During my freshman year in ATO, I spent many weekends raising money for a faceless cause. I had never known anyone personally with pediatric cancer. Our THON child at the time, Ashley Bridgewater, was 16 years old and had been in remission for almost 10 years. She wasn't very active in coming to THON events, and I never even met her that year. In my first experience at THON in 2001, I was blown away. I finally saw what all of the effort spent fundraising was going towards. I saw kids smiling, laughing, and enjoying a weekend not thinking about their treatments. However, I still didn't have a personal connection to the Four Diamonds families, or to pediatric cancer in general.
For my sophomore year, I was lucky to serve as one of the THON Chairs for ATO. All of the chairs for ATO and ZTA met at the beginning of the year and we decided it was time to adopt an additional family. We applied to the Family Relations Committee and were paired with a family that was new to the Four Diamonds Fund, the Schweitzers. Their little son Robby was in the midst of his treatments. When I fist met Robby at THON, he was 3 years old, bald from the chemotherapy, and he seemed very lethargic. He was sick with a fever the entire weekend and slept for a good portion of the weekend. Robby's mom, Julie was very outgoing and easy to talk to. She told me everything Robby had gone through, and what he was still up against. Immediately after meeting them, I knew I had made a lifelong connection that would change my life.
Just a few months later, in the fall of 2003, a few members of ATO/ZTA drove out to Mechanicsburg for a Friday night to watch a Cumberland Valley football game, the school at which Craig (Robby's dad) is a football coach. We sat through the game and then spent a few hours at their house. I was blown away when I saw Robby. He had a full head of hair and was running and jumping around like a normal 4 year-old kid. His chemo was over for the time being and he had responded very well to the treatments. I was finally seeing first hand how the Four Diamonds Fund was making a difference in the life of these families. It was no longer just saving the lives of faceless families - it was my family that had now been helped.
Throughout my years at Penn State, I stayed very close with the Schweitzers, always visiting for major holidays, birthdays, etc. Julie quickly became one of my very best friends and someone I have grown to share so much with. When I first met the Schweitzers, much of our conversation revolved around Robby's treatments, blood counts, chemo, etc. Thanks to THON and the Four Diamonds Fund, our conversations became more about basketball games and their family life, and less about spinal taps.
Right upon meeting the Schweitzers, I was their main point of contact with ATO/ZTA because I was one of the THON Chairs in the year we first adopted them. Due to the high turnover of people graduating in organizations, THON families rarely have too many familiar faces from year to year to rely on. However, since I was only a sophomore when I first met them, I was fortunate enough to have many years to get to know them and to see Robby and his sister Jordan grow up.
Through the years, I have visited the Schweitzers for every major holiday, birthday, etc. I make a point to make it out to see Robby and his sister play soccer and basketball, and to see Craig's football games. I talk to Julie over the phone or through email at least a few times every month. The best day of my life was May 8, 2004 when I was there to see Robby take his last chemo pill! Now it is a countdown until 2009 when he is considered cancer free!!!
The Schweitzers were even nice enough to drive out to Philadelphia for my graduation party (when I finally graduated from PSU). Towards the end of my college career, ATO and ZTA adopted a new family (Tucker Haas). Now, most of the organizations' energy is focused on the Haas family since the Schweitzers are not as active as they once were. However, my personal relationship with them has only gotten stronger.
I have remained close with the Schweitzers post-graduation because they have become a part of my family. Anytime there is some event going on in my life, they are among I want to share the news with or ask advice from. Currently I am raising money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society to run a marathon this coming May in honor of Robby and his family. I have been inspired everyday by knowing the Schweitzers. Every time I face some sort of challenge in my life, I think about Robby and his family, and I find the strength to get through it. I have seen Robby grow up from a lifeless 3 year-old to an energetic 10 year-old (who still can't beat me at football). Just seeing what their family has gone through has amazed me and I have seen all of the qualities of Courage, Strength, Honesty, and Wisdom throughout their lives.
I can confidently say that I will always have a great relationship with them no matter where I move or no matter how involved in THON they are. I am so lucky that the FR committee randomly assigned the Schweitzers to be ATO/ZTA's THON family back in 2001. My life has never been the same since.
