Saturday, June 16, 2007

A very special evening...

Last night my friend Susan hosted a trunk show at her home. A dozen or so women showed up to nosh and to buy clothes. Susan's proceeds from the event are being donated to this walk. When Lauren and I walked into the event, we knew Susan and one other person. By the end of the evening, I think we had spoken with everyone -- each had their own unique perspective on how breast cancer had affected them or someone they knew. Many had told Susan in advance that they would be taking the money they would have spent on clothes and donating it to my walk.

Though I thought I had been prepared in orientation sessions for the extremely emotional connections that are made through this event, I found myself overwhelmed by the generosity of women I had just met. When I walk at Green Lake wearing my 3 Day hat, I have gotten used to passers-by giving me a thumbs up or a smile of support. But this was helpful on a whole new level.

There's a large poster that everyone signed, with good wishes, that will be mine. It means every bit as much to me as the dollars that are raised from the event.

I was asked to say why I was doing the walk, and I talked too much around the question. What I should remember to say each time is that walking is nothing compared to round after round of chemotherapy or radiation. I am an extremely fortunate person, to have good health and excellent medical care myself. So I will do what I can to ensure that the money is there for medical research...including figuring out how to walk 60 miles in three days.

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