One AMAZING young Girl! Beyond Words to me.....

This one is a tear-jerker! I'm learning that fundraising is rewarding, because you really get to see the good side of people. Well, in this case, it's even better ..... a very special 9 year old girl - that I haven't had the pleasure of even meeting yet..... The story starts with a generous donation I received  from a business associate, who I haven't really even seen in a long time. (A touching story in and of itself) This man and his wife did the walk last year and this special young lady that they knew did a birthday party to raise donations for this couple's walk. Her name is Kelsey. This year, Kelsey was looking to donate again, but since this couple isn't walking this year, they referred her on to me. How lucky am I?!  In May Kelsey will be turning 10 and all birthday gifts raised, will be donated towards the Komen walk through me!!!! I feel honored to be invited to this birthday party - I can't imagine a better one. But the story gets better. I have been corresponding with Kelsey's mom, who has given me a glimpse into what Kelsey is like and I am just amazed and think we could all take a lesson or two from Kelsey.

Kelsey is recently adopted by this wonderful family, but she started out at the age of 4 with them as a foster child. When she came to them she could not even speak - nothing - no words. She was left in the dark in a broken crib. Can you imagine? She had been so neglected. This family has taught her everything she knows. What I have learned so far about Kelsey is that she is very enthusiastic about life and does not care so much about "things" as she does about living and enjoying life and doing good things for others. I can only imagine what a tough road it was in the early years for Kelsey and her family - getting through the challenges or learning to speak and catching up, but catch up she has! Her mom tells me she wakes up smiling and goes to bed smiling. She knows how to love and how to give. She has a German Shephard named Duke that means the world to her. She has been given the gift of a beautiful voice and now sings and has had the honor of singing in the children's choir at the Boston Conservatory of Music! Kelsey is beautiful and her smile is so bright -- I've seen the pictures and I cannot wait to meet this talented, giving and very special girl and the parents that taught her so well.

I will keep you all posted on this journey with Kelsey. I can't wait to be able to meet her and have my girls meet her. They have read all the emails about her and know she is something special.

Kudos to Kelsey!!  What an inspiration. 

On the training front - training has begun. What am I doing to train to walk 60 miles.... Walking!! Lots of walking. There is a training schedule of a building number of miles each week, which will take a lot of time to keep up with. Luckily there are lots of us looking to walk, so it shouldn't be hard to find someone to walk with. I get bored walking alone. Then there is Connie - my neighbor who walks almost daily at 4 a.m. -- yes, you read it right - 4 a.m.! I love going out to get in my morning walks with her - but once or twice a week at that time is about all I can seem to handle. She has kept me going all winter. Yes... she is crazy, and she is bringing me with her! You do get a lot accomplished when you get up that early. I'm also starting to run (okay jog... slowly) again. It feels great. I am doing the Couch to 5K program. And yes, some days I do have to drag myself off the couch. Hopefully I can kick the couch habit to the side and get this body into record shape!!

If you haven't already, please become a fan of our team on Facebook. Tough Warrior Princesses! We want to be the strongest team from Boston and we are well on our way!! We are working on our fundraisers now. We have some great silent auction items, and are looking for fundraising ideas and ways to promote our auction items.

Thanks for all your support!!! The donations, the kind words -- it is just amazing!!

And it just keeps getting better!

Well -- Good news and lots of it!!!  I went to Dana Farber last Wednesday during the snow storm that wasn't for a full "spa" day.  I had a MUGA scan, which is something I have been doing every three months - due to the treatment I am on potentially causing heart damage.  I once again passed with flying colors!!  Wahoo!  Next I went to see my oncologist who Congratulated me.... and I didn't understand why.  It was my LAST treatment!!!  I didn't even know.  I thought I had one more coming up in March.  It was a strange feeling.  Bittersweet.  Excited that I'm at the end of treatment, but scared that I'm not actively doing what felt like my safety net all year.  It just made me feel safe and now I feel a bit vulnerable.  I am now taking Tamoxifen for the next 5 years and that's it.  Next Chapter!!!  I'm moving on!!

So our team "The Tough Warrior Princesses" met this week.  We are now a team of 10!!  I got to meet 2 new team members, Gretchen and Theresa.  I am grateful they are on the team and they were awesome!!  The best news for me is that my other Sister-in-law, Sue has now joined our team!!!  Well, I know I have voiced how awed I am that SIL, Cheryl would be walking beside me - now to have Sue as well just makes it so incredible.  These two women have become my sisters.  (which is good because I always wanted a sister - no offense 2 my brothers)  The three of us can walk side by side in honor of my mom, Beverly, which we have so often talked of doing in the past.  Sue will also be walking for the future of her girls - if you don't know Sue - here is what makes her journey special.  She has a two year old daughter and also has 3 1/2 month old twin girls.  She is busy and training commitments will be tough, but she can do it!   

