Amy & Matthew

Amy Meiners / Honor Pages

We don’t want our story to end here. We need more survivors. In order to make that happen we must lead the charge in driving rhabdomyosarcoma research forward.

  • $20,080

    Raised

  • $10,000

    Goal

  • 61

    Supporters

Recent Transactions

  • Amy Deaton

    $2,537.50 / 2411 days ago

  • Amy Deaton

    $2,537.50 / 2720 days ago

  • Anonymous

    $500.00 / 3141 days ago

  • Amy Deaton

    $5,000.00 / 3161 days ago

  • Rachel Wixson

    $152.25 / 3215 days ago

    Amy, I was so saddened to learn of Matthew's recent passing. Bless you for continuing his legacy through research that will help other families.

  • Amanda Brenegan

    $203.00 / 3238 days ago

    Amy, Matthew, you, your families and all of the warriors are in our hearts and prayers. Love, Amanda & Paul Brenegan

  • Mark Riley

    $253.75 / 3242 days ago

  • Beverly Mayer

    $100.00 / 3252 days ago

    Dear Amy, We are sending you all our love and our deepest sympathy. Always with love, Bev and Bob Mayer

  • David Vreeland

    $1,000.00 / 3264 days ago

    On behalf of Cumberland Consulting Group

  • Dee Lincoln

    $50.75 / 3265 days ago

  • Gregory Crowder

    $101.50 / 3269 days ago

    Amy, you, Faith, Mark and Madden are in our thoughts and prayers. Matthew was an amazing person and such an inspiration to so many. I hope all of your happy memories with him will bring you some comfort. We will all miss him so much but know that he will be smiling down on us from heaven. Much love, Jenn and Greg

  • Mary Frances Gray

    $76.13 / 3276 days ago

    Amy, Wishing you and your family comfort and peace during this difficult time. With love, Mary Frances

  • Robert West

    $100.00 / 3278 days ago

    Sarah, The Republik has made a donation in honor of Matthew. Your family at RPK misses you and our thoughts and prayers go out to you and your families!

  • Chris Pilliod

    $50.00 / 3280 days ago

  • Saman Pourkermani

    $203.00 / 3282 days ago

  • Narendra Bharathy

    $35.53 / 3283 days ago

    "Children are the backbone of the society. Their smile brings lot of hope and energy into our life. The effort of cc-tdi to bring back the smile in children by fighting the dreadful disease is enormous and we sincerely hope and believe that rhabdomyosarcoma will vanish from our planet soon and forever"

  • Adam Seyb

    $101.50 / 3285 days ago

    Amy, our thoughts and prayers are with you and your family. Adam and Carrie

  • Kip Verkamp

    $50.75 / 3286 days ago

  • Meredith Mullan

    $50.75 / 3286 days ago

  • Carrie King

    $101.50 / 3288 days ago

  • Anonymous

    $50.00 / 3288 days ago

    Hugs.

  • Lindsey Blair Kutrow

    $25.38 / 3289 days ago

    In honor of Madden Meiners. So sorry for your loss. Jo Hawkins

  • Lindsey Blair Kutrow

    $25.38 / 3289 days ago

    I am making this donation in honor of Madden Meiners. So sorry for your loss. Liletha Crabtree

  • Lindsey Blair Kutrow

    $101.50 / 3290 days ago

    We never met Matthew, but his brother Madden is our neice Sarah's partner. We adore Madden and know how much he looked up to and loved his big brother. We have followed his brave fight and our saddened by his loss. One of the many admirable things we know Matthew accomplished in his time on this earth is to help found this institute and work for a cure. With love, Vic Roberts and Blair Kutrow

  • Anonymous

    $1,015.00 / 3291 days ago

    In honor of Matt and Amy Meiners for their relentless courage, positive outlook, and amazing spirit. The San Antonio Spurs

About Amy & Matthew

How do you write an honor page that doesn’t define you by your cancer? How do you tell a story that could be described as a nightmare and a heroic tale? I don’t know, but all I can do is be honest and write from my heart. 

About 20 years ago, I met my college sweetheart in one of our favorite cities, Madison, WI. (Go Badgers!) Matthew looked like my polar opposite. He was a mash-up of Zack Morris from Saved by the Bell, Johnny Lawrence from Karate Kid, and Officer Jon Baker from CHIPs. More important than his golden locks and good looks was that he made me laugh! I was taken by his big dreams and aspirations. I’m not going to lie – I was smitten from the start. 

After college we began building successful careers. Matthew attended law school and then went onto work in the NBA. We married and were on track for starting a family. All was well with the world. Except about 8 years ago, our plans and our lives changed forever. A barrage of tests and staging brought back a diagnosis of stage IV alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma.

Matthew was always unique, so I suppose it was apropos for him to have a rare cancer that most people have never heard of. A partial blessing in the midst of our shock was that rhabdo is a pediatric cancer. This meant Matthew could qualify for a pediatric clinical trial at a children’s hospital. Despite Matthew being 29 years old at the time, the folks at Comer Children’s Hospital made an exception and let my 6 foot, 175 pound kid become a patient. Being surrounded by these amazing children was inspiring. It was sweet to see Matthew become friends with the little ones.

You might think that a pediatric clinical trial couldn’t possibly be that hard. After all, they give these drugs to toddlers and babies. Guess again. You would be shocked at what these tiny kids could tolerate. Matthew was beat-up and bedridden from the treatment. He endured round after round of chemotherapy and radiation. I watched the love of my life go from a seemingly healthy former college athlete to a frail 130 pound cancer patient in a wheelchair. But there was one thing that the cancer couldn’t take from Matthew: Cancer couldn’t take away his fire and his fighting spirit.

On Monday, July 13, 2015, Matthew’s extraordinary and unwavering fight came to an end. He earned his angel wings surrounded by me, his parents Faith and Mark, and brother, Madden. We cocooned him with an enormous amount of love. I take solace in knowing that he is no longer feeling any pain, but it was the hardest, saddest day of my life. I miss my best friend terribly.

As I reflect upon our journey, I know that i don’t want our story to end here. We need more survivors. We owe it to ourselves, fellow warriors and angels, to make a change. In order to make that happen, we must lead the charge in driving rhabdomyosarcoma research forward. We have witnessed new cutting edge treatments that are on the cusp of availability, but this process is slower for pediatric patients. Children’s Cancer Therapy Development Institute (cc-TDI) will bridge and expedite the transition from translational research to in-human clinical trials. cc-TDI is a 501c3 non-profit organization co-founded by pediatric cancer families. Since families are at the heart of this organization, there is transparency in the CC-TDI’s goals and funding. Matthew lived a remarkable life, and the only befitting legacy is to continue the fight with hope, strength, and dignity.

 

Throughout our journey we have always been fortunate to have the support of Team Meiners - an army made up of our families, friends, colleagues, and strangers. Please consider donating to cc-TDI. You can help us make a difference. 

With Hope and Gratitude, 

Amy

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