Wristband Craze is Trendy and Supportive
1/5/2005 Jacksonville, FL Kerry Sullivan - editor First Coast News Whether you are wearing one because it looks cool, or because you have been touched by someone with cancer, wristbands, like the yellow "Livestrong" bracelet by Lance Armstrong are becoming more popular than ever on the first coast. From the Avenues Mall to the soccer fields at Jacksonville University, everyone is wearing them. For Freshman Courtney Eppleman, her "Livestrong" wristband is in honor of her grandfather who died of throat cancer last year. "If I can save one life by wearing it, then I feel good," says Eppleman. Eppleman is one of dozens of ladies on the team who wears her wristband proudly. Their coach, Chris Kouns, got them started with a kickout cancer match when he took the head coaching job last year. They haven't taken them off since. "My father is a cancer survivor so it meant a lot to me to do this. They had a kickout cancer match up north where I came from, but not down here," Kouns says. While the yellow "Livestrong" wristbands seem to be the most popular, another color is getting all the attention on the first coast. "I don't take mine off," Patty Gruelle says. Gruelle is a breast cancer survivor two times around. The "Livestrong" wristband was the inspiration behind her latest project, pink "Carpe Diem" breast cancer wristbands. Gruelle teamed up with the Donna Hicken foundation to seize the day and support the disease. She says it's so important [...]