ROCK4RESEARCH is an annual concert event to raise money for the Children's Tumor Foundation. The event has been hugely successful, seeing crowds in the thousands, and celebrities ranging from Atlanta Braves’ All-Star Brian McCann & Kansas City Royal Jeff Francoeur, to NFL Hall of Famer Morten Andersen. Started by Atlanta natives the Leathers/Cone family, the Tumornators began when youngest brother Drew Leathers was diagnosed with the progressive tumor disorder Neurofibromatosis (NF).

This year's show is happening Friday night December 16th at Smith's Olde Bar, and we're very proud to announce that local beverage company Whynatte will be one of our sponsors.  We have the infamously funky New Orleans brass band Bonerama as our headliner and local funk band Georgia Soul Council will be opening up the show.  More bands, drink specials, other goodies to follow.

Tickets will be $15 and a portion of the proceeds will go directly to fund research projects with the Children's Tumor Foundation.  Click here for tickets: http://www.smithsoldebar.com/events.

All The Best,

Matt Barnett

Co-Chairman, Rock4Research

Ps.  Know anyone or any business interested in being a sponsor?  Want to give away something to raffle?  Let me know!  barnett206@gmail.com

DREW'SSTORY

       

At age 10 Drew Leathers discovered a small lump on his upper arm that doctors assured him was merely a "calcified hematoma" that had developed at the site of a vaccination. As the lump grew, it was determined that it would need to be removed. The biopsy showed that the lump was a Schwannoma, which is a benign tumor on the casing of a nerve.

Over the next few years, other lumps appeared on his back, under a shoulder blade, on his thigh and under his upper arm. Each was found by doctors to be a Schwannoma. By the end of his ninth grade year, a full-body MRI revealed that Drew had hundreds of tumors throughout his body varying from the size of a pea to grapefruit-sized. It was then that Drew's neurologist diagnosed him with Neurofibromatosis (NF) and was eventually more specifically diagnosed as Schwannomatosis.

Up until around age 16, Drew's life had been be fairly normal until the intense pain in his nerves, the hallmark of this terrible disease, began limiting his activities. Tackling in football became excruciating, but instead of quitting, he became his high school team's videographer. During his senior year, after reviewing his limited options, Drew and his family decided to try chemotherapy drugs in an attempt to shrink the tumors even slightly. Unfortunately the chemo didn't work, and Drew was forced to undergo a 9 hour spinal surgery leaving an 18-inch reminder of his fight still to come. To date, Drew has undergone a regimen of pain medications in conjunction with surgery, and currently has 15 incisions measuring more than six feet in length, including an 18-inch scar down his spine.

As of now, the heavy pain medication and risky surgeries are the only treatment options to combat the tumors. Perhaps the most remarkable thing about this already outstanding young man is his attitude. Drew loves to laugh and joke around, and unless you are among his closest friends and family, you would probably never know he was suffering.

"Drew is an unbelievable kid, and I challenge anyone to deal with this crippling situation with a better attitude," said Chad Leathers, Drew's older brother. "It takes real guts to put yourself out there as someone different or weak, but Drew has turned his disability into a source of strength to persevere and find a cure for all those who live with this pain."

At 21 Drew was attending Georgia College & State University majoring in Computer Science, but in 2009 his battle took yet another turn. After undergoing a spinal surgery in April, Drew began to succumb to paralysis. He went on to spend 180 days in a hospital and is now confined to a power wheel chair. As the months pass, Drew continues to inspire those around him with his positive attitude. He has been a perpetual advocate for hope and the power of positive thinking, and with his inspiration and your help, we WILL see a cure for NF.

ABOUTTHECHARITY

The Children’s Tumor Foundation is a Charity Navigator 4-Star organization dedicated to ending Neurofibromatosis (NF) through research. NF is a genetic disorder that causes tumors to grow on nerves throughout the body. It can cause blindness, deafness, learning disabilities, and sever chronic pain. Currently, there is no cure for NF, and frighteningly few treatment options. The Children's Tumor Foundation prides itself on efficiency, spending 82.4% of it's revenue on program expenses and less than 8% on administrative costs.

The Foundation's mission is to advance peer-reviewed research to develop treatments and cures for NF; support persons with NF and their families by making thorough and accurate information readily available; assist in developing clinical centers and best practices to improve access to quality healthcare for those who live with NF; and expand public awareness of NF to improve diagnoses, increase understanding of the challenges that NF presents, and encourage support for NF research.

Drew is not alone in this fight; NF effects roughly 1:3,000 births in the U.S. and is in desperate need of new discovery. 100% of dollars raised through the Tumornators goes to the Children’s Tumor Foundation. Although Drew is no longer able to play at the concert due to paralyzation, he is still writing music and fighting everyday to return to the stage.

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