It’s the toughest of news -- to hear you have breast cancer.
Years ago, Stefanie Spielman got the diagnosis. Her ambition was to fight it by raising money to help current and future patients.
What began as a $250,000 goal has become more than $17 million raised and her family continues to work at it.
Saturday is “Step Up for Stefanie’s Champions” – a run/walk that fuels research. Stef’s husband, Chris, was the original champion.
Kristyn Hartman sat down with him, his new wife, Carrie, and all the kids to talk about the ongoing mission.
Their home is filled with love and laughter, and it has more people than it used to.
A couple years ago, two families became one when Chris Spielman and Carrie Yocum got married bringing together her two and his four kids.
“When I watch them interact with Carrie, I knew Carrie was an answer to Stef’s prayers,” Chris said
Stef, of course, was Chris’ first love. Together the former pro-football player and the lovely lady lived her 12 years with breast cancer in the public eye.
She made it their mission to fight the disease by educating and fund raising. In 2009, Stefanie left this world.
“I'll share something not a lot of people know about,” Chris said. “But she left a video tape when she was healthy knowing that eventually she was going to go home, and she talked about that, and I told her, ‘Are you crazy? I'm never getting re-married, and she said trust me. You need to find someone.’”
He found Carrie, who knew Stef’s memory lived large. Carrie had a backstory that helped her understand the emotional magnitude of what she was beginning.
“I had a brother who passed away when he was five, and my mom kept his memory in our lives. I grew up knowing him, talking to him,” Carrie said. He was a big part of our lives, and I think that’s what prepared me for today.”
Her brother’s picture is right next to Stef’s, who Carrie never met, but feels as if she knows.
“Well, I talk to her a lot,” she said through tears. “I talk to her about her children and I make promises to take care of them.”
And she’s vested in their commitment to their mother’s cause – like when they all baked cookies over the holidays and took them to the comprehensive breast center in Stef’s name.
And now, they’re all ready to lace up for “Step Up for Stefanie’s Champions.”
They’ll put one foot in front of the other to take the breast cancer fight forward: Gina and Kendra supporting Maddie, Macy, Audrey and Noah in honoring their mom’s memory.
“Through our actions, it shows Stef’s legacy,” Kendra said.
“It's something my mom would be truly happy about,” Macy said.
They all say Stef’s journey gives them purpose.
If you would like to join them and the more than 1500 others at “Step Up for Stefanie’s Champions,” just go to the following site for race registration information: go.osu.edu/stepup.