Back in 2022, when Cedar Connell was 15, he was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia after constant exhaustion while at tennis camp. He started aggressive treatment and the cancer went into remission within a month, but because of risk factors, he had to continue treatments for another three and a half years.
The treatment involved multiple drugs and steroids that came with significant side effects, including a period of being bedridden, chemo-induced diabetes, ongoing fatigue and he still has to undergo three bone replacements because of the damage chemo did to his joints.
His Doctors told his parents that it was important for Cedar to stay active. He bought in and even had an exercise bike brought into his hospital. “It felt like there was something that I could do for myself then I should give everything I could to get better. My parents and everyone around me were making sacrifices I owed it to them and myself to fight".
As he was finishing up his final chemo session last summer, Cedar, now 19, and his sister Posey created a fundraiser called 3 for 31. Cedar said "The idea is, you exercise three miles, whether it's biking, walking, running, swimming, et cetera, for 31 days in July."
In 2024 60 people joined, and they raised about $25,000, so they decided to run it back last Summer and started trying to get local businesses to partner with them for a goal of 10x their first effort. Well the $250,000 figure was met and surpassed and the fundraising continued till the end of the year with a grand total of $620,000 for Blood Cancer United. Cedar and Posey were just named as the group’s National Student Visionaries of the Year! Both say the work is just beginning as they have joined the Blood Cancer United Junior leadership committee
Source: PEOPLE