Mar 15, 2014
When this journey began it was about Raegan's mom, my persistence, and 4 team members to run a relay. We are just over a month away from the Half Marathon and we are entering this next time of our training with 11 team members, 8 of whom will have completed their fundraising commitments by the end of the week, and 3 still fundraising. That's SEVEN more runners than we needed!!! Talk about exceeding my goals!!!
Here's a breakdown of our team:
Jean - Captain, Motivator, Overachiever Galore!
Jerry - Jean's husband and a US Marine who hasn't met a challenge he isn't determined to conquer (other than fundraising...he may or may not have left that to his wife...)
Pete - The dude WORKS at the Running Store!!! Seriously - has more running shoes than most small nations. Pete's wife, Annie, has been amazingly supportive and his baby boy, Hunter, has helped his daddy learn more about overcoming challenges (scratched cornea anyone?)
Julia - This woman has persistence down to a science! She has run more half marathons than anyone else on the team, and has probably spearheaded more fundraising attempts than all of us combined. Without Julia's backbone and encouragement, this team would have fallen apart the first time I (Jean) had a meltdown!!
Dan - Army Strong anyone? After losing his wife to cancer, Dan heard about Raegan's chemo and didn't want another parent to have to struggle like that. With a 4-yr-old of his own and as a newly single father, Dan is working on juggling every aspect of his life. He's one of our relay runners, along with Samantha, Manda, and Carlye.
Sam - A mother of 2 girls - one 3 and one 2 and she makes it work. Sam handles more stress in a day than many people do in a month. And she does it all with a strength she doesn't even realize she has. She inspires me every day and I'm so proud of her for so many reasons!
Manda - A Marine Wife and my Deployment Sister, Manda has used running as her outlet for stress through two deployments (Iraq and Afghanistan), and 3 daughters!! Manda's dedication to caring for herself has been an inspiration to me and she loved running long before I understood it! Never underestimate the strength of a military wife!
Carlye - One crazy girl! We have mutual friends and she heard about our team and hopped on board with all kinds of energy and excitement! Carlye's mom's heart goes out to Raegan's mom and she wanted to help instantly. She's going to run the relay and I'm so thrilled she's on our team.
Lynn - Smartest. Chick. Ever. Period. Lynn speaks so many languages I've lost count and she is dedicated to her work and her nation in a way I can't describe or she'd have to kill me! Keep your eyes on this one - she's going to change the world!
Tami - Where would I be without Tami? She is exactly what a teammate is supposed to be - she challenges me when I'm not feeling it, she runs beside me whether we are on the road or a treadmill, and she listens to me complain and gives sound advice. Tami spends her days with some of the lowest members of society but never lets them drag her down. She is the mother of an autistic son and advocates for Autism Awareness as well as LLS. She juggles it all and somewhere in the midst finds the strength to be there for others. This woman is priceless.
Last but not least, my Recee!!! I can not possibly explain the pride I have in her! Recee hadn't run in 20 years when this journey began last fall. She fought through the first team training and I wasn't sure she was ever coming back! But she DID! She got out and started running every day and within weeks her improvement was so remarkable I didn't even recognize her from Day 1! Do not get in this woman's way, because I guarantee you that anything she sets her mind out to accomplish, SHE WILL!
Team Relentless in Raegan has 6 weeks left to train and fundraise before reaching our final goal. Will you join us and donate in honor of our honored patient, Raegan, and in recognition of the hard work and many miles of training we have undergone and continue to endure? Remember all those snow storms and this winter's bitter cold? We were running through that! Training for April and reminding each other that we are doing this because Babies and Cancer Don't Mix and we need to find a cure! Someday is TODAY!
Nov 25, 2013
As promised to many of our donors, three members of team Relentless 4 Raegan participated in a Turkey Trot today dressed as turkeys! We were quite the sight to behold and received many compliments, questioning looks, and high fives from the other runners. What a great time and awesome chance to share our mission with other people! Hope you had as great a Saturday morning as we did!!
Nov 25, 2013
Raegan had her chemotherapy last week. Here is an adorable pic of her and big sis, Rylee, while waiting at the hospital...
The week after chemo is always hard because Raegan has to take steroids, which throw her little body off kilter. Today is the last day of the steroids and she's finally normalizing again. They won't be testing Raegan again to determine the efficacy of the chemo until February, but we are all believing good things for her! We will keep running and fundraising in her honor while she keeps fighting this disease!
Nov 13, 2013
Got to hang out tonight with my teammates at the Team in Training kickoff party tonight. Got a few pics, but learned the new iPhone red eye flash gives you green eyes instead. Forgive our alien eyes :)
So excited to have such an amazing team to train with and fundraise for a cure with!
Dan and Chad started talking about running the full mrathon instead of the half...we may have a few takers. (We also might be a little bit crazy!)
Nov 09, 2013
Every parent knows the early years are filled with bumps and bruises, so Rolando and I weren’t alarmed when we saw a bump on the right side of our one-year-old daughter’s head after she had tumbled out of her wagon on August 3rd. We were surprised, however, when we noticed other bumps on Raegan’s head near her right and left temples. We took Raegan to numerous doctors’ appointments and within 10 days of her fall, she was admitted to the hospital. On August 20th, after a week of testing to confirm her diagnosis, Langerhan’s Cell Histiocytosis (LCH), Raegan started chemotherapy. LCH is a blood disease in the same family as Leukemia and the bumps on Raegan’s head are lesions on her brain. The next year of our daughter’s life will consist of chemotherapy treatments, steroids to help her fight, and hospitalization every time she gets a fever.
With medicine doses, naptime schedules, chemotherapy treatments, and doctors’ words swirling around in my brain, my friend, Jean, asked me what I was doing to take care of myself. The honest answer was, “Nothing.” Jean challenged me to join her in a half marathon relay. We are training for the New Jersey Marathon Series Half Marathon on April 27, 2014. We are running to honor Raegan and to raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society to support research to find a cure for Leukemia and Lymphoma, and, vicariously, LCH.
Team “Relentless 4 Raegan” has grown and I am amazed at the number of people willing to train through the winter to be a part of this crazy goal and to raise money for this great cause. Please join us in this adventure by donating to our team. You can donate a set amount-perhaps $10 per mile I will be running (6.5 miles=$65) or you can commit to donate $1 per mile I train each week, and I’ll send you an email at the end of the week with my weekly total.
Thank you for your concern for our family and our little girl, and thank you for partnering with us to fight this disease,
Samantha & Rolando, Erica, Rylee and Raegan
The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society® (LLS) is a global leader in the fight against cancer. The LLS mission: Cure leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin's disease and myeloma, and improve the quality of life of patients and their families. LLS funds lifesaving blood cancer research around the world, provides free information and support services, and is the voice for all blood cancer patients seeking access to quality, affordable, coordinated care. The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society is a 501(c)(3) organization, and all monetary donations are tax deductible to the fullest extent allowed by tax laws. Please check with your financial advisor if you have more questions.