Our Story
A Little Boy With a Big Laugh
When Sam was four, he took a fall and hurt his knee. It seemed small at first, but when the injury didn’t heal, we took him to the doctor. After bloodwork and tests, we heard the words no parent ever expects: Acute Myeloid Leukemia.
Fighting With Courage
Sam began chemotherapy right away. There were long days, hard moments, and a stretch of remission that gave us hope.
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The cancer returned, and after an unsuccessful bone marrow transplant from an unrelated donor in April 2000—just six years old—Sam passed away.
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But through it all, Sam never stopped being a kid.
Sam found joy in the everyday moments so many of us overlook. He lived with a full heart.
Remembering Sam
Sam's spirit remains bright.
If you ask the doctors and nurses up on the 5th-floor HOT Unit at Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin, they’ll tell you—they can still hear his belly laugh echoing down the halls. We were incredibly lucky to have such caring hands and hearts around him.
He loved cheering on the Packers and Brewers, wrestling with his older brother Jordan, uncles, and cousins, and watching wrestling on TV. His Make-A-Wish experience even let him meet one of his favorite wrestlers.​​
A Community That Showed Up
Sam's classmates and teachers kept him in the loop and in their hearts during his treatments. The very first run/walk began with the St. Agnes Christian Formation youth board, who wanted to support our family and honor Sam’s life.
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Since that first year, our community has come together again and again, raising funds that go directly to the research led by Sam’s doctor, Dr. David Margolis, at Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin.​
We hope you will join us at one of our events or make a donation to keep Sam’s memory alive and to help others.