An adventure that changed my life forever

The finish line...60 miles later!

In November 2011, my dad and I participated in the Susan G. Komen 3-Day walk, helping raise awareness and funds to help find a cure for breast cancer.  This was not something that I had before, never having participating in anything more adventurous than my own family outings.  Seriously, what was I thinking by agreeing to walk 60 miles and raise $2,300? And since I didn’t decide to do this until the end of August, I only had about two and a half months to train…and let me tell you, by no means was I in poor health, but was my body prepared to handle the strain of all of those miles?  Probably not.  So I got myself a new pair of shoes and walked over 150 miles from my first training walk to my last just days before the start of the event. 

I was overwhelmed at the outpouring of support and love shown to me as I prepared to walk 60 miles. I thought my emotional journey would end once I had reached my financial goal and the physical journey would begin. However, I was completely surprised to realize that my emotional journey was only just beginning.

It was pouring rain as we completed the last few miles and throughout the closing ceremonies, but we were all smiles!

I've been asked how difficult it was to walk 60 miles, how tired was I, how did I prepare my body for the adventure, why would I participate in something like this. The answer...just like on any other journey in life, you put one foot in front of the other and keep on going. There was no quitting option for me, not even a desire too. Was I tired? Yes. But I got up the next day and did it again, and then again. Why?

I knew when my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer in the summer of 2011 that I could not just sit back and feel hopeless while she fights. I had gone through those feelings before when I watched my sister-in-law Jennifer fight and finally loose her battle to melanoma. Currently, my Aunt is fighting against breast cancer. She, too, received this terrible news recently and has undergone surgery to remove the cancer. She is healing from her invasive surgery and then will begin aggressive radiation. We are praying for her full recovery.

So many women, and men, have battled this horrible disease. Some have won, like my mom and mother-in-law (who fought and won 20 years ago). Some haven't been so lucky. Like the wife of an elderly man I met during my walk in November. He just happened to be at the same intersection that we were and we started talking to him. Once he realized what we were doing, he was overwhelmed with emotion as he told us about his wife that he had recently lost to breast cancer and the fight that she went through.

As my dad and I walked up and down throughout San Diego (who knew it’s such a hilly city?!), we came across a group surrounding a wheel chair being pushed by a frail-looking lady, wearing a cap covering her bare head. Yes, she too was on this adventure while she was fighting in her own personal journey. We crossed a bridge lined with survivors cheering us on, as we knew the fight that each one had taken. We walked behind a father and his two children all wearing shirts honoring the angel they have lost to this horrible disease, their wife/mother.

So why walk? Why, not? I do, because others can no longer.

And because I have three young daughters who will hopefully never have to endure this fight. And for my friends, their mothers, grandmothers, sisters, and aunts who are currently in the fight or perhaps have lost their battle...I walk in their honor.

In just 9 weeks, I’ll be walking again.  This year, I'll be walking in San Francisco; again I’ve chosen another hilly city!  Perhaps next year I’ll choose a location in the flatter part of the country!  I’ve been slightly overwhelmed with our housing situation that I haven’t really even begun to train.  However, I am much more aware of my activity level, my eating habits, and my lifestyle and, having participated once in this event, I feel more confident in my ability.

I’ve decided that while I can and am able too, that meaningful charity work needs to be a part of my life.  Giving to others who cannot provide for themselves, raising awareness for a respectable cause, doing random acts of kindness…all of those wonderful things that we hear someone else doing and always think how fabulous it would be to do something like that our self.  Those are the things that I want to do and the example that I want to set for my children.  We are not entitled to the life we have (whoa, entitlement…now there’s a topic for another lengthy discussion!), but have been blessed and, someday when I leave Earth, I want to leave it feeling good about what I’ve contributed to society. 

If you'd like more information on the walk, visit: www.the3day.org