Dr. Barbara Abernathy – or Barb, as everyone around here knows her – has worked at the Pediatric Oncology Support Team, Inc. (POST) for 16 years, but her personal connection with cancer begins long before that. Her father was diagnosed with Leukemia in 1983 and her grandmother not too long after that. Barb herself was diagnosed with Leukemia in 1996. She has been able to bring her personal experience to families of children diagnosed with cancer.
Last year, Barb found out that she needed a Bone Marrow Transplant. After an extensive donor search turned up a match in Germany, the transplant was able to proceed in June 2013. Since then, recovery has been grueling but it has made her more committed than ever to helping these brave children and families at POST fight their own battles.
Barbara has committed to training for a local triathlon in August 2015 to raise funds for every local family dealing with their child’s diagnosis and treatment for cancer. Thanks to POST, no family walks their child’s cancer journey alone.
A Message from Barb
“It is an honor to work with these brave families as they go through the darkest times of their lives. I am so inspired by their courage and perseverance! And the transplant has made me a hundred times more committed to ensuring they all get the services they need. Toward that goal, I have committed to training for a local triathlon to raise funds that will ensure help is there for every family. A month ago, I could barely walk across the room and even then with a cane, so a triathlon is pretty ambitious!! But I’m asking the local community to join me and support me to make this dream a reality!”
Barb is asking for your support whether through donations or by joining the team. Please contact us for more information at 561-882-6336 or cvargas@postfl.org.
We will be blogging about Barb’s progress, so stay tuned for updates!
Check out WPTV’s coverage on Barb’s Tri for Hope here!
