Cheltenham graduate Stephanie Jacobson, who went on to play lacrosse at Hofstra, is one of nine finalists for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society Woman of the Year Award.
By Mike Prince
On the 149th day of training, still with more than 100 days to go until her ultimate goal of competing in the Ironman Lake Placid event, Stephanie Jacobson finally broke down.
Emotionally, physically, mentally – she let it all out. All of the messages she had gotten, all of the donations she had received and all the inspiration she obtained from numerous supporters had finally gotten the best of her.
“I’ve never really shown how vulnerable or touched I am by each story or my own history with cancer, but today I thought about how this Ironman will be me closing the book,” Steph said in a video she posted on Instagram. “It won’t ever be the end, but it will be me moving on from seven years of fundraising, training and completely dedicating myself to the cause.”
That’s exactly what Steph has been doing for the last seven years. She has dedicated her life to giving back to those less fortunate than her – kids and adults struggling with cancer or those living with loved ones with the terrible disease. She made it a point to live each and every day to help people who may need even the tiniest bit of support.
And throughout that entire time, no matter how tired she may have been or how emotionally taxing her experiences were, she never gave up.
Steph, 33, grew up in Elkins Park, Pa and is a Class of 2000 graduate of Cheltenham High School. After graduating from Hofstra University, Steph moved to New York City, where she currently works as a senior manager of sponsorships for the New York Red Bulls professional soccer club. In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with her extremely supportive boyfriend, Cameron, and also dressing up her partner in crime, an almost-six-year-old golden doodle named Samson, in various outfits from her own wardrobe.
Steph’s support system goes well beyond that, though. Her parents, Mindy Jacobson-Levy and Paul Levy – both Elkins Park residents – have been her main support system over the years. The hundreds of people who send her messages every week give her the will to continue. The people she trains with, all of the wonderful and generous people who have made donations to help her reach her goal – they all give her everything she needs to keep going.
And right now, what she’s striving towards is the Ironman Lake Placid (also known as Ironman USA), a triathlon that takes place in Lake Placid, NY and the surrounding Adirondack Mountains. It is the longest-running triathlon in North America, and considered the second most difficult in the world.
For this specific race, however, Steph is not jut competing for self-satisfaction or for some record time. On July 26, just days after Steph will be celebrating her birthday, the Cheltenham graduate will be competing in the annual endurance test to try and reach her goal of raising more than $100,000 for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (LLS), an organization that has named Jacobson as one of nine finalists for the LLS Woman of the Year Award.
Since Nov. 1, shortly after receiving inspiration from others with cancer, others missing limbs and people who are sick and overcame huge challenges, Steph has been training for this event. She has given every last ounce of energy into making sure her body and her mind are both ready for what is sure to be one of the longest, most grueling days of her life.
And if she can raise enough money, she will be in line to receive the prestigious award, something that would cap off a seven-year stretch that has given Steph more heartache, more memories and more gainsand losses than she could have ever imagined.
“They have to feel that you’ve done your due diligence to even get nominated within the community,” said Steph, who was hand-selected as one of the final nine women going against each other on a national stage. “I was contacted by a committee member, and I initially said I was not interested in running. But I started talking with people who said I deserve this and deserve the recognition, so I did it.
“It’s been such a long time that I’ve been involved in the cancer community, so if I won, I guess it would be some kind of external validation. People send me personal messages every day. You look at stories about families every day. If I didn’t win, I wouldn’t be that upset because I’ve done so much over the last seven years, but it would still mean a lot to look back at everything I’ve done.”
The competition stacks up the nine women in a 10-week campaign, but Steph really doesn’t need an award to prove to herself what she’s done over the years. Even if someone else raises more money than her, nothing will match what she’s raised since 2008. And whatever the final number is, it won’t change what she’s seen and experienced during that time.
Initially, Steph’s desire to join this cause started when her friend, Nick Colleluori, the founder of the HEADstrong Foundation, died of non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma in 2006.
“After (Nick) died, I wanted to do something to honor him, so I ran the NYC Marathon for Pediatric Cancer in 2008,” Steph said. “A few years later, another colleague died of leukemia, and I realized there needed to be more awareness and funding going into what happened, so I decided to do a triathlon.”
