(¾) “In May of 2012, I finally got approval to conduct...

(¾) “In May of 2012, I finally got approval to conduct a clinical trial. A family flew up from Florida with their child Caitlyn. I was so nervous. I’d written so many elegant papers. I’d conducted so many trials on mice. I’d done so many tests in the lab proving that this could work. But here I was looking at a human child. Am I really ready? The spotlight was unbelievable. If I kill this child, it will decimate me emotionally. And the institution’s reputation was on the line. Had I done enough? Had I prepared enough? All these things were running through my mind as Caitlyn’s mother signed the consent. But when she finished, she turned to me and said: ‘Whatever happens, thank you for trying.’ And I still get emotional when I think about that. Because she took so much weight off me. The operation was a success. This is Caitlyn a week later. She could walk! She could jump! She could touch her nose! She lived for a year after that, but then her cancer came back and killed her. It was so hard for me. I was so close to her family. But right now I’ve had about twenty successful trials. That’s twenty living children. One young woman has been alive for three years. Every passing day that those children are still alive is the greatest day of my life.”

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We have two days left in our fundraiser to help fight pediatric cancer at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. Your donations will fund the science that saves the lives of children. This includes the research of Dr. Souwedaine, whose story is being told this evening. Nearly 50,000 people have donated and $1.8 million has been raised so far. It would be amazing if we could reach $2,000,000 by the end of the series. Even if it’s a small amount, please consider donating: http://bit.ly/1TpFcdy