AIRO PROJECT
My donation was received with many thanks, but I soon learned Dana, her family, and a lot of her friends attended Iowa State. So I offered to do an Iowa State Cyclone, as well as an Iowa Hawkeye painting, but joked about a rivalry brewing.
Before the auction in November 2009, Dana spoke to everyone about her disease and struggle. As she approached a podium to talk, she seemed very weak but then changed to calm solid strength. A very strong definitive voice came out of Dana. She said “Is this the path I would choose for myself? No! Of course not. But I choose to fight! I refuse to let this disease break me down and win!” She banged her hand on the podium with a huge thud, and then quietly sat down to finish a dessert with friends. Her strength was truly inspirational, and I will never forget that transforming moment.
A few months passed after the successful auction. I heard Dana really enjoyed taking some of the money raised to the physicians who helped her. About that same time I received a hand written note that simply read “Thanks for all you did. Dana.”
Two months later, Dana passed away. It was April 13, 2010. Five months after the fundraiser auction.
Not long after she passed, the Airo Project was formed. It grew out of the group of family and friends who started “Dana’s Miracle Journey.” The Airo Project works directly with patients who need help and provides real support. You can find out more about their group at www.airoproject.org.
Below are the paintings “CY” and “On Iowa!” I did for the Dana’s Miracle Journey auction. Please email info@airoproject.org to find out how to make a tax deductible donation for your own limited edition “CY” or “On Iowa!” print.
In August 2009, I remember my wife and I talking about how fast our boys were growing up as they entered school that fall. Around the same time, I received an email about a fundraiser for a high school classmate, Dana Schreck Smith. The email said she was suffering from a brain tumor and her medical bills were a strain. As I opened the email I saw a picture of Dana with her two boys. My heart sank as I looked at that photo and read the email. Her boys were the same age as mine.
I had a lot of success raising money with the Nate Kaeding Golf Tournament so I pledged my Hawkeye artwork to “Dana’s Miracle Journey” fundraiser.
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Dana Schreck Smith with her boys