Keith Reynolds Supports Jimmy Fund After ‘Miracle’ Saved His Life

BOSTON -- Twenty-five years ago, Keith Reynolds went to Boston Children's Hospital for what he thought was infectious mononucleosis. The diagnosis was much more severe when he found out he had leukemia.

Reynolds, 45, is forever thankful his mother brought him to Children's where he was able to become a part of the Jimmy Fund family.

"Miracle, life-saving. It's a second family," Reynolds told NESN.com on Wednesday. "I mean, it's everything. Just amazing. I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for the Jimmy Fund and all the money raised."

The Jimmy Fund supports the fight against cancer at Boston's Dana-Farber Cancer Institute to help sustain ground-breaking clinical trials and the development of new cancer-fighting drugs and technology.

The Quincy, Mass. native received one of those experimental drugs that is now obsolete thanks to the research done at Dana-Farber through the money raised from the Jimmy Fund and beat leukemia twice.

"It worked excellent at the time," Reynolds said. "But now we've gotten to newer, better things. So it's amazing how each year or years, the technology, the medicine, everything changes. That experiment is very, very old and not around anymore. ... Technologies and medicines have come a long way each year all because of the money raised with these events."

Reynolds not only gives monetarily each year to the Jimmy Fund, but he's been volunteering at the WEEI/NESN Jimmy Fund Radio-Telethon for 19 years.

"It's just amazing," Reynolds said of the event. "I try to give back as much as I can to the Jimmy Fund and Dana-Farber, because like I said, I wouldn't be here. I'm thankful and I just try and give back as much as I can.

"It's great to meet people and to give patients that I see (support) so they don't think it's just a life sentence. There's a cure."

When Reynolds, a lifelong Red Sox fan, was going through his treatment, he had the opportunity to meet one of his idols Ted Williams, and the original "Jimmy," Einar Gustafson who was a 12-year-old lymphoma patient in 1948.

He reflected on how cancer touches everyone, one way or another, and hopes people continue to support the Jimmy Fund.

"Everything all adds up," Reynolds said. "It's gonna affect your life somehow. It already has in everyone's life and it all adds up.

"Say someone donates a $1 at the Red Sox game and there's 30,000 fans in the stands, that's $30,000. So, $1, $5, $10; whatever you can afford. Every little bit helps and it all adds up."