Racing to Save Lives

Welcome

to my Team In Training home page.

I'm training to participate in an 1/2 marathon as a member of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's (LLS) Team In Training on June 6th in San Diego, CA. All of us on Team In Training are raising funds to help stop leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin lymphoma and myeloma from taking more lives. I am completing this event in memory of my Uncle Dave and all individuals who are battling blood cancers. My uncle past away from Leukemia on June 4th, 2008. He fought the diesease by making sure that the disease didn't stop him from living his life, no matter what it did to him physically. My aunt stood by him through it all. They had a love that was strong and could endure any challenge.

The expense that accures to fight this disease is unbelievable and many people are unaware of the medical bills that the families encounter while trying to fight this disease. Even with insurance, the bills are still extremely high and only some of the medications and treatments are covered. Team in Training wants to find a cure for Leukemia, but realizes that any help made along the way to help these families is beneficial and needed.

I want to give to this cause doing what I do best----RUN. My uncle will be remembered for many reasons, but the one that I believe is remembered most is the love and passion he had for his motorcycle- he never gave up on it (no matter how much work he had to do on it or how many times it would break down). When he rode- his hair flew back and his checks got red from the sun and he sat up tall taking in his surrondings. When I run for him, these will be the memories that I will carry with me and no matter how many obstacles I come along across the way, I will remember my Uncle's motorcyle and know that when he was faced with a challenge, whether his bike or fighting leukemia, he never gave up and lived his life! My uncle and everyone facing this battle are the real heroes on our team, and we need your support to cross the ultimate finish line - a cure!

PLEASE READ MY SISTER"S STORY

Every Loving Memory

My father and I glide up the driveway, its wet and slick. The sky is crying. People are gathered in a circle slowly chatting away every loving memory. I see a distant figure, a woman, with red eyes, and a face of heartbreak tattooed on her beautiful skin. Step by step I drag my feet trying to imagine his footprints that once covered the driveway, and matching mine into his like a child on the beach. The air is warm but my skin was cold, standing my arm hair on end. A warm embrace engulfs me, but a cold tear runs down my neck-she’s crying. A truck never to be driven again is messaged by the hand of an angel, wiping the tiny tear droplets from heaven off of its midnight black paint. A cloud of silence is hovering over us now, with only the pitter-patter of the rain slapping the ground in the background. The gremlins of silent tears are scratching at my throat. I have the mighty hand of God over my mouth, I want to speak but the sound of my breaking heart is louder than my silent words. I listen as a tragic, unfair story ends as quickly as it began. I’m not ready for this I can’t handle it. A solid rock seems to absorb my body, my father has the hands of steel, but today, they were like feathers upon my back. The levee breaks and my tears flood his shirt.

The woman, my aunt whispers to me under faint tears and silent gasps for air “do you want to see him-to say goodbye?†The question is running through my mind faster than my mind could think.

“I came to say goodbye and that’s what I am here to do, I have to.†I said with make-up stained cheeks. I slowly begin up the driveway and after what feels like ten years of walking I come to the door. The sound of silence is deafening. I look around and examine a house that I know quite well but this time there’s a different feeling floating around in the air. Boots that never got their last wearing are neatly left next to the doormat. A shirt draped over the back of a chair with every intention of being worn again. I walk inside, waiting for the familiar sound “hey kiddo!†to roll off of my uncles tongue, but it was just quiet. I step over the doorframe, a blast of air hits me, and I feel like I was transferred into an unknown world; while exploring I trace my finger over everything, hoping it was something he was connected to. I paused, waiting for the pinch to bring me back to reality, to show me that my uncle hugging me a little too tight was the cause of my tightening lungs, but I just waited. Standing there brought me back to the last hug I received from him. I was saying my goodbyes to my family but I saved my last hug and kiss for the best. I told him “I will see you soon, I love you.†I never thought it would be the last time. My legs grew weak during my wait for something I knew would never come; this house was left with every intention of my best friend coming home. The rain continued-the cross I wear that symbolizes hope and faith now I find it entangled around my fingers dangling from my hand. I lie in the bed of his pick-up truck and cry with the angels.

The sun is smiling down on my face when I open my eyes. I drag the weights of prison around my feet down the stairs and out to the porch. Its quiet, I look to the sky, in hopes to see his face emerging from the cloud. I speak to all my surroundings but my words are meant to go to heaven, to him. “Uncle Dave, please drop in every once in awhile so I know you’re watching over me, and you’re okay,†my heart drops just by the thought of his name. The wind chimes begin to sing, he is the wind floating in between every metal block creating the song he wants me to hear. The wind chimes were always a part of him, and while sitting in this moment I finally understand why. A few hours later my father, my aunt, and me are all in the car on our way to say our final goodbyes. I am holding a picture of me in my uncle’s arms at my sister’s wedding; he had such a genuine laugh, we were both so happy. We park, and walk into the funeral home, and a young man greets us. He explains what has been done, and the following procedures. I hand the man my picture to be put with the ashes. As a family, we walk into an eerie room and I stop. I see him-he is so serene. In the back of the room my uncle lays there on a cold metal bed, with a white sheet only allowing only his face to show. We walk closer, and we could feel the cold freezer air upon our skin. My aunt turns to me, and collapses in my arms, I hold her. I feel her grasp on my back tighten, she whispers to me

“It’s okay to cry,†but I hold it together. My aunt and father walk out of the room, leaving me with him. I slowly bend down and whisper in his ear

“You will always be my hero. You never gave up, and always made it to your destination no matter how you had to get there. I love you and I will think about you every day. Goodbye.†I put my hand on his cheek; it’s tough and cold. There are tiny water droplets hanging from his always neatly groomed beard. I turn and start walking to the door, at the doorway I turn around to see my best friend, one last time, the only difference is this time, he is finally laying in peace. The doorway seems to be made of quicksand, as I stand there and take the last picture of him in my mind, my heart starts to sink and with the sinking of my heart, my feet become one with the floor. I keep it together and I push myself to keep walking like he always taught me, he wouldn’t want me to suffer. We make it to the car, and I am thanked for wanting to see him one last time, because without me wanting to, my aunt would have had to deal with the last image of him, suffering-forever. Back at the house the long quite night dragged on for days. The time came for my father and I to go back home, she had the look of loneliness already painted on her skin, when we reached the end of the driveway. She wiped a tear from her beautiful eye, waved, and walked into the distance.

My uncle always taught me that I could make it to where ever I want to go, even if I have to scoot there on my butt to get there. Always moving shows that I’m not letting a single moment pass me by, I am always living life to the fullest, even if at the time the fullest is crawling on my hands and knees. He taught me that every single day there are new moments, memories, and struggles to fill your life book and you have to live to experience them all first hand. He always told me never to settle for less then I deserve, and to smile at every decision I make in life, because that decision will get me to the next moment and that’s where I am suppose to be. Never regret anything just think of it as a lesson learned, and to know that even if anyone sees me struggle, they will never see me fall. He is the suns warmth upon my face, the rain dripping from my fingertips, the wind moving my hair, and the moon reflecting off my smile. Even though now, he is in a different world, his ring is hanging from a chain around my neck, just like his name lingers on my mind every day.

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Be sure to check back frequently to see my progress. Thanks for your

support!