On January 28th 2009, my daughter, Shayla Mitchell, lost a hard fought battle with childhood cancer (Hodgkin’s lymphoma).
Shayla was an extremely brave girl who NEVER quit fighting. She endured hours and hours of brutal chemotherapy sessions and radiation treatments. She experienced many complications, including 5 heart surgeries, countless blood transfusions, and a failed bone marrow transplant procedure attempt. We spent hundreds of nights in the hospital together.
Yet in spite of her struggles, Shayla NEVER quit fighting, and through it all, she still managed to take pretty damn good care of me. I miss her a great deal. Not only was Shayla my daughter, she was my best friend. I truly am a better man for having known her.
Last year Tattoo Tom finally completed the Bigfoot 200-mile ultramarathon on his 4th attempt. We raised a lot of money and we touched a lot of lives, but childhood cancer hasn’t gone away. So, here we go again, ONE MORE TIME.