At the conclusion of the Athletes Unlimited Softball League All-Star Cup, Athletes Unlimited, powered by Give Lively and the Give Lively Foundation, will make a grant equal to 100% of each competitor’s win bonus to the organization of their choice.
Throughout the AUSL All-Star Cup, we’ll spotlight athletes each week, sharing the personal stories behind the organizations they’re representing and the impact they hope to make both on and off the field.
Portland Cascade outfielder Kendra Falby selected Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Florida, an organization with a deeply personal connection to her family. Before Falby was born, Moffitt helped save her father Kent’s life following a leukemia diagnosis.
A Lifetime With Her Dad
Q: Why was Moffitt Cancer Center the organization you wanted to support?
Falby: My parents got married in November of 2001, and then seven months later, they found out that my mom was pregnant with me. Four days later, my dad, Kent, was diagnosed with leukemia.
He was treated at Moffitt Cancer Center, and he was one of the small number of patients given what was known as the German protocol, and he was one of the very few who survived. During treatment, he developed PCP pneumonia, and he was placed in an induced coma for 10 days. He survived that, and he survived a blood clot that traveled through his lungs.
As my dad’s in this induced coma, my mom went for a sonogram and found out they were having a girl. After he came out of that coma and moved back to the regular room, my mom showed him the sonogram video. He got put in the ICU and had an 18% chance to live, and then he survived.
Why I’m supporting Moffitt is because they saved my dad’s life. Him being able to watch me play softball and him being healthy and everything is obviously just the biggest blessing. So, I want to give back to Moffitt.
Giving Another Family More Time
Q: Knowing what Moffitt was able to do for your dad, what would it mean to help bring more awareness and funding to the center?
Falby: They didn’t just give my dad a second chance at life. They gave me a lifetime with my dad. That’s kind of how we look at it.
Just being able to donate money and have that go back to Moffitt so that another kid has their parent’s life saved or their grandparent’s life is just huge because of the percentages that were put in front of us before I was even born, and just what Moffitt was able to do with the different treatments.
Giving back to Moffitt, just because he’s been healthy ever since and has been able to come to all my softball games and all the things, would mean everything and more.
Supporting the Entire Family
Q: How important is it to support the families of patients going through cancer treatment, too?
Falby: The patient is one thing, but then you also have to think about the families that are going through this in that time too. You never know where someone’s at in their life, and obviously it’s not the cheapest thing to be handling either, and it’s probably the hardest time of your life to be dealing with it.
So, just the money being able to go to support the families, I think, is super, super important, just to give them more comfort in the time. That’s another benefit of Moffitt and everything that they do for their patients and the families involved too.
A Cause Close to Home
Q: What was your family’s reaction when they learned you chose Moffitt?
Falby: They definitely knew because that’s when I started asking more questions because this happened before I was born. So, I found out more a little bit over time. But it’s also one of those things that my dad crushed it, killed it. It’s not one that he loves to talk about, if that makes sense.
I didn’t see my dad’s reaction, but my mom said that he was definitely, you know, dad sunglasses on, probably a little teary-eyed. But they thought it was super, super cool.
I’m going to see when I get back to Tampa if there are different service things that I can do, even if it’s just going and visiting and stuff. It’s very, very important to us. My mom’s still in contact with the doctor that saved my dad’s life, so it’s a pretty big deal for my family.
A Message of Hope
Q: What do you hope someone whose life is being affected by cancer can take away from your family’s story?
Falby: I just hope that they know that there is hope and that you can beat it. Just keep fighting. I know it’s cliche and people are like, ‘Keep fighting,’ but it’s true.
My dad kept fighting because he was told that he was going to have a baby girl, and he was like, ‘I’m not going to leave my wife to raise a family.’
There is hope. Dig deep and know that you can survive it, and that there are things that are happening around that will allow you to survive it. But just keep fighting.
Learn more about Athletes Unlimited’s Athlete Causes program.
Check back each week during the AUSL All-Star Cup as we spotlight a new athlete and the organization they’re supporting.
Siera Jones is the digital media reporter at Athletes Unlimited. You can follow her on Instagram and X @sieraajones.