Arm wrestling benefit to help QC woman with cancer
The Quad Cities community is rallying around Becky Wren of Rock Island, in her battle against a rare form of cancer.
A fundraiser to help with the 41-year-old woman’s expenses will be held Saturday, April 13th, from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m., at Bent River Brewing, 512 24th St., Rock Island.
It has been 17 months since Wren was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and she has rare mutations of the disease that has severely compromised her immune system. She had an intense and exhausting blood marrow transplant in February 2023. Afterwards, she isolated for three months while her immune system tried to rebuild itself.
“Unfortunately, the first transplant did not result as hoped. As disappointing as this is, Becky told me, ‘I can’t be sad, I have lived my life on my terms and the way I wished,” her friend and benefit organizer Suzon Robbins wrote on the Facebook event page.
She is in the process of seeking her second transplant. Wren has been back and forth to Loyola Medical Center in Chicago several times a week for the past several months. This has been not only been incredibly physically and emotionally difficult, but has been financially draining, Robbins said.
“We need to gather our friends, OUR TRIBES, together once again to help energize and LIFT UP this amazing woman in her journey of strength, AND hey, if we make some money to help her out, well, that would be super swell,” Robbins wrote.
Wren, a former commercial fisherman, was first diagnosed in September of 2022, did her first chemotherapy treatments in Peoria for six weeks, and usually has appointments at Loyola once or twice a week, including returning today for tests there.
AML starts in the bone marrow (the soft inner part of certain bones, where new blood cells are made), but most often it quickly moves into the blood, as well, according to American Cancer Society. It can sometimes spread to other parts of the body including the lymph nodes, liver, spleen, and central nervous system.
Wren had a bone marrow transplant, from her oldest brother, in February 2023 at Loyola. She had to be in isolation at a hotel for three months, within 45 minutes of the hospital, staying with her friend, Rock Island Ald. Dylan Parker.
She found out the last day of isolation that the transplant was not successful. She had received 85% of her brother’s marrow, but Wren recently found out that her bone marrow is now 88% back her own.
“So I’ve basically completely reversed since that transplant,” she said Monday. Wren also has rare mutations of the AML, which makes it harder to treat.
“I found out yesterday that now my numbers are going back up, which means that now I’m not responding to the chemo,” she said. “It just means that like all the chemo that they’ve tried and the treatments — nothing got me to remission. Even if I were to achieve remission, I’ll be on a multitude of medications indefinitely.”
Wren is pursuing possible matches to see if a second transplant is available to her.
The most recent pivot to her plan, a series of Donor Lymphocyte Infusions are the closest and best bet to get her to remission status so that a second transplant would be possible, she said.
The American Cancer Society estimates about 11,220 deaths from AML in 2024. It is fairly rare overall, accounting for only about 1% of all cancers.
Thankful for help
Wren is very grateful for the outpouring of support from friends and family.
“It’s just incredible. I’ve received so much help and support from my community. I didn’t realize how vast my community is until this,” she said. “I’ve always been involved in a lot of different areas for the Quad Cities, but I kind of didn’t realize just how that my community is and my support circles.”
“Cancer is scary but so is going at it alone,” Robbins said Monday. Her late husband, Kevin, died from a brain tumor (at age 29) in December 1999.
“The fact that everyone loves Becky and appreciates what she has offered our community, has putting together this benefit incredibly easy,” Robbins said. “And Saturday would have been Kevin’s 54th birthday.”
Since Wren has a compromised immune system, she’s much more susceptible to infections, from a finger cut for example.
“It got infected immediately. Like, it was incredible how fast the infection happened and I was having some issues like that,” Wren recalled.
When she was in isolation after the first transplant, she began doing watercolor painting and selling her art.
Wren has a small partnership between Spring Forward Learning Center and World Relief, teaching art and literacy to English learning families.
“My doctor has advised me to not have that job because of the exposure risk, but I’m having a hard time staying away,” she said. “I can’t do it every week just because it takes a lot of energy, but I really enjoy it and it helps me to still be participating in the community.”
“Because my platelets are very low, and so if I fall, I’m at risk of internal bleeding or, if I get cut, I’m a higher risk for infection and I just don’t have the strength and energy, day to day,” Wren said.
“It really just varies day to day what I am capable of. It’s taken a lot of getting used to,” she said. “Prior to my diagnosis, I was commercial fishing. I worked at Circa and The Speakeasy (bussing tables and bartending). I worked at the Karpeles Museum. I worked with Living Lands and Waters.
“I had all these different jobs that I was working and it’s taken a lot of adjustment to now. Now my full-time job is going to doctor’s appointments,” Wren said.
LL&W (for whom she has done tree planting and wrapping) is donating trophies for the April 13 fundraiser, as well as serving as announcers.
Wren and Robbins have been longtime friends and she’s amazed at the work she’s put into this benefit.
“Suzon has just been incredible. I contacted her about helping promote the event and she’s taken on so much of it with collecting donations and planning things,” Wren said. “She just keeps telling me, Becky, I don’t want you to worry about it. I just want you to be able to be there and have fun.”
“Last year, my parents did a lot with planning a few fundraisers. But Suzon has even been telling my mom the same thing. Don’t worry about it, I got it. So I’m incredibly grateful for her support,” she added.
“It’s pretty amazing. I’m glad to have so much community,” Wren said.
Staying philosophical
Wren said her philosophy of life is: “Keep busy, do awesome stuff.”
“When I was diagnosed, I didn’t have any fear or regret because I’ve kept busy and I’ve done awesome stuff. Like I just, I had a cool life,” she said. “If I can keep doing stuff like teach the art and literacy program, it’s just another thing that I knew at an early age that I didn’t wanna have kids and I love kids and I have my nieces and nephews are very dear to me, but my situation would be so much different if I had kids,” she said.
“I’ve had to adapt and pivot,” Wren added. “My best friend Beth uses the word pivot. Every time a treatment fails, we say we’re gonna pivot, now we got it. All these different things that I’ve done in my life, it’s just when an opportunity presents itself, I’ve gone for it because why not? It’s just allowed me to meet so many great people and be involved in so many cool things.
“To some people bussing tables at my age. Well, at the time I was like 39, but bussing tables at Circa wouldn’t appeal to most people my age,” Wren said. “But I was just like, they needed the help.”
A nurse at UnityPoint in Moline suggested to her having an arm-wrestling tournament (“Be Strong For Becky”) as part of her next fundraiser, so that’s the theme for Saturday at Bent River. Professional arm wrestlers will be referees.
Pre-registration is required HERE and all the $20 fee will go to Wren. There will be many baked goods for sale, and raffle/auction items include gift cards, a keg party from Wake Brewing, a Putnam Museum tour from Kelly Lao, massages, art, and music lessons from Jonnie Cluney and Jeff Jackson.
If you are unable to join the event, you can donate at a GoFundMe for Wren HERE.
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