Joan Z. Blew

Emily Blew wrote the following letter to accompany donations to the foundation in memory of Joan Z. Blew, her grandmother. Emily is 14, and on her last birthday, she requested her friends to make a donation to FMR instead of giving her a present. She has made similar requests in previous years, such as donating to a local pet shelter. Her parents write, "Emily decided to do this on her own and we are very proud of her." We're proud to know her too.

Emily's Letter

Emily T. Blew

Dear receiver of this letter,

Every time I would hear that my family was making a visit to my Grams' house, I would get extremely excited and run to the car. Whether we were having "tea" time with soda in fancy tea cups, watching our favorite Mary-Kate and Ashley movies, or just going to the grocery store we had a blast together.

Unfortunately when I was in third grade she was diagnosed with a rare skin cancer. In my naive mind I thought she would heal and we could go back to our tea parties. The next year she past away and even though in the back of my mind I knew it was coming, it seemed all too surreal.

I was not sure how to react. Part of me wanted to keep all my emotions inside and not cry. Yet the other side of me wanted to break down in anyone's arms that were willing to hold me. Even at the funeral my dad had to tell me that it was ok to cry because I seemed to be the only one who was not. The woman peacefully lying in front of me wasn't only my Grams but she was my best friend.

Now five years later in my freshman year of high school, I still miss her tremendously but I have started to realize something that I think takes people a long time to grasp a hold of. You can take a bad situation and make it so much worse for yourself or you can think of ways to make it better. Nothing is impossible in my mind and sometimes I wish the rest of the world felt the same. That is why this year for my birthday, in lieu of presents I asked my friends to donate money and I would put it towards a charitable organization of my choice. I thought long and hard and decided to donate the money to a place close to my heart.

Hopefully research organizations like yours are getting close to a cure. My efforts, even though they may be like a grain of sand in an hour glass, are to save other Grams and Grandpas. So no more tea or movie dates are missed because of such a terrible sickness that has no cure. God bless the work that you are doing and I hope the best for your research.

Sincerely,
Emily Blew

	EVENTS
	2nd Annual Running For Cover Join us for a fun and fulfilling morning at the Wachovia Complex on June 24, 2007 for the 2nd Annual Foundation for Melanoma Research Running for Cover Run/Walk.
	Clark Lecture March 2002-2006 The foundation supports the annual Clark Lecture and melanoma symposium.

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