Reach Out Your Hand

I am so blessed to have the support of all of you as I continue on this journey to make a difference in people's lives via the marathon. I would like to share with you words of inspiration and motivation I have received in the last couple weeks from some very dear friends of mine.

The following comes from one of the most selfless people I know. I met Jan and her husband through the Nashville Predators organization and was friends with their son while I was in Nashville for graduate school. They quickly became my "Nashville parents" and were there for me through many things. They even took me in the week before my boards exam last summer- I got spoiled with home cooked meals, a big cozy bed and a chance to bond even more with them before I moved on to Boston just a few weeks later. Thank you so much for all you have done for me, Jan, as well as sharing the following!

Dare to reach out your hand into the darkness, to pull another hand into the light. ~Norman B. Rice

There is no way to describe what a mother or father go thru when they first learn their precious child has been diagnosed with cancer and are told that children with this type of tumor “just don’t live.” Knowing there is nothing you can do to fix the situation is truly overwhelming. You suddenly find yourself turning to others to help get you through the period when you feel numb and helpless. Once the journey comes to an end, you find yourself reaching out to others because you know that you are one of the few people who truly understand what they are going through. We all do this in different ways and with different levels of intensity based on what we’re capable of doing/giving. To know there are folks willing to run in a marathon, make a meal or send a card, truly helps those in darkness reach for the light. Thank you Sarah, for seeing the need and offering your hand. Love, Jan

Another person who has shared a few words with me recently is a family friend from my childhood. Our families often coincided at sporting events and his beautiful wife Janette is greatly missed to this day! She always had a smile on her face and was wonderful to be around. 

Thanks Sarah for thinking of Janette. She was an inspiration to her kids and so many young people. When I started running, after Janette passed away, I knew she wanted that for me. Janette's story is one of giving to her family and friends. Even in her last days she worried about us and was such an inspiration! She never complained about the pain during her illness. As you run please know she is with you each and every step, as she is with me when I run! When that last mile of a "long run" gets unbearable she will show you the way! This means so much to me to share this with you!!

Thank you, Tom, for sharing those meaningful words.  I will definitely keep Janette in mind when the going gets tough on those long runs!

Every step of this journey, I have people like Jan and Tom in my mind. They are both amazingly strong people who have persevered through the battle of a losing a loved one to cancer and continue to have such wonderful giving hearts. They are an inspiration to all of us for how to live our lives and become better people.

To this day, we have raised $1,806 to go towards funding innovative cancer research. Thank you to the people who have donated so far! And to those who haven't please consider helping us get closer to the cure for cancer. I would love to be sharing more success stories such as Kristin's shared earlier in the blog. I truly believe that together we can make a big difference.

I'll leave you with this... "Never believe that a few caring people can't change the world. For, indeed, that's all who ever have." -Margaret Mead

Have a wonderful week!

-S

Supporting Gavin

My kind mother has taken some time to write a piece for the blog this week. She asked me to let you all know that for everyone who makes a donation by midnight next Sunday (Feb 17), she will donate $1 up to $150. My mother has already made a very generous donation to this cause, so this is a wonderful additional gift! Imagine if we can get 150 people to donate even just $5- that will add up to $900 including my mother's contribution!

"My daughter, Sarah, asked me to write for her blog and I thought, “what am I going to say?” To start with, I am so proud of her for being so passionate about a cause that affects everyone these days. And yes, I agree with her friend Anna (who wrote earlier in the blog) that she is crazy for running marathons. It is something Sarah loves and is passionate about, so I say “More power to you!” even though it makes my legs hurt just thinking about all the running and training that she does for it.

As I said, I am so proud of my daughter for raising money for cancer research. I was lucky. My breast cancer was detected from a routine Mammogram. I was told that the lump was so small that I would not have found it myself. Thank goodness for Mammograms! I had a lumpectomy and then radiation. This was two years ago.

Enough about me. The story I would like to share with you is a coworker’s story. Her son Gavin is 6 years old and has a brain tumor that was discovered in April 2012. Gavin has had 5 brain surgeries to date. Gavin calls his tumor “Joe Bully”. Part of this tumor is cancerous. I pray daily for the healing of Gavin. No 6 year old should have to go through what he has gone through. Gavin is an amazing little boy and such a fighter. This past week he started taking a clinical trial pill called Palbociclib. This pill has only been used on adults, but his parents fought to get it for Gavin because it has been shown to reduce and/or stop the type of tumor Gavin has. This pill is Gavin’s hope for survival. His little body just can’t keep having brain surgeries. I pray that this helps Gavin.

Now that Sarah has reached the $1,000 mark, please think of Gavin and his family (his Mom & Dad, sister, brother, grandparents) and imagine what they are going through. Let’s join together and raise money for cancer research this week in support of Gavin!! Please help Sarah and the Claudia Adams Barr Program in Innovative Basic Cancer Research at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. I’m tired of cancer being a part of our daily lives. Let’s do something about it!! SUPPORT GAVIN THIS WEEK- PLEASE DONATE AND SAY A PRAYER FOR HIM!!!!"

Thanks, Mom, I appreciate all the support you have given me! You are the best and I wouldn't be where I am today without you!

As many of you may have heard, we had winter storm Nemo come rolling through Friday-Saturday. We received right around two feet of snow here in Boston and the city is hard at work today to dig everything out. This put a slight damper on training, however I made it out to complete 18 miles today! It was quite the adventure and a bit of a maze as roads that seemed to be plowed suddenly were a dead end. I have never run the steeplechase event, but I felt a bit like today was my own snow bank version of steeplechase! Of course, many fellow marathoners were out and about today. We all were waving and nodding to each other. I was able to run about 4 miles with another charity runner who was out doing a training run of the same distance- we found ourselves climbing the same mound together at the same time and chatted for a bit after that.  I was lucky enough to have the halfway point of my run be near my friend Jenna's apartment, where I was able to stop up quick to get some water, warm up and dry my socks as they had gotten soaked from the puddles and snow- thanks, Jenna!!

Here are a few pictures from around the area...

Onyx and I right in front of my apartment- yes, we are in the middle of the road :)

Weaving my way down the street

Beacon Hill

In front of my apartment at about 9pm Friday night

In front of my apartment Saturday morning

That's it for today- Please, please, please consider donating in support of Gavin this week. This is a wonderful opportunity to support a great cause especially with a great additional donation from my mother! Have a great week and stay warm!!

-S

We Reached $1,000!

This week we made it to the $1,000 mark!!!  Thanks so much to everyone who has supported this amazing cause!  Please keep in mind that every small donation adds up to make a big difference. 
"Even the smallest act of caring for another person is like a drop of water- it will make ripples throughout the entire pond..." 
-Jessy and Bryan Matteo

Training has taken a slight lapse over the past week or so as I moved into a new apartment, but I have gotten back on track.  I am beginning to look forward to a half marathon at the end of the month in Hyannis, MA as a good training event for the marathon.  One of the great things about training in the Boston area is that there are always other runners out on the roads training for the Boston Marathon as well.  We give each other the look of acknowledgement and a slight smirk that we are the crazy people out running in unfavorable conditions to cross a common finish line.

I am fortunate to have a beautiful 1.5 mile loop just steps from my new front door which is perfect for training.  My training partner also loves it and makes sure I get up in the morning to train, even on the days I want to stay in bed.  Her 4 legs have more energy than my 2 on some mornings, but she definitely keeps me going!

I hope everyone has a wonderful week- Stay tuned for more posts from others with their stories and inspiration behind donating to support cancer research!

-S