Read Time: 3 minutes
Video Transcript
Each Labor Day Weekend, Adalyn Wood and her family bake cookies and prep for their Cookies for the Cure for Cancer 研究 lemonade and cookie stand. 劳动节那天, [Adalyn] and her four sisters sell cookies and lemonade, the proceeds are then donated to Huntsman Cancer Foundation to support research.
James Wood, Adalyn’s dad and cancer survivor: I learned that I had cancer when I was 28 years old. I thought I was having a heart attack. I was lying on the floor. My wife came home and called an ambulance. The hospital told us to go up to the University of Utah, [Huntsman Cancer Institute]. We eventually got a diagnosis of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. It's a shock for us and for our young family. I had two young girls at that time, Adalyn, who was three, and Ava, who was about a year old.
Adalyn伍德: I remember him being on the floor in the living room and the paramedics coming and taking him. I didn't understand, but I knew enough that when a big red truck comes with lights, it's not good.
Kelly Wood, Adalyn’s mom: That was a life-changing event for us. It changed everything. 突然, a husband who was supporting his family couldn't get out of bed and couldn't work, and Adalyn would have dreams at night that her dad was dying, and for this sweet little soul to be so scared, it's really hard.
詹姆斯·伍德: I did chemotherapy for several months and radiation and had a lot of experiences with Adalyn as a young child trying to understand what was going on.
Even if it was from a five-year-old, I think it still felt really big to me and was changing the world
Adalyn伍德: I think I was five in kindergarten, and one of the stories I'd read about was Alex's lemonade stand. She was this eight-year-old girl who had raised a million dollars for cancer research, and it kind of struck a chord with me. 我说, oh, 就像, that's super neat that she was able to turn something hard for her into something that raised so much money to contribute to cancer research. We wanted to do some kind of fundraiser, and my parents thought it was an awesome idea, and t嘿 were 就像, “大发娱乐开始吧.” So, we just set up on Traverse Mountain. And I think that year, we raised $256, which, as a five-year-old, was a big deal.
詹姆斯·伍德: We literally just had a table, and we had a couple of poster boards. And, you know, it's really turned into something a lot bigger than that, which is really neat.
Adalyn伍德: This is officially our 10th year doing this. I do Cookies for the Cure for Cancer 研究 every year. It's turned more into the sisters' project and mom and dad contribute.
詹姆斯·伍德: It is neat to watch all my girls work together, and as t嘿 get older, t嘿 take more of a larger role. 每年, we have people come who have never seen us before, and t嘿 tell us their story and say, 嘿, my dad passed away, my mom passed away, 这是20美元. Unfortunately, I think cancer impacts us all. So when Adalyn first had the idea, she decided the proceeds are going to go to cancer research.
I get to have my dad. He's still here...Every penny matters, no amount is too small.
Adalyn伍德: We've raised over $10,000. So many people have been taken much sooner than t嘿 should have been by cancer. It made it so important to me to continue.
凯利伍德: I didn't know that Adalyn would be somebody that was going to change the world. That t嘿 have an ability to make an impact and make a difference I think has been the most inspiring thing,
Adalyn伍德: Even if it was from a five-year-old, I think it still felt really big to me and was changing the world from my little corner of it. I get to have my dad. He's still here. Being able to raise this money, Huntsman [Cancer Institute] is able to use it where it's needed. Every penny matters, no amount is too small.