Why do we continue to walk 60 miles in 3 days?
This is a question I am asked over and over again. And each time I could give a different reason because there are that many reasons.
I signed up for my first walk 2 months before I was diagnosed with Breast Cancer. I wanted to make a difference. I wanted to be apart of the fight.I had no idea that this walk would literally change my life forever.
When you are training to walk 60 miles, you don't really know exactly what its going to be like. You follow your cheat sheet and you walk so many miles this day and so many the next but nothing really fully prepares you for what you will experience.
Obviously my first walk was extremely emotional for me. I had had surgery a few months before to remove the lump in my left breast and the lymph nodes that were affected by the cancer. I was undergoing treatment and was encouraged to not walk. But since we all know how stubborn I am, I started off on a journey that would heal me like no drug ever could.
You are surrounded by a sea of pink. There is no where you can turn that you don't see pink. You see men, women and children all there for the same reason. You hear the stories of those who have beat cancer. You hear the stories of loved ones lost. And you hear the stories of those still fighting. You hear laughter and you see tears. You see a community that comes together for 3 days with only one thing on their minds. An end to Breast Cancer.
As I took my first steps, I knew that the road ahead would be a very trying task for me. I knew there was a chance that my body would give out. That I would be too weak to continue. What I didn't realize was that the 2000 people walking beside me would get me to the finish line. That the people that I met along the way would not only take this 60 mile journey with me but would walk with me for years to comes. And not just walk with me but walk for me when I couldn't.
I finished my first walk and knew that I was hooked. I knew that my feet would recover and I would forget how tired and sore I was and would be back for more!
This walk saved my life. It healed wounds that I didn't know could be healed. It brought people into my life that give me strength when I don't have any left. It gave me a chance to tell my story and touch the lives of so many. It gave me hope that I didn't have before. Hope for the days and years to come.
Now I may not agree with all the choices that Susan G Komen has made but I am forever grateful to them. I am grateful for the experience and the people that have made my life whole.
I sit and listen to the stories and it continues to give me hope. Some make you cry tears of joy and some make you cry tears of sadness. But each one gives me the strength to continue fighting.
This year I will be walking in Dallas with my girls! There is not a walk in any of our cities but that has not stopped us from walking! Who knows what the year has ahead for me or what shape my body will be in but I know that my will to fight is stronger then ever!
I am beyond grateful for the love and support I have gotten from my friends and family. Without them, none of it would be possible. They may not all walk 60 miles with me but they have walked with me and have never left my side
So as you see the commercials and ads for the 3 day, remember that this is more then walking 60 miles. Its about never losing hope!
If you have a few minutes, copy this link!
http://flipagram.com/f/fb8FHjDZqW
