In this instance I can honestly testify that that the William & Mary athletics community does not fall victim to the cliche. The shared experiences amongst the athletes, the weight lifting at the butt crack of dawn, the Friday nights sacrificed to preserve our bodies, the long bus rides and the 2-a-days are the moments that connect us regardless of sport. And whether you go on to play professionally or enter the rat race of the "real world", you will forever be a William & Mary athlete. Damnit I wish our mascot was cooler because I refuse to say "you will forever be a Griffin"... get it together down there.
As many of you already know former William & Mary soccer player Ian Stowe was recently diagnosed with Germinoma on his brain stem, a type tumor that is caused by improper migration of germ cells throughout the body. After a successful biopsy at Fairfax Innova Hospital in Northern Virginia, Ian has been transported to MCV at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia to being chemotherapy and radiation treatments.
For those of you who don't know Ian he is undoubtedly one of the most generous people you will ever meet. In his years at W&M he was the designated mature member, alright fine I'll say it, mother, of the infamous "soccer house", a place that my own loving mom refused to set foot in. For years he kept the house from burning down, the tenants from getting evicted, and the police from finding any really incriminating evidence on his friends and roommates, myself included.
But that's not what this is about.
This is a call to arms so to speak. This is a chance for ALL of us to put our money where our mouth is. This is a chance for us to prove what amazing things we can accomplish when we all come together and unite behind a common goal.
Currently in the US over 12 million people are battling cancer. If we conservatively, and I mean very conservatively assume that each of those 12 million people have 20 people close to them, then that means that at this moment as you read this cancer is on the mind and affecting directly or indirectly well over 240 million people.
Whether you know Ian or not, I can almost guarantee that you know somebody who has been though a fight with cancer. Maybe it was a grandmother, or a sibling, or a friend. But almost everyone has been down that road and knows that without monumental support of family and friends there is no way to make it out the other end.
A few of us started the #stowestrong campaign recently not only to raise awareness and money to help offset what I can only imagine are astronomical medical bills for Ian and his family, but to hopefully start a program that extends beyond Ian. Once our boy is healthy again, and yes you can quote me on that he will be healthy again... and chicks dig scars... we want this initiative to continue to grow and gain momentum to the point where it is not only benefiting the Stowe family, but families nationwide. To where we can use what we've started to help fund cancer research and cutting edge treatments and protocols that will save lives.
I know a lot of you are reading this saying "you know that seems far fetched. How do you figure you guys are going to go that big?" And to you I say get out of the way. We don't need you. We don't want you. But if you want to be a part of this I pray that you have your heart in it and you are here for the right reasons.
We've
developed these shirts as our first order of business and they are
selling for $10. If you want to place an order get in touch with myself,
Chris Perez, who many of you know simply as Mr. Tumnus, or any other
W&M soccer player. Also follow the hashtag #stowestrong on twitter
and visit www.stowestrong.com for updates, stories and other interactive
materials. Thanks to all of you for supporting our friend and his family. I truly believe this is the start of something amazing.
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