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By definition, champions are warriors. They are fighters. They overcome tremendous obstacles and triumph over adversity. They inspire others to greatness with their actions and words. By definition, the greatest champion I have ever known is Karsyn Bratch. Karsyn, 12, has been battling cancer since she was 4 years old. She probably can’t remember a time when cancer did not negatively impact her life. Through countless treatment plans, surgeries, drug cocktails, and radiation, her fighting spirit never wavered. Some people may look at Karsyn and see the obstacles. Karsyn looks at the world and sees the opportunities. Last year, I visited her hometown in Indiana after working with her parents to organize the inaugural Kick It with Karsyn event for pediatric cancer research. The first hug that Karsyn gave me was very tight when I walked into the house to meet her family. It was the tightest hug I have ever received from someone upon meeting them. During the course of the weekend, Karsyn introduced me to Spot, her stuffed animal that had a port inserted on his stomach to resemble the same one she had during treatment at Riley Hospital. I watched Karsyn on the kickball field with her mom, Linette, in the Kick It with Karsyn event. I thought about what the Kick It event gave her. On some level, it gave her hope that so many people in her community wanted to make a difference for pediatric cancer research. But, even more than that, it allowed her to participate and do the same things that everybody else was doing. As the pitcher, she could roll that red kickball to home plate. When the teams changed sides, she could step to the plate and kick. For a few hours, she experienced kickball; she experienced the joy of a childhood game. Karsyn’s battle against cancer is similar to so many other children and families impacted by the disease. When Karsyn was 10 years old, she spent nearly the entire summer in the hospital while battling neutropenia, mucositis, typhlitis, and posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome. Those conditions were a direct result of treatment. In the past 20 years, there have been just three new cancer-fighting drugs that were approved for pediatric use. The combination of drugs being used to treat Karsyn is essentially science from another era. It is absurd that we are treating children with drugs developed before their parents were even born. We ask our children to fight as hard as they can against cancer, but we haven’t equipped them with the necessary tools to do so. Those tools start with more awareness and greater funding for pediatric cancer research. It starts with the development and approval of safer and more targeted treatment options for pediatric cancer. It starts by supporting the organizations whose sole mission is pediatric cancer research. For nearly 8 years, Linette Burchett has made the 2-hour drive to Riley Hospital in Indianapolis with her daughter, Karsyn. It is a desolate and lonely drive heading west on U.S. Route 24, and then south on U.S. Route 31 past farms and corn stalks. Linette has made this drive at all hours of the day and night, and in all seasons. She’s driven those roads in the heat of summer, the freezing cold of winter, and the pitch blackness of night. Why? Because she knows the researchers at Riley are the best in the world to care for her daughter. The 2nd Annual Kick It with Karsyn event will be held on September 19, 2015 in Wabash, Indiana. Every dollar raised will directly benefit researchers at Riley Hospital in the fight against pediatric cancer. Ultimately, your support of pediatric cancer research directly impacts Karsyn’s future. More than anything, I wish everybody reading this essay could have the chance to meet her. When Karsyn wraps her arms around your heart and soul, you will never experience a tighter bond. She truly embodies how courage and determination can overcome life's greatest obstacles. Fight On, Karsyn. Essay by Larry Graff
Kick It with Karsyn - DONATE A very special announcement from Jeff Gordon.....
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