Although we both grew up in eastern Massachusetts, I didn’t
meet Rich until August of 2006, just one month after he and his wife, Michelle,
had traveled to China to adopt their daughter, Lucy. Rich and I had a lot in
common: in addition to being “New Englandahs” and having adopted our daughters
from China, we were both extroverts, had both been into swing dancing during
graduate school (he at UC Berkeley, myself at UC Davis), and we had both become
inadvertent family documentarians through writing blogs during our adoption
journeys. Even though our families only got together occasionally, it was easy
to get to know Rich because of his friendly, gregarious nature. His smile could
put anyone at ease.
Despite being diagnosed with stage 3 melanoma in January
2007, Rich maintained his sunny disposition throughout the initial surgeries.
Even after the cancer returned and he underwent further surgery and radiation
treatment, he fought on, chronicling his efforts in a blog (richfights.blogspot.com)
with both humor and candor. Sadly, the melanoma metastasized to Rich’s brain,
and continued to spread to other organs despite a rollercoaster of radiation,
chemotherapy, immunomodulatory drugs, and investigational medications. After a
27-month battle, at just 38 years old, Rich passed away at home on April 23, 2009. It was the
nine-year anniversary of his first date with Michelle, and six months shy of
Lucy’s 4th birthday. A larger hole was never left in a family or
community.
When I first decided to apply to the Dana-Farber Marathon
Challenge team, I knew I wanted to run in Rich’s memory. Dana-Farber is on the
cutting edge of research for new treatment options for melanoma. I know that
the funds I raise as a DFMC team member will forward their mission to find a
cure, to prevent other families from suffering the pain of losing a son, a
husband, a father, or a brother. I hope that some of Rich's family
members and friends will be along the course in Boston on April 21; just 2 days
before the 5th anniversary of Rich’s passing, I can’t think of a
better way to celebrate his life.
If you knew Rich and would like to share some memories of him, please leave a comment below.
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