When you add to this her faith, bravery, strength and resiliency she truly stands as the very definition and living example of everything it means to be a HERO.

Trinity Guthrie

Trinity is this year’s special honored hero. Trinity was three years old when she was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL). She is now six and was in remission until September 2005 when she relapsed. She underwent a bone marrow transport in early January 2006 and is improving. Trinity loves being an honoree for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. She loves taking time to educate others (especially children) about leukemia.

Trinity is in the first grade and loves being involved in sports when she can. She’s a cheerleader with Reading Panthers and likes playing outside with friends, skating and swimming. She also enjoys going to the park, movies and King’s Island. Trinity loves to smile, laugh, and just spend time with her mom, Sonya.

Abby Fasnacht

Abby was diagnosed with ALL (acute lymphocytic leukemia) on March 19, 2003 right before her second birthday. She went through eight months of intensive chemo then the maintenance phase, and she completed all chemo in May 2005.

Abby is doing very well off treatment! She still gets bi-monthly checks with her oncologist at Dayton Children's. May of 2007 will be two years off chemotherapy for her, and will be a really good milestone for her to reach with no problems!

Abby is a kindergartner this year at Dayton Christian, and will be six at the end of March. She's an excellent student, and loves to color and write, and is learning to read. She takes tae-kwon-do (she has tested through about 4 belts now, and really enjoys it!), and also still loves to swim, sing, and dance. We are very blessed, she seems to have come through all of her treatment with very minimal side effects and is the picture of health!

Casey Rayburn

Casey was diagnosed with A.L.L. August 21, 1996 and happily celebrated her cure in August of 2001!!!

Casey has one sister, Haley, and lives with her mom and dad, Mark and Deb ("the mom"- there is a Deb Rayburn "the aunt" who is also involved with The Society!) She is in the sixth grade.

Casey stays very busy with dance classes including clogging, ballet, and hip hop. She also cheers, and plays softball, and of course loves to shop!

Casey is a brave, caring, and loving young lady. She handled her treatments quite well, never really complained, and remained incredibly strong throughout her ordeal. It showed when she pulled her wagon full of "stuff" (PLUS her "buddy" too!) for long walks to see nearby construction!

She now is a very typical Preteen who loves her younger sister a lot!

Jon Kerr

Jon is a new member of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's Honoree program. He was diagnosed in July 2002 with Hodgkin's lymphoma, received a bone marrow transplant, and was declared cured December 2005.

Now, he is "giving back" and has become very involved with participants training for their events by providing plenty of inspiration.

Jon, his wife denice, their two teenagers Emily and Andrew, and their dog live in the Loveland area. He enjoys watching football and playing golf. His favorite movie is "Remember the Titans" and book is "The Davinci Code."

Jon says he is available to do whatever helps the most- except he can't run or bike in TNT with his "chemo lungs."

Scottie Maier

Scottie has come full circle with Team In Training and The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. This is his story in his own words.

" I first found out about the hero program for Team in Training when I was a runner. It was 1992, the first year for Team in Training. I was in pretty good shape when a friend of mine, Kevin Egan, suggested that I train to run a marathon and that I do it for this really great cause. I took him up on his invite to join a group run that was scheduled one night.

The group of twenty was training for the Columbus Marathon. We met at Karen Cosgrove’s house in Norwood. I will never forget it because it rained. Not just a sprinkle but almost a deluge, and at times we were running in a foot of water. It was wonderful! I had so much fun running with the group, that I knew it was something I wanted to be a part of. I eagerly took the information and agreed to raise the money that the group had set as a fundraising goal.

I was given a hospital bracelet with my hero’s name “Justin Ashcraft” on it. Justin was a young boy that was suffering from leukemia. The bracelet was to be a reminder that no matter how bad I felt in my training or how much I hurt doing the marathon, it would not begin to resemble the pain that this little guy was going through on a daily basis.

It was still just a name on a bracelet and I still could not figure out why I was going to run 26.2 miles. I also got some information about The Leukemia Society of America. This was the Society’s first year and the money that we raised would be going for research of this disease and for patient aid.

I started fundraising by asking my family and friends to make donations to this group. All that I knew at this point was I was going to run 26.2 miles and I would get the strength to do so by looking at this bracelet.

The first time I met Justin he had just gone through chemotherapy. He looked terrible. He had lost his hair, his body was blown up like a balloon and he was having a hard time just staying awake. He, however, had an incredible smile and disposition about himself.

Now the bracelet proved to be more than a piece of silly plastic, but I wrestled with the thought of why am I doing this? Sure I met the kid and yes he was sick, and the Leukemia Society would help him and his family through the tough times that faced them but I didn’t feel a personal connection to the organization. I really didn’t know anyone that had ever had leukemia and still was not real familiar with the disease.

Well, I found my connection when I went home after meeting Justin. I have three healthy children and if it was not for the grace of God, one of them could be in the same situation as Justin. It all began to make a lot of sense. Why not do what I could for a group that was providing a service to people who suffered from something I hoped I never had to deal with personally.

Justin lost his fight against the disease that he tried so hard to fight. Meanwhile, the money that the team raised for research was helping other children and adults to recover. The survival rate had increased over the years so the rest of my fellow runners and I were making a difference.

Like anything else I do, when I make a commitment to do something I try to do the best I can. By the third year I found myself as Co-chairman of Team in Training. We were growing but were still just a small bunch of avid runners raising money for a great cause.

Over the years, I join the Board of Trustees for the Southern Ohio Chapter of the Leukemia Society of America as well as remaining Co-Chairman of Team in Training. We continued to grow and were honored by the National Chapter as the amount of money we turned in verses our expenses were top three in the nation.

Eventually, I became Treasurer for the Southern Ohio Chapter and really did nothing more than sign the checks that the office made out. Sometimes they would bring me a stack of checks and their paperwork that was over a half-foot tall. It may seem boring, but the greatest feeling, even better than having finished numerous marathons for Team in Training was signing the checks for patient aid.

In 2001 Team and Training celebrated their tenth year. We had certainly grown from the 32 runners of the first year. We were now a team of over 450 runners, walkers, cyclist, rollerbladers, and tri-athletes, who raised well over a million dollars each year for the previous six years. The Team and the Southern Ohio chapter of what now is the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society honored me and five other people by inducting us into the Team in Training Hall of Fame for Distinguished Service.

The Leukemia Society had joined forces with the Lymphoma Society to fight all blood related illnesses.

I kind of took a back seat within the organization as I opened my own restaurant in Franklin, Ohio, something that is extremely time consuming. I was still involved but nowhere near the way I’d been before.

Not until July 28, 2002. I thought I had ulcers and was seeking treatment for some relief of the pain I was having in my stomach. As fate would have it, I was diagnosed with Follicular Lymphoma.

I still did not know what this meant but I knew it couldn’t be good. I called my friends at the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and asked them to send me some information. That night when I got home a box of all kinds of information along with a journal to keep notes was sitting on my doorstep.

Some people might think that it is a little ironic, but I guess a person never knows how the hand of life will play itself out. I guess I found another reason for getting started in Team in Training.

I am involved in a national study (that is getting research dollars from the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society) to hopefully find a cure for what now is called a terminal disease. I am doing well, continue to run, and thankfully have reached a point that allows me to progress to the next stage of the clinical trial. Now it’s just wait and see, and pray it doesn’t come back!”