In recent years, two of my Texas Aggie friends, Carrie Giles Freeman and Megan Morley Haverland, have lost their fathers to a type of blood cancer called multiple myeloma. Prior to their parents’ battles, I had never even heard of the disease.
A few months ago, Carrie, Megan and I decided to turn my #texasstrong shirts maroon for Multiple Myeloma Awareness Month this March, in hopes of spreading the word and supporting research for this devastating cancer.
In multiple myeloma, malignant plasma cells accumulate in the bone marrow, crowding out the normal plasma cells that help fight infections. These malignant plasma cells then produce abnormal proteins (m protein) which may cause tumors, damage the kidneys, and impair immune system function. In some cases, the malignant cells may cause a single tumor, called a solitary plasmacytoma, but if multiple tumors are formed, then the disease is called multiple myeloma.
Carrie and Sarah with their dad, Mike Giles
Remembering Mike
Carrie and her sister, Sarah (also an Aggie), lost their dad, Michael Giles, in 2012, after a valiant battle against multiple myeloma. Soon after, they also lost their mom, Deborah, to a different type of blood cancer.
Mike was born in Austin, and, while he didn’t graduate from Texas A&M, he rooted for the Aggies and loved watching the Fightin’ Texas Aggie Band perform at Kyle Field. He will be remembered for his quick wit and coined phrases. Mike’s daughters miss his weather updates, his cautionary tales, his daily phone check-ins, and his free advice.
Megan with her dad, Col. Tom Morley
Remembering Tom
Megan lost her dad, Col. Thomas V. Morley, Jr., USA (Retired), in 2013, after a valiant battle against multiple myeloma. He is buried at Arlington National Cemetery with full military honors.
Tom was a member of the Class of ’78 and reserved a special place in his heart for both Texas A&M and his hometown of Pittsburgh. Following the Aggies, Steelers, Penguins, and Pirates gave him great joy or misery, depending on the success of the season. Tom’s quick wit always kept life entertaining. Megan, her brother, Sean, and her mom, Kris, all miss him dearly.
I’m not going to pretend that things are happy and peaceful in America, or around the world, right now. Like so many of you, I have been feeling discouraged, confused and, at times, just plain scared. Yet, I know that our only hope is Jesus–the great equalizer and the ultimate source of joy, love and truth….
Our popular Texas Strong shirts are now supporting two health causes very near and dear to my heart. Texas Strong fundraisers for healthy hearts and beautiful brains 100% of profits from our special edition purple and red shirts on Teespring will support the Alzheimer’s Association and the American Heart Association, respectively, in their central Texas…
Update as of 6-15-15 at 12 pm: We raised over $10,000 in just the first 24 hours of this fundraiser and over $100,000 in less than 6 days. Our “viral” fundraiser for flood relief was featured on both People.com and Austin CBS affiliate, KEYE TV. We have now raised over $131,000 (and counting) for Texas…
A couple of years ago, our lawnmower broke just as the neighborhood deer began to foal. Over the next couple of weeks, we found four beautiful, tiny fawns hidden in the tall grass of our Texas hill country front yard. Initially, we were shocked to discover newborn babies seemingly abandoned, but we soon learned that…
This month’s Texas Strong Woman of the Month is my beautiful friend, Susan Seay. She is a mom, speaker, and blogger extraordinaire. Meet Susan Seay Susan Seay lives in Austin with her husband and their seven amazing children–one son and six daughters. Over the last 5 years, she has built a business around being intentional…
I did quite a bit of reading this summer, and, as it turns out, five of the amazing new books released this year that I devoured were written by central Texas women authors. There’s something in the water (and trees and wildflowers and wine and coffee and tacos) here, guys. Top 5 New Books from…
