To begin, my legs were still quite sore yesterday so Jen and I did some power walking around Maisonneuve Park so that I could stretch my legs out. I'm hoping to either get some biking in today or tomorrow and get back into the swing of things!
Now on to the important stuff. I had always had an interest in doing the ride to conquer cancer but, out of honesty I was more interested in the ride itself as opposed to the actual fundraising and cancer message. I, like everyone else, heard of people who got cancer but these were usually people quite removed from my closest family and friends - our next door neighbour, friends of my parents, and customers of my parents. These stories are sad, and your heart goes out to everyone involved, but it still remains that cancer is something "other people" get and you don't realize the fight and struggle these people have to go through. When my aunt was diagnosed (Judy is pictured on the left in the above picture along with my Grandma and other aunt, Amy) and we realized it was very serious and that she would die at some point in the near future from this disease, things changed for me. Cancer was no longer an abstract disease everyone talked about, it was now in our family and could strike very quickly with little warning and little mercy. Therefore, when Jen and I attended the conquer cancer information session and Jen signed up, things were different for me this time. I didn't see the fundraising as something I had to do to ride, I saw it as something that is so necessary and important for the fight against cancer that I signed up even though I wasn't certain HOW or even IF I would gather all of this money! I can say now though that I have been surprised beyond belief. The generosity of people has been absolutely amazing. In one week and from 6 people I have raised $510.00, I am already at 20% of my goal. A bunch of other people have also expressed their desire to give and the words of encouragement have been very touching. People have mentioned they admire me, or respect me, or have said other very flattering things but I must stress that this is the very least I can do. The only reason it is possible for me to do what I am trying to do is because people like you have given generously to cancer research. It is YOU who I respect, who I admire and who I can never thank enough.
So again, THANK YOU everyone for your help, donations, and support. Judy, this one is for you.
Kristin -so well said. It's so true that when it affects those very close to us, it becomes more REAL. It's terrifying and devastating.
ReplyDeleteI, too, was undecided about signing up until we saw the video, at which point I saw the opportunity to DO something instead of just thinking "oh, how awful".
Seeing how supportive people are IS inspiring. It inspires me to do more and to help other charities too, even if a particular disease or situation has never directly affected me or the ones I love.