That reason right there and the 1 in 8 women who will be diagnosed in my lifetime is what keeps me involved with the constant pursuit of of being a part of the men and women who are doing bravely doing something every day to help find a cure.
I read that statistic again this morning - every minute another person dies. I started to think about what that was. I realized that in the amount of time that the BF could get that coffee from the little K cup into my cup, another woman died. Another daughter, mother, sister, friend. How many times had I made coffee this week? Each time I did someone lost a daughter. A husband sat helplessly by his wife's side. Somebody's best friend died. The thought of all that had been lost while I waited for my coffee sobered me instantly. It was then that I realized that was the reason I kept doing what I did.
As I watched the BF drip the last dark brown liquid into my waiting cup, I decided it would be better for all involved if I chose to use this as inspiration and use it to push forward in supporting a cause that I know has touched everyone I know.
Yesterday, Seattle SIL, BigBro and I had a garage sale to raise $$ for their 3Day cause (Blueberry was representing the family at another fundraising event - sadly related to cancer too). Total we raised about $500 yesterday.
Since January 2008 when I made the bold decision to walk that year, I've had the fortunate opportunity to be touched by so many in so many different ways. I can remember, to this day, the hug I got from a survivor still enduring chemo that I met in Starbucks after a long training walk. She hugged me tightly and said thank you. I can still feel her strength and determination. I will never know her name, but I'll know that I did something to make a difference in the lives of many women and men(3% of men get breast cancer).
Yesterday, I was pleasantly touched again. A family came into the garage sale. Grandparents with their two grand sons (I'm assuming both boys were their grandsons). The two boys went together to purchase a puzzle for $1.50. The oldest of the two boys handed Seattle SIL the $$. He looked at our donation jar and cookies. Took his wallet back out and pulled out another dollar. Putting that into the jar, he looked up and said, "Thanks." took his cookie and walked off. I wonder if he knows he touched a heart by his simple action? Further I wondered if he knew that his dollar was going to help save someone someday?
Every 68 seconds! Do you know how many minutes the average 3Day walker trains? Or how many minutes it takes to walk 60 miles? If you do the math and you know that each minute someone loses someone they love. Or that each minute someone dies alone having to have faced this disease alone and scared. It's heart breaking. These 3Day walkers are using their feet, some blistered, most tired, to wage a war against breast cancer. The least I can do is bake a few cookies for a small boy to buy and say thank you.
Now the good part, the same number of minutes those 3Day walkers are out beating the pavement, their feet are also raising money for a cause. The walking, they say, is symbolic, but it's much more than that. The money those feet will help raise will help change the face of the disease for the future.
That little boy's dollar may not sound like much (and in fact I scoffed at someone who donated a whole quarter for a cookie) but those dollars and quarters add up. In 2009, those dollars and quarters helped 3.9 million people to receive breast cancer education materials. It helped more than 260,000 women to receive a potentially life-saving mammogram. It helped approximately 5,000 people to be diagnosed with breast cancer who otherwise may not have been diagnosed, and it helped more than 100,000 women to benefit from treatment assistance.
There are thousands of walkers in 15 cities across the country during the 3day event year. Each walker is asked to raise a minimum of $2300 (one woman yesterday was disgusted by that fact using "this economy" as an excuse - while it made me angry it's "this economy" that needs it the most) if you do the math, it those minutes those walkers are walking and the money those walkers raised will lead the fight to change the statistics.
Another person dies from breast cancer every minute? That may be true, but it is also true that every minute, there are also thousands of people who jointly have a goal, all across the world, walking towards a different future. We all get to decide which minutes of our lives to make count. Make your minutes count.
Side Note:
I read that statistic again this morning - every minute another person dies. I started to think about what that was. I realized that in the amount of time that the BF could get that coffee from the little K cup into my cup, another woman died. Another daughter, mother, sister, friend. How many times had I made coffee this week? Each time I did someone lost a daughter. A husband sat helplessly by his wife's side. Somebody's best friend died. The thought of all that had been lost while I waited for my coffee sobered me instantly. It was then that I realized that was the reason I kept doing what I did.
As I watched the BF drip the last dark brown liquid into my waiting cup, I decided it would be better for all involved if I chose to use this as inspiration and use it to push forward in supporting a cause that I know has touched everyone I know.
Yesterday, Seattle SIL, BigBro and I had a garage sale to raise $$ for their 3Day cause (Blueberry was representing the family at another fundraising event - sadly related to cancer too). Total we raised about $500 yesterday.
Since January 2008 when I made the bold decision to walk that year, I've had the fortunate opportunity to be touched by so many in so many different ways. I can remember, to this day, the hug I got from a survivor still enduring chemo that I met in Starbucks after a long training walk. She hugged me tightly and said thank you. I can still feel her strength and determination. I will never know her name, but I'll know that I did something to make a difference in the lives of many women and men(3% of men get breast cancer).
Yesterday, I was pleasantly touched again. A family came into the garage sale. Grandparents with their two grand sons (I'm assuming both boys were their grandsons). The two boys went together to purchase a puzzle for $1.50. The oldest of the two boys handed Seattle SIL the $$. He looked at our donation jar and cookies. Took his wallet back out and pulled out another dollar. Putting that into the jar, he looked up and said, "Thanks." took his cookie and walked off. I wonder if he knows he touched a heart by his simple action? Further I wondered if he knew that his dollar was going to help save someone someday?
Every 68 seconds! Do you know how many minutes the average 3Day walker trains? Or how many minutes it takes to walk 60 miles? If you do the math and you know that each minute someone loses someone they love. Or that each minute someone dies alone having to have faced this disease alone and scared. It's heart breaking. These 3Day walkers are using their feet, some blistered, most tired, to wage a war against breast cancer. The least I can do is bake a few cookies for a small boy to buy and say thank you.
Now the good part, the same number of minutes those 3Day walkers are out beating the pavement, their feet are also raising money for a cause. The walking, they say, is symbolic, but it's much more than that. The money those feet will help raise will help change the face of the disease for the future.
That little boy's dollar may not sound like much (and in fact I scoffed at someone who donated a whole quarter for a cookie) but those dollars and quarters add up. In 2009, those dollars and quarters helped 3.9 million people to receive breast cancer education materials. It helped more than 260,000 women to receive a potentially life-saving mammogram. It helped approximately 5,000 people to be diagnosed with breast cancer who otherwise may not have been diagnosed, and it helped more than 100,000 women to benefit from treatment assistance.
There are thousands of walkers in 15 cities across the country during the 3day event year. Each walker is asked to raise a minimum of $2300 (one woman yesterday was disgusted by that fact using "this economy" as an excuse - while it made me angry it's "this economy" that needs it the most) if you do the math, it those minutes those walkers are walking and the money those walkers raised will lead the fight to change the statistics.
Another person dies from breast cancer every minute? That may be true, but it is also true that every minute, there are also thousands of people who jointly have a goal, all across the world, walking towards a different future. We all get to decide which minutes of our lives to make count. Make your minutes count.
Side Note:
If you'd like to donate to any of my three walkers, you can order cookies from me. I'll deliver the one's I can and ship the one's I can't. No amount is too small to make a difference.
3 comments:
Okay, make your mom cry. I am so damn proud of you and your efforts!
Thank you Sis.........you are amazing to be around. You keep us walkers going.....and going...and going. Proud of you Sis
Looking further at you numbers. Each of us walkers will train ~850 mile for this event. At a slow pace of 3.3 mph.......that's 258 hours of training. That equates to 15,480 minute. During my training for this year's events, nearly 15,480 may die from breast cancer......THAT MAKES ME MAD!!! (and sad). I need to raise some more money.
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