Sunday, December 30, 2012

Bella Speranza

This morning I completed my first double-digit mileage run of training and it felt fabulous!  We had a big snowfall last night in Boston leaving me with beautiful scenery for the run. 






On every one of my runs, I take a mental break from life to reflect on my goals for the marathon and why I am running.  Today I was running with a former patient in mind.  He had been diagnosed with a cancerous tumor that had impaired his ability to walk.  He was an athlete with dreams of playing college football.  He was devastated and it was heartbreaking to watch.  I often take for granted that I can go out for a run without difficulty- maybe my knees get sore or my back aches, but I can walk and do the things I love to do.  Reminding myself of how fortunate I am to have that ability makes all the small aches and pains seem miniscule.  When the going got tough on my run today, I put in the extra effort for him to run the miles that he can no longer run.  I have hope for the future that we will be able to diagnose and cure these cancers before they become debilitating, which is why I am running for the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.  The title of my post "bella speranza" is Italian and translates to "beautiful hope".  This is a phrase that I embrace everyday.  If we can't have hope for a better future, then what do we have?  Please help support me in my efforts to battle cancer and find the cure-  everyone deserves to have the feeling of beautiful hope for the future.

Wishing everyone a healthy and happy New Year!

Best wishes, 
-S

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