Still, Jeannie worried that brain cancer, radiation and chemo would steal her musical gifts—her authentic, beautiful voice and the songs that often “just appeared” in her head. By the spring, she could no longer carry a tune. Then, miraculously, during the Jeannie’s Cure Casino Night planning week, she woke up in the middle of the night with a song in her head. She hurriedly fumbled in the dark to find her guitar, and began to play. It was an inspirational moment. The song delivered in an hour of darkness would become her anti-cancer anthem: “All in for a Cure.”
Jeannie performs her song, “All in for a Cure,” at the 2006 Tug McGraw Foundation Celebrity Gala.
Jeannie’s voice was back in action. She played her songs at fundraiser meetings, five kilometer runs, rallies, and even at the memorials of fellow brain tumor warriors whom she had befriended along the way. No matter how sick she felt, sometimes barely able to stand after a rough chemo treatment, she would selflessly take the stage and inspire others to keep fighting.
That summer of ‘06, Jeannie headed back east, receiving a hero’s welcome. Her Wallingford, Connecticut high school classmates had organized a Jeannie’s Cure benefit in her honor. Late in the evening, Jeannie stood up to the mike and sang her heart out. As the cheering crowd rose to their feet, there wasn’t a dry eye in the hall. Classmate Jason Jeremiah was so moved that he gave Jeannie his treasured Ovation guitar the next day, explaining that it would give him no greater joy than to know it would be playing her songs. Little did either of them know that her new guitar would soon have an exciting debut.
Turns out, another classmate, Jeanne Hogan, was also so touched that she shared Jeannie’s story with the Tug McGraw Foundation. It wasn’t long before TMF’s president, Jennifer Brusstar, flew out to meet Jeannie and her medical team and to tour UCLA’s Neuro-Oncology unit. As they headed back to the parking garage, Jeannie grabbed her guitar out of the trunk, sat down on the fender, and played “All in for a Cure.” Jennifer said, “You have got to perform at our next celebrity gala.” And so, Jennifer gave Jeannie a gift no one will ever forget.
