I’m somewhat at a loss for words…

Last week brought about many different reasons for hope and opportunity.  On Tuesday, I was scrolling though my inbox and saw an email from my doctor.  Under normal circumstances, I probably would have taken the contents of that message as bad news.  However, as I began reading the message, I realized that I went from feeling nervous and timid to shocked; my body rendered momentarily unconscious.

Before I head out the door for work, I like to spend some time watching the morning news to get me up-to-speed on everything I need to know for the day ahead.  What I find is that 99.9% of the news is full of sad, depressing stories.  And when I am on social media, I find that I have further found myself surrounded by news not for the faint of heart.

The email that I refer to contained news, but this news was different. It gave me a renewed sense of hope and acted as  a much-needed reminder of all the good and kindness in the world.

So I’m just going to cut to the chase: in that email from my doctor, I learned that through the Denver Foundation, a gift of $53,000 was made to The Cusano Family Fund for Brain Tumor Research!

After composing myself, collecting my thoughts and having my excitement under momentary control, I sent an immediate email back to my doctor:  Who did this?  Why was my fund chosen?  How did they know of my fund?  There were a litany of questions that I dying to ask.

During a call with my surgeon the next day, I learned that the Denver Foundation first inquired about my fund in late 2015.  Similar to a bank, a donor deposits money into an account managed by the Denver Foundation.  Once the donor decides on a cause, a directive is made to cut a check to the designated fund.  Unlike a grant that I applied for, this was a gift – a completely unexpected, selfless gift that I will be forever grateful for.

Unfortunately, the answer to all of my questions remain unanswered.  I can only guess that the person responsible follows my story.  So to the mystery person that made this donation – I hope you are reading – words alone cannot express my gratitude.  Your generosity and desire to help me in this fight is beyond appreciated, and while I know that I can never repay you, please know that I will do everything in my power to help the Yale Brain Tumor Center put this money to the best use possible in finding the cure for and treating benign and malignant brain tumors.  My fight will continue on for as long as I am able and until the cure is found – I hope.

In a world where we hear a lot of sad and depressing news, isn’t it refreshing and joyous to know that good truly exists?  For me, this is an easy question to answer.

To the generous donor – I will be indebted to you always and words will never be enough.