Day One...
Thursday, November 20, 2008 by ShawnieMac
Started off bright and early with the alarm going off at o'dark thirty. We had told Scott that he didn't need to set one, and he soon found out that our grind-and-brew coffee maker sounds like the Luftwaffe is landing on his head...
Not surprisingly, we picked up a new honorary teammate in front of the restrooms before closing ceremonies. Kristi was a solo walker - the rest of her team had either fallen off the face of the earth or fallen ill in some shape or form. We immediately took Kristi and
her Dirt'y Girl t-shirt in. One of her first tasks as honorary team member was to take a picture of all of us, which sounded simple enough - until we noticed that she had the camera accidentally pointing towards her own face... hilarity ensued, and we got a couple of great photos with lots of teeth out of the escapade.
After an interview with Channel 3 news and the remainder of opening ceremonies the walking began...
Soon after our departure, we were greeted by Stan (of chemo room fame) and Darlene.
He's back on chemo after a brief respite. His latest scan showed that it has spread everywhere, and for the first time in the 10 years that he's been battling, Stan is in pain. Dr. Cav is trying a new cocktail, a different combination of drugs he has already tried, in the hopes that this one may take. They're also looking into clinical trials. We saw them yesterday at the oncologist's office and were talking a bit about the state of things. Stan expressed his feelings of frustration - that every weekend, everywhere there is a race, a walk, a climb, a pancake breakfast to raise funds toward research for various cancers but yet, where is the cure. I suppose it comes from a different perspective, when all you can remember is chemo after chemo and the knowledge that after a while, there are no more chemo cocktails left to try, even though the funds toward research is providing for better therapies, fewer side effects, better long-term outcomes. Still, WHERE IS THE CURE?
Back to last Friday... we were walking, and talking with people around us. It was late in the day, and nearing 18 miles of walking. Everyone was getting tired and a guy with a group behind us was joking that they are walking to find the cure, and wouldn't it be great if we just could walk around the corner and "LOOK! There it IS! WE FOUND IT!! Phew, we can stop walking now..."
Wouldn't it be great....
Not surprisingly, we picked up a new honorary teammate in front of the restrooms before closing ceremonies. Kristi was a solo walker - the rest of her team had either fallen off the face of the earth or fallen ill in some shape or form. We immediately took Kristi and
her Dirt'y Girl t-shirt in. One of her first tasks as honorary team member was to take a picture of all of us, which sounded simple enough - until we noticed that she had the camera accidentally pointing towards her own face... hilarity ensued, and we got a couple of great photos with lots of teeth out of the escapade.After an interview with Channel 3 news and the remainder of opening ceremonies the walking began...
Soon after our departure, we were greeted by Stan (of chemo room fame) and Darlene.
He's back on chemo after a brief respite. His latest scan showed that it has spread everywhere, and for the first time in the 10 years that he's been battling, Stan is in pain. Dr. Cav is trying a new cocktail, a different combination of drugs he has already tried, in the hopes that this one may take. They're also looking into clinical trials. We saw them yesterday at the oncologist's office and were talking a bit about the state of things. Stan expressed his feelings of frustration - that every weekend, everywhere there is a race, a walk, a climb, a pancake breakfast to raise funds toward research for various cancers but yet, where is the cure. I suppose it comes from a different perspective, when all you can remember is chemo after chemo and the knowledge that after a while, there are no more chemo cocktails left to try, even though the funds toward research is providing for better therapies, fewer side effects, better long-term outcomes. Still, WHERE IS THE CURE?
Back to last Friday... we were walking, and talking with people around us. It was late in the day, and nearing 18 miles of walking. Everyone was getting tired and a guy with a group behind us was joking that they are walking to find the cure, and wouldn't it be great if we just could walk around the corner and "LOOK! There it IS! WE FOUND IT!! Phew, we can stop walking now..."
Wouldn't it be great....
