The Road to Recovery

Gift of Life fundraiser to help support leukemia research

Thanks to cancer seeping strength from her bones, Elena Ruggero could not participate in a fund-raising walk co-ordinated in her honour last year.
However, this Sunday, with her cancer in remission, Ruggero anticipates lacing up her runners alongside her cousin, and fund-raiser mastermind, Elena Rotilio, in the Gift of Life, a five-kilometre walk supporting leukemia research.
Listening to these two women banter during a conference call, the current between them obviously flows thicker than their family bloodline.
"They gave me the strength courage and energy to fight," says Ruggero of the family and friends who participated in last year's inaugural walk. "I thought 'How can I not go on fighting? How can I give up?'"
"You're fighting for them because they're fighting for you."
Her cousin retorts, "If it weren't for you, there wouldn't be a walk."
Ruggero first learned of her cancer in April 2002. However, she discovered the most difficult part was breaking it to her family, friends and her two children, aged three and six.
Although family and friends filed in to give blood to help find a match, none was found.
Close to her cousin and with no children of her own, Rotilio felt distressed.
"I was feeling like I couldn't do anything for Elena because my blood couldn't match," she explains tearing up.
"It feels overwhelming. I get very emotional about it. You know when you begin to feel helpless? You wonder 'Why didn't this happen to me? I don't have any children.'"
Last year's walk raised $138,000 with "every penny going to the cause," says Rotilio.
This year, the pair aims to have 2,000 walkers and garner $150,000 for a new leukemia research fellowship at Princess Margaret Hospital Foundation in Toronto.
"I want the same type of experience for patients this year," Rotilio says.
In addition to the opportunity to fund-raise, Ruggero says the walk promotes family bonding and offers medicinal benefits for those debilitated by the disease.
"If it weren't for the walk to give me strength and support and love from those who came out, it did something to my road to recovery," she says. "It really gave me a big boost on my road to recovery."
The Gift of Life starts Sunday September 21 with a 9 a.m. registration at the Kortright Centre in Vaughan with a live band, bird show and warm up activities. The walk starts at 11 a.m. with a complimentary barbecue to follow.

For more information on the Gift of Life, visit http://members.rogers.com/giftoflife. Donations can be mailed to Gift of Life Five-kilometre Walk for Leukemia, 1771 Avenue Road, P.O. Box 54584 Toronto, Ont., M5M 4N5.

Publication Date: 2003-09-21
Story Location: http://tandemnews.com/viewstory.php?storyid=3166