Dr. Michelle Monje, A Pioneer in DIPG Research
August 10, 2013, 3:18 AM
"Dear Amber, I want to let you know that the tumor donation went very well. We received the tissue tonight, and I just finished the culture. Thank you again for this invaluable donation. Please know that Wayland is in our thoughts and hearts here at Stanford and that we will continue to fight against this horrible disease. My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family...
Michelle"
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We received this email the night Wayland passed, an unforgettable night, and an unforgettable moment reading this message. I cannot share how much comfort this email brought to us. This note captures the kindness, passion, and generosity of this amazing doctor. These are the hands we entrusted with our son's last living cells.
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Dr. Monje runs the DIPG research lab at Stanford University and she is making a difference. After our visit with her in March, we gained even more respect for her and her efforts. She is collaborative, diligent, creative in her problem solving, and has a passion for these children that is inspiring. We realized how valuable donations are to keep her research going, instead of waiting on grants, which are a slow and difficult process. We are excited to know that she is doing groundbreaking research on Wayland's cells and are motivated to help fund her work.
