Last modified: Wednesday, January 18, 2006 9:55
AM PST
Robyn Raphael has
devoted her life to raising money for the fight
against childhood cancer since the passing of
her son, Keaton, pictured in 1998 shortly before
his death. courtesy
Roseville woman featured on
NBC's 'Today Show'
By: Jeffrey Weidel, The
Press-Tribune
Life has never been much of a
cruise for Robyn Raphael, who has been forced to
deal with serious tragedy. But now, due to
national recognition, the Roseville woman may be
literally cruising the rest of her
life.
For people who decided to sleep in
Monday due to the Martin Luther King Jr.
holiday, chances are they missed a taped segment
of NBC's "Today Show" that featured the
inspirational stories of Raphael and two other
women who are vying to be the "Godmother" of
Royal Caribbean's newest ship, the Freedom of
the Seas.
The winner of the national
contest will be awarded a 12-day cruise for two
each year for the rest of their life.
The
announcement will come on the "Today Show"
during the Winter Olympics, which run Feb.
10-26.
Raphael has devoted her life to
raising money in the fight against childhood
cancer since the death of her son, Keaton, in
1998. Coping with lost loved ones has become all
too common. Her mother died when she was 10 and
she also lost a sister and brother-in-law in a
fatal accident.
"The love of my son
(Keaton) has been the inspiration for all of
this," said Raphael, who watched the popular
morning show Monday with friends, relatives and
her family. "I can't lie; it would be great to
go on a free cruise every year. But for me, the
bigger thing is the awareness aspect for
childhood cancer."
A 90-second segment of
Raphael and the two other finalists aired
Tuesday and two more are planned for Wednesday
and Thursday on the "Today Show." The winner
will be decided by an online vote.
To
vote, visit http://www.today.msnbc.com/
and click on "Who should be Godmother." All
votes must be submitted by 6 p.m.
Friday.
Not long after Keaton died at age
5 following a nine-month battle with
Neuroblastoma (cancer of the nervous system), a
grieving Raphael and her husband, Kyle, started
the Keaton Raphael Memorial. The couple have two
other children, Kyle, 11, and daughter Kiana,
6.
The memorial became the couple's
passion, especially Robyn. To date she has
raised $800,000 with a number of fund-raisers,
including an annual golf tournament. This fal,
after presenting a $50,000 check to the U.C.
Davis Cancer Center, an indoor play area in the
facility was named after Keaton.
"As far
as I'm concerned, she does everything but walk
on water," said U.C. Davis Dr. Douglas
Taylor.
In typical fashion, Raphael
didn't think she would be able to view the final
three "Today Show" segments this week. She was
making her annual trip Tuesday to Washington,
D.C., where she is an advocate during talks
about increasing research funding for childhood
cancer.
"Robyn dedicates her whole life
to her family and this cause," said friend
Trisha Endicott of Roseville, who nominated
Raphael for the contest.
Looking to book
a cruise, Endicott was on the Royal Caribbean
Web site in November when she happened to see
the contest. She immediately thought of her
friend and entered, writing an essay.
"I
didn't tell anyone about it, not even my husband
(Gene)," Endicott said. "Then I totally forgot
all about it until the phone call came (Dec.
20). It about knocked my socks
off."
Picked as one of six finalists
among the 6,000 to 7,000 entries, Raphael and
her husband were flown Jan. 2 to Miami for an
interview. She met with Royal Caribbean CEO Adam
Fain and President Adam Goldstein, impressing
them with her dedication and
sincerity.
"I didn't want to go there and
sell myself, I just talked about my passion for
what I'm doing," Raphael said. "I was floored
just being nominated."
The two other
finalists are Katherine Louise Calder of
Portland, Ore., and Ieta Kimbrough of
Indianapolis.
Calder has been a foster
parent to more than 400 children in the last 27
years. Kimbrough overcame homelessness and
domestic violence as a young mother and
eventually founded The House of Refuge in 2001,
a support system for victims of domestic
violence in Indiana.
A "Today Show" film
crew showed up at the Raphael home Jan. 9 and
spent the entire day, following the family
around. The footage from that visit formed the
segments shown this week.
"This is such a
good thing happening to a wonderful family,"
said Endicott, who was shown talking about
Raphael in Monday's "Today Show" segment. "It
has never been about Robyn and her family. So
this is the family's chance to have something
good happen to them; plus it's a chance to get
her message out."
