This weekend, Jodi and I finally got to participate in the Dallas/Fort Worth Breast Cancer 3 Day, and what an experience!!! Honestly, words cannot describe the event... but I will try to give an overview for all of you.
Friday morning, we headed over to Carrollton at 3:30am to ride on a bus with a group called Angels for the Cure. They were such a great team to ride with, and we really appreciated their generosity!!! Once we arrived at opening ceremonies, we were all corralled into the stage area where we were greeted and sent out on our 60 mile journey!!! The support and gratitude from the community was beyond belief. Almost every step of the way we had groups of people cheering us on and thanking us for walking!!! It was definitely our motivation to keep going!!
Friday afternoon, with 2 miles left to go, we ran into a cheering station with tons of people... one group even handed out trail mix...how exciting!!! Then it happened, I dropped my prized bag of trail mix and stopped the whole group behind me, just to pick it up. By the time I got back up and made sure everyone behind me was okay, there it was... a FIRE HYDRANT, right in the middle of the side walk!!!! OUCH! Needless to say, I have a VERY VERY large bruise!!! But thankfully, Jodi and our new friend Jessica, got me through it!
That night, Jodi and I got separated as I made my way to medical and she headed to showers. We ended up spending the evening by ourselves, and by the time I finished with my shower and headed to the tent, she was up at the stage with the entertainment. It was 7:30pm, and I was exhausted after being up since 2am, so I told her that I was going to hit the sack. I was so tired that I didn't even hear Jodi make it to the tent an hour later. I even woke up in the middle of the night and wondered where I was... that's when I rolled over and saw Jodi laying on the sleeping bag next to me.
Saturday morning was brutal!! We both woke up in pain but knew we had take on another day.... AND, I was looking forward to seeing my parents who were on their way from Arkansas! The walking was hard, but my motivation was seeing Mom and Dad at lunch! Once I got there, I was so happy! I had lunch with Jodi, Mom and Dad and it was great!! They even offered to let me stay at the hotel with them on Saturday night. I made sure it was okay with Jodi, then took advantage of the opportunity, considering I could barely walk!! My parents and I went back to camp, got my gear out of our tent and headed to the hotel, where I passed out at 7:30pm again!!
Sunday was another grueling morning! I could hardly walk, I had blisters on my feet and my bruise was even bigger than before. Mom and Dad took me to Pit Stop 1 to meet up with Jodi and we headed out for the last day of walking!! My parents followed us almost every step of the way and even had lunch with us. That afternoon we walked through a HUGE cheering station in West End. Our neighbors, Cheryl, Carly, Sara, Austin and my husband Josh were all there!! (along with Mom and Dad of course) It was great too see them and share part of the experience with them!!
The best part of the day though, even though I barely made it, was crossing the finish line with my Mom and handing her, my survivor, a pink rose!! What an awesome way to tell her how thankful I am for her and how amazing she is to me. We then made our way to closing ceremonies where we were all corralled in again with all of our family and friends around us!! It was amazing to see all of the people, just in this area, that Breast Cancer has affected!!
I have lots of pictures to post and more memories to share, but I wanted to get an update out to let everyone know I made it, and to thank you all for your support!!!!!!! I couldn't have done it without you!!!
Friday morning, we headed over to Carrollton at 3:30am to ride on a bus with a group called Angels for the Cure. They were such a great team to ride with, and we really appreciated their generosity!!! Once we arrived at opening ceremonies, we were all corralled into the stage area where we were greeted and sent out on our 60 mile journey!!! The support and gratitude from the community was beyond belief. Almost every step of the way we had groups of people cheering us on and thanking us for walking!!! It was definitely our motivation to keep going!!
Friday afternoon, with 2 miles left to go, we ran into a cheering station with tons of people... one group even handed out trail mix...how exciting!!! Then it happened, I dropped my prized bag of trail mix and stopped the whole group behind me, just to pick it up. By the time I got back up and made sure everyone behind me was okay, there it was... a FIRE HYDRANT, right in the middle of the side walk!!!! OUCH! Needless to say, I have a VERY VERY large bruise!!! But thankfully, Jodi and our new friend Jessica, got me through it!
That night, Jodi and I got separated as I made my way to medical and she headed to showers. We ended up spending the evening by ourselves, and by the time I finished with my shower and headed to the tent, she was up at the stage with the entertainment. It was 7:30pm, and I was exhausted after being up since 2am, so I told her that I was going to hit the sack. I was so tired that I didn't even hear Jodi make it to the tent an hour later. I even woke up in the middle of the night and wondered where I was... that's when I rolled over and saw Jodi laying on the sleeping bag next to me.
Saturday morning was brutal!! We both woke up in pain but knew we had take on another day.... AND, I was looking forward to seeing my parents who were on their way from Arkansas! The walking was hard, but my motivation was seeing Mom and Dad at lunch! Once I got there, I was so happy! I had lunch with Jodi, Mom and Dad and it was great!! They even offered to let me stay at the hotel with them on Saturday night. I made sure it was okay with Jodi, then took advantage of the opportunity, considering I could barely walk!! My parents and I went back to camp, got my gear out of our tent and headed to the hotel, where I passed out at 7:30pm again!!
Sunday was another grueling morning! I could hardly walk, I had blisters on my feet and my bruise was even bigger than before. Mom and Dad took me to Pit Stop 1 to meet up with Jodi and we headed out for the last day of walking!! My parents followed us almost every step of the way and even had lunch with us. That afternoon we walked through a HUGE cheering station in West End. Our neighbors, Cheryl, Carly, Sara, Austin and my husband Josh were all there!! (along with Mom and Dad of course) It was great too see them and share part of the experience with them!!
The best part of the day though, even though I barely made it, was crossing the finish line with my Mom and handing her, my survivor, a pink rose!! What an awesome way to tell her how thankful I am for her and how amazing she is to me. We then made our way to closing ceremonies where we were all corralled in again with all of our family and friends around us!! It was amazing to see all of the people, just in this area, that Breast Cancer has affected!!
I have lots of pictures to post and more memories to share, but I wanted to get an update out to let everyone know I made it, and to thank you all for your support!!!!!!! I couldn't have done it without you!!!
