Adults

Jess Meyer began volunteering with The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (LLS) in February 2021. Jess is currently pursuing her Patient Advocacy certificate and found an opportunity to join LLS as a volunteer, in order to gain more experience working with the Patient & Community Outreach department.

I am a physician-scientist with a primary focus on treating and understanding blood cancers like MDS and AML. It's a job I love and one that has given a lot back to me over the years. However, it was also a very unlikely outcome for me. I was born in Montevideo, Uruguay where I lived until I was 5 years old.

Thank you on behalf of the Freeman Wilner Family for this Honored Hero Award in memory of my father, Dr. Freeman Wilner, he was a hero to many.

A Life Lesson from a Selfless Man

"He was selfless, unbelievably selfless," said Amanda about her father, Andrew. "He did everything for everybody. He worried enough for our family plus more. And never showed it. He worked extremely hard to provide us with everything we could possibly need."

To be of service to others comes naturally to the Yarnalls. Bob is a 25-year Marine Corps veteran and a teacher. Kim is a chiropractor for over 22 years.

In 1970, I was playing baseball in high school as a freshman, playing second base. A bully made a hit and ran from first to second base, tackling me. I got into a fight with him because of the pain I was feeling in my left hand. After the fight, I needed to go to the hospital. In setting my broken hand, they also did a blood test.

It all began in 2010 after my friend Cara and I ran the LA Marathon. We had already trained on our own for the 26.2 miles race. I thought, “Why not just keep running?” That’s when I found the nonprofit The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and their fundraising program called Team In Training (TNT)!

I joined Team In Training (TNT) in 2012, when I decided I wanted to train and run my first half marathon. Some of my friends had told me about their success with the program, and while I didn't have a personal connection to The Leukemia & Lymphoma  (LLS), it was obviously a worthy cause and I felt I could handle the fundraising aspect.