Hello my name is John Dupree,

As some of you know (many do not) in late September our eldest daughter, Stella (9), was diagnosed with a form of bone cancer called Osteosarcoma in her left leg. It's a fast growing aggressive cancer that we were fortunate enough to catch on the early side. For the past month, she's been undergoing chemotherapy among a number of other difficult and scary medical procedures. We are currently in our second round of chemo and we are preparing for limb-sparing surgery in December or January. This experience has in many ways brought our family closer together but is nonetheless a daunting and difficult experience for us all and is of course particularly difficult for Stella who misses her life, her school, and her friends very much. Stella is so strong and assures us she is going to beat this and we couldn't be more proud of her perseverance. We are starting this fundraiser to help support our family during this difficult time and to give an outlet of support to those who want to help. If you or anyone you know would like to contribute to our fundraiser, any and all support is greatly appreciated.