Merrill Ann Culverhouse

“Dad has cancer.” Those words brought me to my knees in the middle of 6th grade history class.

Everything that once seemed so important to me now seemed so trivial. My perspective on life changed in a matter of seconds. As the word of his cancer diagnosis traveled, I only wanted to hide from it. As a 12–year-old, what else could I do? The discussions of chemotherapy, wills, plans to sell the pharmacy he worked so hard to build, genetic testing, and radiation therapy forced me to grow up quickly. I could not help but think about how he would never see me graduate high school, college, professional school, or walk me down the aisle on my wedding day.

On Easter Sunday, we took a trip to the beach to escape the whispering and sympathetic looks from neighbors. After the sermon of a church we found on Google, we decided to utilize their Prayer Team. Here, we met a family who was once in a similar situation as ours. They shared with our family that their daughter was diagnosed with a rare form of eye cancer and, at the time, was not expected to live long; however, she made a miraculous recovery and was currently celebrating her first year being cancer-free. While we were at lunch, discussing the doctors’ appointments for the week, they dropped off a CD of John Hagee’s Healing Scriptures. From the car ride home that afternoon, through treatment, and up and until surgery, where dad was declared cancer-free, that was the background music of my life. What a miracle to have originally been diagnosed with Stage IV colon and kidney cancer to now being a testament that God is still in the miracle-working business.

After discharge from the hospital, numerous organizations reached out asking dad to speak of his unique cancer journey. Usually, he would bring me along where I would be asked about my experience; however, I was not satisfied with just speaking. I decided to turn my words into actions and started my quest to shine a light on this disease that has affected over 1.5 million Americans. Over the past decade, I have been dedicated to educating my community, state, and nation on the importance of taking accountability for their health.

At the age of 16, I applied to attend Fight Colorectal Cancer’s Call on Congress and had the life-changing opportunity to attend as their youngest lobbyist. Here, I successfully petitioned for increased funding and to remove barriers preventing colonoscopies for patients on Medicare. Not only did this experience help me realize my occupational goals, but it also showed me an untapped resource within my community. On the bus ride to the capital, I sat beside Dr. Roy Duhe, who created the first colon cancer awareness car tag in the nation. Long after the conference ended, Dr. Duhe’s guidance inspired me to create the nation’s second colon cancer awareness car tag.

The biggest challenge was not the designing, fundraising, or copious amounts of paperwork, it was finding organizations that would take me seriously. As a high school junior, what did I know about hardships? What real-world experiences did I have to contribute? Actually, a lot. After calling, emailing, visiting, and writing to organizations across the country seeking support, I finally received my first “yes.”

Rumpshaker Inc., the sole non-profit dedicated to colon cancer awareness in Alabama, is dedicated to raising awareness and funds for colon cancer across the state. I believed a partnership would benefit us both. Rumpshaker was so gracious to assist in my efforts and was a driving force in getting the green light from the Department of Revenue for the generation of a car tag dedicated to the cause. Upon approval of production, I worked to spread the word to secure pre-commitments. Visiting surgery centers, golf tournaments, 5Ks, pharmacies, Rotary Clubs, doctors offices, radio shows, Kiwanis Clubs, city festivals, news stations, civic clubs, and various conferences across the state certainly paid off. When the car tag becomes fully funded, it will generate over $100,000 for families across the state of Alabama in need of financial and emotional support during such a pivotal moment in their lives. It is truly remarkable to reflect on such a dark moment in life and to see the positive outcome it has produced - not only for me and my family, but for countless other families across the State of Alabama. For without it, I would not be the person I am today. My hope for the future is to create a personal, long-standing relationship with Rumpshaker Inc. and Fight Colorectal Cancer to assist in networking with Congress members and lobbying on behalf of people like my dad. Thankfully, my dad is still one of my biggest cheerleaders and