It’s not known what the cancer


made of her ferocity, but it seemed clear what her fellow support group members thought: “They were look- ing at me like I was insane,” she said, laughing joyously.


Things get ugly There was precious little joy and


not much laughing during Bongirno’s 10 months of cancer treatments, in- cluding four months of chemo. “It sucks,” Bongirno said. “You’re


sick all the time and I was extremely sick. I had a negative reaction to che- mo.”


It’s a fight no one wins alone, and


Bongirno had some powerful allies. Her husband, Keith, of course, and skating friends such as Les Ascher and Jenny Needham-Semaca. In a now-seemingly bygone era when email was still a novelty, Ascher sent Bongirno a message of support every single day for 10 straight months while she grew weaker and weaker during chemo. “I can’t even tell you how much


[Les’ emails] lifted me up or how much I looked forward to those lifelines of support every day,” she said. “And Jenny called when I got really sick and low and talked about skating again, what my dress would be like and what music I’d skate to.”


Olympian Emily Hughes and U.S. junior pairs champion Lee Harris share an embrace at Skate for Hope. Both skaters’ moms had breast cancer and both have honored their moms at SFH. Harris’ mother lost her battle to cancer.


During treatment, Bongirno took


trips to the RDV rink when she felt up to it and learned an unexpected les- son there. The young skaters there knew her and were curious about her illness. “I realized that as a cancer patient


you get to fight, but that your family members feel powerless and can only watch,” Bongirno said. Listening to the young girls at RDV


express their fears for their aunt, or mom or grandma who’d been diag- nosed with cancer, Bongirno knew she wanted someday to find a way to help them cope.


“It killed me to see those kids so


terrified,” she said. Hope from a bucket


Inspiration can come from any-


where. “Sitting at home after my final


round of chemo, bald and throwing up in a bucket, I decided I would never again waste time doing a job I didn’t like,” Bongirno said. “I asked myself, ‘If I could wake up tomorrow and have my dream career, what would it be?’ The answer was working for “Stars on Ice.” But they weren’t hiring and I didn’t know anybody there anyway.” Although “Stars” was out of reach,


that dream proved to be the steel that struck a spark against the flint of Bon- girno’s wish to help cancer patients’ families.


Skate for Hope Although the story has a fairy tale


ending, it took Bongirno years of hard work, a move back to her hometown of Columbus, Ohio, and hundreds of calls to the IRS to untangle the mess of red tape it takes to form a 501(c)(3) char- ity before she could even think about putting a single skater on the ice for her brainchild, Skate for Hope. Her drive and persistence have


paid off in nearly $600,000 raised to fight cancer so far, with help from some of the sport’s biggest stars. “Carolyn’s strength is demonstrat-


ed not only by surviving cancer, but by taking her experience and putting it into creating a show that has an impact on so many lives,” 2006 U.S. Olympian Emily Hughes said. “It’s hard to do and Carolyn has done it so well.” Hughes, whose mother, Amy, is


herself a breast cancer survivor, has skated in every show since 2005, and


Former Team USA’s Christina Gao honors her mother during the program’s special ceremony.


honored her mother at last year’s Skate for Hope. “It is so special,” Hughes said. “My mom has been there through every- thing: The good, the bad, the practic- es, the highs, the lows. To be able to dedicate my skating to her at the show was so powerful. My mom doesn’t like to be in the spotlight, but she was so touched when I presented her with a medal last year.” After 11 years in Ohio, Skate for


Hope moved to Florida in 2015. The 14th Skate for Hope will be held June 17 at Florida Hospital Center Ice in Wesley Chapel. Visit skateforhope.org to buy tickets and make a donation.


Finding the center At the heart of every Skate for Hope


show is a simple ceremony: “Cancer survivors are seated in the front row,” Bongirno explained. “A daughter, or granddaughter or sister or niece, or whoever, skates over to them with an engraved crystal pendant to honor them. At the end the whole building just erupts.” Perhaps the most poignant ex-


change came when Bongirno’s daugh- ter Natalie, 5 years old at the time, (she’s 14 now), handed her a pendant in 2007. “Skate for Hope is my fulfilled


dream to help children and teens bet- ter cope when someone they love has been touched by cancer,” Bongirno said. “It has taught me many lessons, the greatest being, that no matter what hardship we face in our lives, good can grow from it. Never cower from adversity. Rise up in every way and walk through it. Always get up.”


SKATING 39


PHOTO COURTESY OF LEAH ADAMS


PHOTO COURTESY OF LEAH ADAMS


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