This past weekend I participated in Relay For Life by leading Team Stupid Cancer.
IT WAS AN INCREDIBLE EXPERIENCE!
I had never done a RFL event before so I had no idea what to expect. And it's possible that I wasn't the world's best team captain. But I am so grateful for the friends and family that joined the team. And everyone that stopped by to say "Hello" during the event.
This post would be incredibly long if I wrote about everything, but I just want to include the highlights:
Girl child and some of her friends joined the team!
Teen boy came to visit and walk some laps with his mom. And he didn't die.
Team Stupid Cancer was AWESOME! We raised over $3,500!
Yeah to Lynn who stayed the entire time with me!
Yeah to Shay who came at 3AM and walked through the early morning hours!
Awesome friends who came and walked an hour here and there, or stayed for awhile and put in MANY laps. Next year, we will track our laps walked better.
The luminaria ceremony was incredible! I wish I'd known just how moving it would be. I would've made sure that my whole team was there to experience it. And my friend Senator Andy Hill was the guest speaker for the ceremony so it felt even more special to me.
There was entertainment throughout the event, including a beauty pageant...where the guys did their best imitation of beauty queens. One of the teens I've known since he was very young participated in the event. It was so much fun to watch!
I felt loved all weekend because friends who were not participating kept stopping by to do a lap to two (or more), bring beverages and snacks, and just say hi and cheer us on. THANK YOU!
My survivor friends were out in force!!! Hooray to all of us! Keep up the fight!
Feeling like you missed out? Oh, you did. But not to worry. I will definitely be doing this again, and my goal is to have a HUGE team next year. You can join us!
Thank you to all of you that donated to the cause!
This weekend, I was invited to attend the annual Dance for a Cure event. This is an incredible evening of dancing, singing, stories, and speakers to raise money for cancer research.
2014 marked the 10th anniversary of the event and I am so glad that I was there. Terrific dancing by students of all ages, as well as professional troupes, and musicians coming together to put on an amazing show.
Additionally, I learned a new term: Cancer Champion. Several Cancer Champions (survivors) were recognized during the evening. I've decided that I really like this term and might start adopting it. We are champions indeed!
The highlight of the evening for me was the keynote speaker, Dr. Jim Olson of Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. He is leading the charge and making great breakthroughs in RESEARCH to CURE, not just treat. AMEN! This is exactly what we need more of. I was so glad that 75% of the $$$ raised from this event go directly to Dr. Olson and his research. (The remaining 25% goes to the Pete Gross House).
Seriously folks, look him up, see the amazing things that he's doing. Or find another center doing legitimate research looking for a cure and donate. The "Fund-an-Item" at this event went directly to Dr. Olson's lab. Keith couldn't get the cash out of his pocket fast enough. The discoveries being made will hopefully help someone else not have to go through ALL the surgeries I had to.
This is an annual event. PLEASE put it on your calendar for next year! Here's the link to their website so that you can learn the story of the incredible sisters that started this event (and why), and keep updated for the 2015 gala.
This past weekend was the 3Day Walk in Seattle. I was very lucky that the route passed close to my house so I could get out and cheer everyone on, especially those amazing friends walking for me (and many others who's lives have been touched by breast cancer).
Now, having walked the 3Day before myself (twice), I know what it's like to have people cheering you on...and passing out snacks. It is amazing how much farther your feet will go when you have some sugar! So I wanted to make sure that I was saying thank you (see my sign above) and offering some sugar treats for anyone that needed a little pick-me-up.
Another fun thing about the 3Day is all the people supporting the event and the crazy costumes and decorating of vehicles that you see. Plus, I love to see the walkers that have come up with great team names. (Probably because I suck at such creative endeavors). I think the best one I saw this year was a group of guys calling themselves the "Chesticles."
Once I figured out that the route would be in Redmond on Friday, I basically invited myself to a friend's house, who invited us to another friend's house where we camped out in lawn chairs in the front yard, eating hummus and drinking beverages while the walkers went by over the course of about 4 hours. Armed with a bag of candy to hand out, and a thank you sign that I had made, I was able to clap, cheer, and say thanks to everyone that passed by. It was a really fun time! And it reminded me why participating in this event is such a moving experience. (It also made me really want to walk in a 3Day again...soon. Maybe next year? I'd really like to walk with the whole family, but you have to be 16 so we have 5 years until AJ would be old enough. Maybe some of us (which one is going to take it for the team? Husband? Or surly teenage boy?) could walk next year...marking 1 year cancer-free. And then we could all walk in 5 years to mark that anniversary? Hmmm...this has potential...though I might have to start fundraising now. That's a LOT of $$$ to come up with).
