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jayfurrI have reached my minimum fundraising goal for Tampa and DC so I can now walk both cities. I thank everyone who donated generously and am grateful for your support. Per my promise, I will now HUSH UP about fundraising until June 19 -- the day I plan to walk 60 miles in 24 hours.
I should be pleased by the news that my fundraising total is almost at the $5000 mark. But I'm not, not really.
Last night, I was briefly and annoyingly wide awake for a while and wandered into my home office to check my email. I saw an email with the blessed subject line "A donation has been made on your behalf" and had the usual WOO HOO reaction. Then I opened it and saw the donor, and the amount, and said "Wait. She already donated VERY generously this year. And now she's given $500???" I immediately went to my 3-Day participant center and viewed the donor message left by my friend when she entered the donation -- and saw the horrible news as to why she'd given again, and given so generously. Cancer that had been in remission in someone she cares about ... isn't in remission any more. Let's just put it that way. I wrote and thanked my donor and said how sorry I was, then went upstairs to bed again and lay awake for about another hour, just staring at the ceiling.
I'm glad to be at $4767 with months to go before Boston, DC, and Tampa. But I wish that fundraising targets being reached didn't have to come at such an appalling human cost. It's times like this that the reason we walk comes home so powerfully. I've gotten donations from people after they lost a loved one, or in memory of a loved one, and I'm sad then too... but I can't help feeling absolutely rotten when I hear the news that someone who thought they'd beat cancer finds out the hard way that the monster's come back for another round, and who knows what the ultimate outcome will be?
Cancer sucks. :(
I should be pleased by the news that my fundraising total is almost at the $5000 mark. But I'm not, not really.
Last night, I was briefly and annoyingly wide awake for a while and wandered into my home office to check my email. I saw an email with the blessed subject line "A donation has been made on your behalf" and had the usual WOO HOO reaction. Then I opened it and saw the donor, and the amount, and said "Wait. She already donated VERY generously this year. And now she's given $500???" I immediately went to my 3-Day participant center and viewed the donor message left by my friend when she entered the donation -- and saw the horrible news as to why she'd given again, and given so generously. Cancer that had been in remission in someone she cares about ... isn't in remission any more. Let's just put it that way. I wrote and thanked my donor and said how sorry I was, then went upstairs to bed again and lay awake for about another hour, just staring at the ceiling.
I'm glad to be at $4767 with months to go before Boston, DC, and Tampa. But I wish that fundraising targets being reached didn't have to come at such an appalling human cost. It's times like this that the reason we walk comes home so powerfully. I've gotten donations from people after they lost a loved one, or in memory of a loved one, and I'm sad then too... but I can't help feeling absolutely rotten when I hear the news that someone who thought they'd beat cancer finds out the hard way that the monster's come back for another round, and who knows what the ultimate outcome will be?
Cancer sucks. :(