The team is amazing!  We have now planned a dance/silent auction for May 8th and we are also working on planning a clambake and a Flatbread Pizza fundraiser.   Oh, and did I mention we are now the TOP #1 team in the country for fundraising total so far?  Now, we know we won't stay there for long.  There are many teams that have lot's of women and raise huge totals every year, but we are trying our best and we are very proud of ourselves!  To find a cure for breast cancer / cancer would just be amazing and I want to contribute as much as possible to the goal. 

We are heading off skiing this weekend!  Looking forward to it.  Last year, I didn't get to ski and this year I'm grateful to be able to ski and feel good doing it!!!

Blessings to you all - Thank you so much for all the love and support.

Cancer Free and Loving it!!!

I can now officially say that I am ONE YEAR cancer free as of Feb. 9th!!!! What a great milestone!!! It's an anniversary that I hope to be celebrating for a long, long time!!! No more dreading birthdays and getting older -- I embrace it!! A wrinkle here, fat roll there, gray hairs.... it's all okay. I am healthy and feeling fantastic. Age really does come with wisdom, compassion, insight and a new openness.

I am finally at the tail end of my treatments!!!! Diagnosed in November of 2008 -- it has been a long road. 3 surgeries and chemo/herceptin treatments which all started January 2009. At first treatments were weekly and then eventually progressed to every three weeks. I am happy to say I have my second to last treatment this week and am looking forward to my last treatment at the beginning of March!!! It will be great to have this final phase behind me.

A lot has happened to team Tough Warrior Princesses since my last post -- Most importantly, our team has added three additional members!! We are now 7 strong and hopefully will add more! Welcome to Tina (a fellow breast cancer survivor) Gretchen and Theresa. Our team now consists of 3 young survivors. We had our first team meeting and have some fundraising ideas to help us all reach our committed goals. We are a fun-loving group and I expect we will have a lot of fun while raising awareness and cash for our cause.

Last week Cheryl and I attended a Komen Getting Started meeting. Sherri was there too, as a meeting facilitator. So, I guess you could say this was the meeting that was informing us exactly what we had gotten ourselves into.... We have to raise WHAT? And walk how FAR?? And sleep in a tiny TENT? It's all good. The meeting was informational and uplifting. Yes, Cheryl cried... but if you know Cheryl, you knew that. (She cries at commercials!) Kidding aside, it was amazing. There was a young girl (in her twenties) at the meeting who had recently lost her mother to breast cancer, and I so felt her pain and saw myself in her. Yet here she was already, determined to make a difference. There were about 10 women there and we all had our own personal reasons for being there - and I don't think anyone didn't shed a tear or two. We walked out of there determined to not only raise our minimum $2,300 each, but more.

We have scheduled an evening at the Polish Club on May 8th. There will be music, fun, friends and even silent auctions. More details to follow.

We are looking to add team members, so if you think you could be interested in getting in shape and having some fun and raising $$$, inquire within!!!  It is a big commitment, but it's for your mothers, sister's, daughters, wives (yes, men welcome) aunts and grandmothers.  This disease hits 1 in 8.  You don't think it can happen to you...... until it does.


Blessings!
Patty

The First Step is the Hardest! January 2010

I have always wanted to do the Susan Komen 3 Day for the Cure to honor my mother's courageous fight with breast cancer 17 years ago. Every year I would debate doing it and ultimately was afraid to try to raise the money you are required to raise. Well, this year.... after my own fight with breast cancer and along with the inspiration of my beautiful and strong breast cancer survivor friend, Sherri, here I go. 3 Days and 60 miles - a minimum commitment of $2,300 and a personal goal of raising $5,000.  Sherri tells me the hard part is not raising money, it's all the training that goes in to getting your body ready to do 60 miles in 3 days...... I'm more worried about the fundraising - but I'm ready!!!

The moment I committed to the walk, my sister-in-law, Cheryl immediately also committed - without me even begging or coercing (which I'm pretty good at). I'm so floored and grateful that she would take this walk beside me, it goes beyond words. She has been beside me every single moment since my diagnosis, and I'm so glad to know we can take this uplifting, meaningful and challenging journey together. Can't imagine doing this without Cheryl beside me to remind me that the glass is not just 1/2 full -- it's at least 3/4 full!!

And then there is my friend Vicky. Every exercise goal I have ever had involves Vicky. She is the best workout buddy and friend anyone could wish for. I just never thought she would do this challenge with me, because, like me - she is most afraid of fundraising. The day she called me to say she was stepping outside her comfort zone in my honor was truly incredible. Yes, tears. I'm so happy to know I don't have to do 60 miles without my drill sargent beside me.

So, it's the 4 of us (unless of course we recruit any more crazies) and we are calling our team  "The Tough Warrior Princesses." Why? A Tough Warrior Princess is a strong female personality, determined in the pursuit of her goals and often eager to do take on a typical 'man's work' like fighting wars or performing manual labor to accomplish those goals -- when of a royal backround, a woman warrior may be called a warrior princess.    Well, we may not be from royal backgrounds, and we may not really be eager to take on lots of physical work -- but we are ready to take on the war of fighting breast cancer and are ready to accomplish any goal.

I'm proud of us already!

Please consider donating to our cause by clicking on the 3-Day icon above and stay tuned for updates on our progress!