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Mission Statement
The
well-being of a cancer patient is significantly impacted by the
well-being of the patient’s spouse or life-partner.
Through awareness, education, and financial assistance, the
Michael T. Flynn Foundation will provide a sense of peace and ease to
enhance the quality of life for cancer patients and their life partners.
History
Diane
Flynn has dreamed of starting a charitable organization to provide
financial assistance and support to couples battling cancer, since
losing her husband, Michael, to cancer in 2006. Now, this dream is
coming true in the Michael T. Flynn Foundation.
This organization is a way not only to honor Michael’s life, but also
to support and recognize spousal caregivers suddenly thrust into the
must-win game of, “we’re beating cancer.”
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Michael
T. Flynn |
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 Diane
and Michael met in March 2002. A
year later, on Michael’s 37th
birthday, they set a wedding date for June 26, 2004. Unfortunately,
shortly before the wedding they unexpectedly found
themselves preparing for Michael to have a tumor removed, along
with most of the right lobe of his liver. At that point, it was
Michael’s goal to make it to the wedding and be well-enough to
dance with his bride, and that he did. During that dance,
Diane and Michael both thought that they had triumphed and
the troubles were behind them.
What they didn’t plan on was the role that cancer would
play in their lives and that the “In sickness and in health” vow
they took that day was all about sickness and had nothing to do with
health. Michael battled this disease called cancer with every
ounce of fight a person can have, and he was determined and brave even
in the face of all of his suffering. He could still tell a joke
and brighten anyone’s day just because that was the kind of person he
was. Diane was by his side as his wife and caregiver and was suddenly
thrust into the |
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position of needing to become a medical care expert
attentive to every detail of Michael’s care and still needing to make
the household and finances work. Even though Michael had the will
and the drive to work, being hospitalized unpredictably every couple of
weeks didn’t bode well for his business. Nearly two years later,
just two weeks after Michael’s 40th birthday, Michael
died.
Michael
was all about living. He was honest, hardworking, and
successful. He was fun. He was funny. He was a
fanatic about sports, business, and music. He was a lover
of people and just had a knack for making others feel at
ease. He was always talking about how he was going to help
people when he got better. He was a complete nut for sports
– baseball, football, boxing, you name it. The name he used for his team picks for
football every year was “Flynndog”. Michael put a ton of
time and energy into his picks, and he also created a lot of
excitement surrounding his picks with friends and family, even for
people who didn’t particularly care for football. When Michael
was sick, his love of sports and attention to sports gave him
comfort and a welcome break from this monster called cancer.
Join
Team Flynndog in supporting couples tackling cancer!
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