Leukemia & Lymphoma Society Man & Woman of the Year

The Rhode Island Chapter of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Socitey (LLS) wrapped up its 2015 Man and Woman of the Year competition on April 25, with a Grand Finale in Newport with Lindsay Bailer of West Warwick and Anthony DeLuise of North Scituate, coming out victorious in the 10-week fundraising competition. Both the Man and Woman of the Year, Anthony, Orthopedic Surgeon for Foundry Orthopedic and Sports Medicine, and Lindsay, Online Product Coordinator of Alex and Ani, together raised over $169,262.00 in its 10-week campaign.

Community leaders competed for the national title of Man & Woman of the Year, an honor surrounded with a great deal of fanfare, including a full page ad in USA Today, but the most important reason candidates participated was for families like this year’s Boy and Girl of the Year, KJ who is 12-years old and from North Providence, and Emma, who is 15 years old and from Barrington. KJ and Emma are local children who are survivors of blood cancers and who are sources of inspiration. Together, KJ and Emma raised close to $25,000 during the ten weeks. Every dollar raised counts as one “vote.” The male and female candidates with the most “votes” were awarded the title of 2015 Man & Woman of the Year.

The money raised by candidates over the ten week period is used by LLS to fund research seeking cures and better therapies, and to provide information and support so that patients have the best possible outcomes throughout their cancer experience.

Boy & Girl of the Year

KJ Ricci, Age 12

North Providence, RI, ALL/Diagnosed December 13, 2011

KJ was diagnosed with an extremely rare type of blood cancer called Philadelphia Positive Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. Just ten years ago, the chance of a child surviving this type of leukemia was very slim.

Thankfully, an investigative treatment was available that would give him a good chance at beating his cancer. The protocol for this treatment was extraordinarily intense, resulting in over 220 nights spent in the hospital receiving or recovering from chemotherapy. KJ endured months of being away from his home, his friends and his school, with virtually no respite from feeling sick and exhausted. Thankfully, KJ’s medical team did everything in their power to keep him feeling as well as can be during treatment all the while working towards making him whole and healthy once again. His battle has been long but after almost three years, we are nearing the finish line and couldn’t be prouder of the young man he’s becoming.

KJ enjoys being around his friends and family, swimming, playing video games, building Legos, and reading comic books about super heroes. In fact, KJ has become a superhero in his own right, inspiring everyone he meets with his immense courage and strength, and always helping out the other children in clinic by using his friendly smile and compassion to help take their minds off of their battle. These acts of heroism are just the beginning, as his ultimate goal in life is to grow up and become a scientist so that he can one day help find a cure for cancer.

Emma Katzen, Age 15

Barrington, RI, ALL/Diagnosed February 2, 2012

In the beginning of February 2012, Emma was sent home from school with a high fever. The next day, she could barely walk or talk, and was extremely pale. Emma’s dad took her to the doctor and they immediately sent her to Hasbro Children’s Hospital. When Emma arrived, they rushed her to the trauma center in a wheelchair. She was going in and out of consciousness. As Emma and her family found out later, Emma was in septic shock. All of her organs were shutting down, especially her liver. The doctors were thinking that she might need a transplant. Her white blood cell count was at 100, when normal counts are between 5,000-15,000.

Emma was seen by many spets, including an oncologist. That is when she was diagnosed with “ALL” (Acute Lymphoblatic Leukemia). Emma spent 8-9 days in the intensive care unit in a medically induced coma. After that, Emma started treatment and stayed in the hospital for about six weeks.

Unfortunately, Emma has had many side effects from all of the treatments, including anaphylactic shock, seizures, ostio necrosis, and a rare genetic disease called CMT (Charcot-Marie-Tooth-Disease).CMT was a very bad side effect, as it caused her to not be able to walk, or even hold an object in her hand.

Things have improved so much for Emma and she has overcome so many obstacles! Emma wants to be a pediatric oncology nurse so that she can help patients understand the disease that she had to battle. Emma still has many operations ahead of her to repair her hips and knees, but in the end, Emma says, “I Have Beat Cancer!”

Man & Woman of the Year

Lindsey Bailer

Online Product Coordinator at Alex and Ani

Woman of the Year, Lindsey Bailer, had an amazing ten week campaign.  Lindsey, who is a Hodgkins Disease Survivor just celebrated five years of being cancer free!  She and her campaign team utilized their fundraising pages to inform her friends and family of her story and campaign.  Lindsey worked very closely with her team and put together an “AMAZING” event called “Champagne and Shells” which brought in more than $10,000 towards her campaign total.

Anthony DeLuise

Orthopedic Surgeon at Foundry Orthopedics & Sports Medicine

Man of the Year, Anthony DeLuise, also had an amazing ten week campaign. Anthony and his teammates each juggled working their full-time jobs and busy lives with working tirelessly on the fundraising campaign.  Their range of events included: a Cut-a-thon, a St Patrick’s Day party, a 5 mile road race at beautiful Lincoln Woods, a Comedy Night, a letter writing campaign, and a Dancing with the Doctors show which raised a little over $50,000!  The variety of events was helpful in getting a different range of people involved.

The Rhode Island Chapter for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society is very honored to call Lindsey Bailer and Anthony DeLuise our Man and Woman of the Year.

Leave a comment