Beingthere

“BeingThere” is an annual fundraising event that was first started by the friends of Lauren Letros in 2012 to show her their love, support and to prove to her that her courageous battle with brain cancer had a purpose.

This year the event is organized by Sunnybrook Hospital, Basketball Canada and Villanova College with proceeds being donated to Brain Cancer Research at Sunnybrook hospital and for the further development of youth basketball in Canada.

Lauren’s story, is of a courageous battle and the importance of basketball to her life during that period.

I want to bring you all back to our last normal day as a family;

 Sept 18, 2012 was like any other day in our lives. Lauren took our children to school in the morning, then took our dog out for a walk and went to the gym before she went on with her daily routine.

I left for work but returned early so we could both attend our daughter Adrianna's basketball game at Villanova. After the game, we came home to a wonderful dinner Lauren had prepared. After dinner we would retire to the family room to relax and get lost in some television together while the kids did homework. Lauren took Amber our dog out for her final walk of the day and came to lie in my arms in bed as she did every other night. It was another routine day in our wonderful life. It was also sadly the last normal day we would spend together.

The next morning, I woke up to Lauren saying she wasn’t feeling well. She asked if we could both take Adrianna to school that morning. Something was not right. Lauren could barely move her left leg and arm. On our drive to school, her body began slumping and as Adrianna got out of the car Lauren completely collapsed in her car seat. My chest was pounding, I remember the fear in my heart knowing what this could mean as I drove through red lights in rush hour traffic to get her to the hospital. Our lives forever changed that day.

Over the next 25 months, Lauren spent all of her days in a wheelchair partially paralyzed on her left side. She endured 2 major surgeries to remove cancerous tumors in her brain, 42 rounds of radiation and 3 different types of chemotherapy. She had the worst type of brain cancer called glioblastoma. Despite the surgeon at Western Hospital telling us that she would only live a few months, Lauren was determined to continue to fight going to physiotherapy 3 days a week until she amazingly fought her way back to feet and walking. She was determined to get better regardless what doctors were telling us. Leaving no stone unturned we traveled to Germany 3 times to try alternative medicine in our quest to defeat this illness.

She would never give up – never give up for our kids… she wanted her life back…she kept praying to God… She just wanted to be a mother again…. she kept apologizing to us … she thought she had ruined our family… she thought she was a burden on us….. She wasn’t able to walk … she wasn’t able to cook … her mind wouldn’t allow her to think straight… she wasn’t able to help the kids with homework …. Even though she was in a wheelchair we tried to live our life as normal as possible. We went to watch the kid’s basketball games and track meets, like we used to. The kids would always come over before the game and kiss her and tell her it’s ok and that they were proud of her and happy she came. That was contagious … and soon their teammates would do the same before and after the games. 

She was their inspiration. She loved going to Villanova and watching the basketball games. It made her feel “normal”, and a way for her to escape the reality of her illness.

….but then one day… she couldn’t go any more.…. she was trapped in a body that couldn’t function…. and slowly, slowly different parts of her body would shut down……… her ability to walk after all that physio disappeared … her ability to think clearly … her ability to feed herself …. her ability to sit upright in her wheelchair… her ability to take a shower or use the washroom …. her ability to talk …. her eyesight …. her ability to move any part of her body ….her ability to use her lungs to take one more breath…..

…..one final breath for her children ……at 11 a.m. Oct 15, 2014.

During this entire ordeal….Each day was an emotional and physical struggle….I would wake up each morning thinking that this was all a bad dream….. then I saw the wheelchair waiting beside the bed and my eyes would fill with tears…. That wheelchair has been etched into my mind. It was the reality that hit me each and every morning. I can’t imagine how Lauren felt …… none of us can. But she rarely showed weakness or self-pity. She only showed courage and determination during her battle. Her courage and FIGHT inspired many people and changed their perception on life. It was out of this inspiration “The Lauren Letros Memorial Award”, given to one

student-athlete every year that displays perseverance, sportsmanship, strength of character and extraordinary courage was initiated. This award is a wonderful tribute to Lauren and her long lasting effect on youth sports at Villanova College.

Her children are her legacy, will reflect her character which they will pass on to their children and generations to come. The annual “BeingThere” event will hopefully become a means of helping to cure brain cancer while at the same time provide a

stepping stone to further basketball development in the youth of Canada. We thank you for your support.

Tom Letros