Wednesday, April 17, 2013

A Letter to the Ellen Show

Hi Ellen! My name is Gracie McDermott. I go to Kiski Area High School,and I'm a junior. Every week, I watch your show and see all of the incredible individuals you bring on to share their stories. I want to tell you about my real life hero. Attached to this entry is a picture of my volleyball team. You'll see the personalities of 30 girls and 4 coaches captured in one silly freeze-frame. But, there is more than meets the eye. On the right, head coach, Ellen Toy,stands next to coach Jaime Moran. The picture couldn't tell you, but I will. Ellen was diagnosed with gastric cancer in 2009. Jaime was diagnosed with leukemia when she was a freshman in high school. The two women have fought cancer with grace. Through good news and bad, my coaches have demonstrated incredible strength through the years. In August of 2012, Jaime lost her fight. Just a few months later, my best friend and teammate lost her life in a traumatic accident. Then, in March, Ellen told us her cancer had come back. My team has been put through the ringer, but no matter what, Ellen Toy had always been there to comfort us and motivate us to push through the hardships. I wanted to give back to Coach, so I came up with the idea, Ellen On Ellen. I made a twitter page, @EllenOnEllen, and the hashtag began to trend almost immediately. My goal is to get my Ellen to meet you. The whole world should feel her power. You can read more about our story on www.jamthegym.com. I pray that you will help me share this hopeful tale.

3 comments:

  1. How wonderful of you Gracie! I hope that Ellen does invite Ellen to be on her show. Good luck!

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  2. I emailed Ellen's show & hopefully others will also. Here's a link to do so:
    http://www.ellentv.com/be-on-the-show/10/

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  3. That's awesosme! Thank you so so much!

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