Patient of the Month for January: John Abrams
Each member has a unique story, but all reflect the intrinsic courage of one facing the challenge of GIST. John Abrams shares his story.
Cupcake Records Honors Lorie (Skelton) Perry
Lorie (Skelton) Perry was a GIST patient who passed away on November 11th, 2020. She was known to her family for many things. Among them were her warmth, her willingness to help others, and her talents as a baker. Her family wanted to find a way to honor her memory with a fundraiser.
GIST & Creativity – Gewelry for GIST with Christine Gonzales
Christine, a former elementary school teacher, is raising three sons with husband Adam, in New Mexico. She doesn’t feel that creativity has always had a place in her life, but teaching elementary school always provides opportunities for innovation and creative thinking so perhaps it’s a matter of perspective.
GIST & Creativity – Art Quilter, Crafter, Teacher Claire Monaghan
GIST happened soon after her first quilt was accepted into a quilt exhibit and after participating in her first holiday craft show last December. Every GIST patient has a unique story about how they were diagnosed and where their journey takes them but Claire can literally credit a recurrence of her sister's ovarian cancer in January as the reason she found her GIST tumor.
GIST & Creativity – Sculptor & Public Artist, Tim Watkins
You may have spotted a creation by May & Watkins Design and not even realized it. They create public art, or industrial sculptures – art that is commissioned for public spaces. The partnership of artists, Carol May and Tim Watkins, began after meeting as 20-somethings on scholarship at the Skowhegan School of Painting & Sculpture in Maine.
GIST & Creativity – Industrial Designer, John Paul Zagami
Pratt institute graduate, John Paul Zagami studied industrial design. John’s journey with GIST began with unexplainable digestive issues. After suffering a kidney stone attack which led to an ER visit, a mass was found.
Normal Life Interrupted
Angel Selena Rodriguez was living what she considered a very normal life. She was studying medicine, playing violin in an orchestra, and enjoying painting and drawing, and university in Venezuela.
Delivering Hope: A Modern Day Miracle of Birth
April Lopossa was faced with a daunting decision - to take Gleevec for her newly diagnosed GIST pre-surgery or wait until she delivered her unborn child.
In Memoriam – Carlos Alberto Baldor, Sr., Friend of the LRG & Major Donor
Carlos and Liana Baldor's daughter, Ana Maria Baldor-Bunn, died from GIST in 2002 after a two-year battle. Our In Memoriam website is dedicated to Ana and her father Carl who lost his own battle with cancer in April of 2020.
Paciente del mes de diciembre: Leslie Pastén Rojas
Cada miembro tiene una historia única, pero todos reflejan el coraje intrínseco de quien enfrenta el desafío de GIST. Leslie Pastén Rojas comparte su historia.