Lisette's Story:

Donate here: https://pages.lls.org/voy/nyc/nyc23/lwatters

In November of 2001, around the time of Thanksgiving, my family and I took a trip to Syracuse but quickly returned back home because my younger sister, Caroline, was becoming extremely weak and lethargic. She was taken to the hospital immediately where the doctors found her blood count was dangerously low and the doctor's had to do a bone marrow biopsy. On December 6th 2001, at the age of 2, Caroline was diagnosed with Acute Myelogenous Leukemia, also known as AML.

AML is a very rare type of Leukemia for children, and at the time, those diagnosed with AML only had a 50% chance of surviving the disease. Caroline's best chance of survival was to have a bone marrow transplant, but for a bone marrow transplant to be successful, you have to find a match. The best case scenario in finding a match is a relative, preferably a sibling, but the doctor's felt that I only had a 25% chance of being her match. The doctor's tested our entire family and by a miracle I was Caroline's perfect match. From then, it was still another several months until the transplant took place but on May 16th, 2002 the day had finally come and the transplant was successful. This year, we are celebrating Caroline being 21 Years Cancer Free! ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

​​​​​​​My family and I became highly involved with the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society in 2011, starting with their Light the Night Campaign, moving to meeting our second family through Team in Training, followed by our involvement with what was previously known as Man Woman of the Year (which is now the Visionaries of the Year Campaign). Even with my involvement in LLS, I knew I wanted to do more. In 2013, I was inspired at 15 years old Man Woman of the Year. During my 10-week campaign, I raised $50,000 for LLS. One of my proudest accomplishments to date. 

Now 10 years later, I am proud to be participating in again The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's Visionaries of the Year campaign as a candidate for my team, Lisette Conquers Leukemia, with hopes of surpassing my 2013 fundraising achievement and to continue making an impact for LLS's mission. This year, I have a goal of raising $100,000 in support of Patient Services.