"The Sam Day Buddy Run has become an event that I literally think about all year long and I couldn't be more excited about my 4th year participating. This event has left me speechless, humbled, and uplifted both years. While I do not have any immediate connections to kids with cancer, reading these kids stories has definitely fueled me. To further my participation desires, the entire Sam Day Foundation as a whole is filled with the most amazing human beings you'll ever encounter and I feel so honored to play a small part in their efforts for these kids. Thank you donors for giving what you can to this cause, and giving kids with cancer a brighter future."

I am running in honor of Merisa.

Merisa will be turning 18 the day before the Buddy Run! She is rather Introverted and likes to learn about science and philosophy. Since missing out on some education, Merisa likes educating herself independently. She keeps to herself. 

Merisa went to the hospital for side pains and the doctors told her it wasn’t a big problem, until they found a 19-inch tumor that had overgrown her kidney. She had surgery to remove the tumor and her kidney and now she has a large incision on her abdomen. Five days later, she was told it was cancerous. She has a rare form of Wilms tumor, which was then shipped around the world to do more testing on it. Her first round of chemotherapy didn’t work and she was allergic to it - a horrible experience. Merisa is now getting a different kind of chemotherapy, but it is a pill and still makes her sick. 

Since Merisa was diagnosed in the middle of her senior year, she will not be able to graduate high school. Her family has been working on their own health in order to support Merisa and her health. 

Here’s what Merisa’s family wants people to know about childhood cancer: "There is a lot about it that people don’t understand and so many difficult medical decisions that need to be made."