Celebrate Every Day Left

This weekend we’re walking again in the annual National Brain Tumor Society’s Silicon Valley Walk. Held at Vasona Park in Los Gatos, the event draws hundreds (thousands?), celebrating the people in their lives who are fighting what are often deadly brain tumors.

This year’s walk will be especially emotional. We lost one of our most dear friends, Karyn
Wilder, at the end of June. Known to our kids as “Auntie Karyn,” she had been fighting a glioblastoma for about four years — much longer than most predicted she could have fought. We’ve been participating in the walk for a few years now, and each year the event (both sadly and thankfully) has been growing.

Because of Karyn’s fight, we and others rallied around her and her family in hopes of lending a hand and some comfort during their incredibly tough time. Sadness and hardship have upsides and positives, though. We’ve become closer to the Wilders and to their immediate family and friends. Through these walkathons in recent years, we’ve raised some impressive money and this year the team has raised an incredible $27,000+ for the National Brain Tumor Society.

According to the NTBS, over 700,000 people in the US are living with brain tumors, and through these walks we raise some money for researchers to find a cure and to help general needs of those fighting the disease. All cancer f’ing sucks, and brain tumors are some of the worst types.

Two years ago, about halfway through her battle, Karyn won the event’s “Champion” award for her efforts to educate via her blog, and because of her dogged persistence to fight what she called the “beast” lodged in her brain. Karyn was a great writer, and she gave a beautiful and heart-wrenching speech that year. In that moment, surrounded by her loved ones, you’d have thought there was no way she could lose her fight. She did, ultimately, and this year the folks running the walkathon renamed the award in Karyn’s honor. It’s now the Karyn Wilder Champion Award. We’ll be devastated that Karyn isn’t walking with us but we’ll celebrate the times we’ve had together.
So this year we’ll walk a few miles, we’ll rally again and shed a few tears, and watch her husband and our friend Todd give the Karyn Wilder Champion Award to another deserving warrior. We’ll remember her fondly and we miss her dearly.

If you’re interested in helping in this fight, donate to the NTBS through our team page.

Go EveryDayLeft Right Left!