Here are some highlights of the day:
I saw kilt guy! But I wasn't quick enough to snap his picture. Ask anyone that has ever walked a Seattle 3Day, and they will know who I'm talking about. LOVE THIS GUY!! And that he always walks...in a kilt and boots.
I was able to give a hug to someone I knew in high school but had NOT seen since graduation. What are the odds that I would have seen her amid the sea of walkers?! Okay, she saw me first, but you get the point...
Loved the people who painted their tractor pink and drove it around all day.
All the bicycle cops were sporting pink tires. Awesome!
I was presented with a "survivor" bracelet by this Seattle Police Officer. Normally, these bracelets are blue and black and worn in honor of fallen police officers. Someone in her precinct made them in pink/black for the event and she handed them out to those of us battling in honor of her own mother's fight with breast cancer. I did not get her name or her badge number/station, so I am incredibly lame, but am so honored to be wearing it. (Of course, when she pulled her vehicle over to stop and present me with the bracelet, some of the people cheering with me were scared they were in trouble for the beverages they were drinking, so that was a funny story in itself).
Here's a picture of my friend Julia and her group of friends (all moms of current/former Evergreen students).
Here's a picture of the Sole Mates (who were amazing enough to invite my family to join their families at their post-3Day dinner celebration). Two of their group is actually missing from the picture as they were not walking with the group at the time.
Here's my friend Deb and her son Nolan. So grateful to all of you that answered the plea and donated to the cause so that Nolan could participate in this experience! I think I might be interviewing him to find out what he thought about the weekend. Kudos to him...and his mom...I'm not sure I'd really want to walk 60+ miles with a teenager that was related to me. (Hmmm...maybe I should re-think my family fun idea above).
So grateful to all that walked! Glad to be there to say "thanks!"
I have had the honor and pleasure of walking in the 3Day twice (both times with my amazing friend Laurie!). Good God, did we have fun (although I'm not sure I would've classified it as "fun" while I was doing it...especially the year that it POURED rain on us). I would not trade the experience of walking in this event for anything, and someday, I hope to be able to do it again, as I now have a completely different perspective on it.
Almost immediately after I was diagnosed, my dear friend Deb decided that she was going to walk in this year's 3Day for me. And then, immediately after she decided to do that, her 16 year old son (a former student of mine), decided to join her. AWESOME! I love them both dearly for their commitment to the cause, and for their support of me. I hope that I can get out on the course and CHEER THEM ON in September! Please join me!
Here's the thing: in order to be able to walk in the 3Day, you have to raise $2,300. (Now, regardless what you might think about the recent politics of the Komen Foundation, this money does do good things. I wish that more of it went to research, but that's a discussion for another day). Having raised this money twice, I know that it's not easy to do, especially in this economy. I think one year, I went right down to the deadline before meeting the goal. Deb hit the $2,300 goal some time ago, but Nolan has not. When you are 16, not a lot of your friends have the kind of money, or the desire, to donate to your cause. Amazingly, he is a little over halfway there. And I think that we can put him over the top! If you have ever considered supporting a walker in the 3Day, this is your guy! (Thanks to those of you that already have, BTW). I donated my $25, and every little bit helps...even a few dollars.
I'm including his Facebook status the other day so you can see what kind of kid this is. Plus some pics: (1) me with him and his mom, and (2) the mohawk that he will sporting for the walk (which will, of course, be dyed pink). And please note, this kid just gave up participating in a music concert which he had been practicing for because he just found out it falls on the same weekend as the 3Day.
"Friends and family, This September I am taking part in the Susan G. Komen 3-day 60 mile walk for the cure. When I attended Evergreen Junior High school as a student, the librarian there eventually became a family friend of mine. Recently, (in 2012) she was diagnosed with breast cancer leaving her fighting but inspiring me. She is the reason I am walking in the 3-day. In order to walk I need to raise $2300; with your help I will be able to walk for her and the cure.
Thank you in advance for your support of my 3-day journey,
Nolan"
Love him as much as I do? Here's the link to donate to his efforts.