Over the last seven years, Steph has participated in nine events – all of which raised money towards helping those with cancer – including the 2010-14 NYC triathlons, as well as the half-Ironman 70.3 Mont Tremblant and Light the Night, a walk done through LLS.
All of the events that Steph has participated in have been with Team and Training, a program also through LLS. That program is what led Steph to be introduced to Maja and Vida, a pair of five-year-old girls living with cancer in Norway.
The story of Steph, Maja and Vida is a heartwarming one, spanning opposite ends of the spectrum from tragic to joyous, heartbreaking to uplifting, with one very difficult ending and one which is very hard not to smile about after seeing the most recent outcome.
At a fundraiser with the Ronald McDonald House in NYC in 2010, Steph met a little girl named Maja, a five-and-a-half-year old sweetheart who Jacobson instantly fell in love with. Maja didn’t speak English very well, but one thing she shared with Steph was her love of cookies.
“I ended up playing with (Maja) at the cookie station, which is ironic, because all I do is eat cookies!” Steph exclaimed. “I fell in love with her that night.”
Maja was getting treatment for Neuroblastoma, an aggressive form of childhood cancer. With the support of her sister, her parents and Steph, Maja continued her treatment despite many hardships, many side effects and many restless nights.
Steph also was introduced to Vida, another five-year-old who stole her heart from the very moment the two girls met. Vida was suffering from the same disease as Maja, and also had the support of a sister, two parents and eventually, a stranger-turned-big-sister in Steph.
“We were the ‘Three Musketeers’ when we were together,” Steph said. “I made sure to be there not only for the two girls but for their families. No one ever asks about the siblings and wonders how they’re doing. I made sure they knew they were special and helped them through difficult times.”
Sadly, just eight months after Steph was introduced to the second cancer-stricken girl from Norway, Vida passed away before reaching her sixth birthday. After spending four days a week with Vida during what were easily the hardest months of her short stint on this planet, Steph had lost another friend, and she started realizing the emotional toll that comes with the type of work in which she had gotten herself involved.
“Some days, I think Vida is still here,” Steph said. “Her Make-a-Wish was to take me to Disney. She passed away before getting her wish, and when people get in that situation, I just try to help and get donations. When they need fundraising and support, they get in touch with me. When they die, it feels like ‘there goes another one’ so it can be pretty hard to process. You just have to know that you did whatever you could for them in the meantime while they were still around.
“It takes a huge emotional toll. I wasn’t ready to say goodbye to her. I visited these families I met in NYC at a cancer awareness center, and that turned into my grieving. Vida called my name as she was dying, but I had to remain strong and happy for the other girls
Maja’s story, however, has a much happier ending. In fact, Maja’s most recent scans came back showing no evidence of any disease. Coming up on her 10th birthday, Maja now has a chance to live a long, happy, cancer-free life.
These are the kind of moments that Steph lives for.
“Every time Maja gets clean scans, it’s like her lease on life was just extended,” Steph said. “We will always be nervous. As her dad says, ‘It only takes one cell.’ But many times, we thought it was the end, and she keeps fighting. If she were to go, I honestly don’t know what I would do. I think my heart would break forever. But she is living and smiling – and skiing!”
As of Monday, Steph had trained for nearly 180 days for the Ironman event. Her woman of the year campaign ends after 10 weeks on June 4, and right now, she’s all about the task at hand.
Steph still comes back to train in Philadelphia, especially since it is a much easier city to bike and run in than NYC. She has a coach who gives her a lesson every day. Every step she takes is monitored, every workout is documented and every mile she runs is another mile towards being where she wants to be this summer.
Steph is doing all of this despite some extremely painful injuries. She has a torn meniscus, a torn labrum and metal in her foot. But none of that stops her. Despite her ailments, she still wakes up at 4 a.m. three days a week, and before 6 every other morning.
She has the support of many, and she is given the strength she needs from Maja to finish that last tenth of a mile when her entire body is burning and she feel like she can’t go on.
Steph deserves a story. She deserves support, and while everything she has done has been for others, she deserves to be given something back after years of hard work and dedication.
Steph will tell you, however, that all of this is for girls like Vida, who will never be forgotten.
“I think about her every minute,” Steph said. “Sometimes I have to remember it’s OK to not think about her in order to just breathe. She is every beat of my heart. I still feel her hand in mine. My life will never be the same without her.”
To donate money and show your support to Steph and the entire cause, please visit this link:
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