Our family walked in the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure to Breast Cancer in the streets of downtown Baltimore. We had a great time joining thousands of others on a cold but beautiful day. When walking we read everyone's banners on their shirts that states who they are walking for and whether it is in honor of someone who is fighting/survived breast cancer or whether it is in memory of someone who died from breast cancer. The ones that absolutely broke our hearts were the signs on very young children that says they are walking in "Memory of Mommy".
When crossing the finish line, it was a very emotional moment. They were announcing the names of the ladies wearing pink signs denoting they were survivors as they crossed the finish line. These women fought and won and that was a very encouraging and victorious moment for all to see them cross the finish line alive and well.
We learned a great deal from one survivor Lisa Collins who is involved in the young survivors coalition. She is a 4 year survivor and her grandmother died of breast cancer. She was only 29 when she was diagnosed. She told us about how fast cancer kills young women and we came to realize how often young women don't realize they can either get breast cancer in their 20s and 30s and that they sometimes go years misdiagnosed because some doctors don't even realize how young women can be suffering from breast cancer too!
We walked in honor of Judy Johnson who is fighting breast cancer presently, in memory of my friend Elizabeth's sister-in-law Stephanie Wasson who died just 2 years ago at the young age of 35 from breast cancer leaving behind two young boys and two beautiful nephews, and in memory of Austin's grandmother Pauline Martyniuk "pam-am" who died 16 years ago from breast cancer.
We raised $235.00 in honor of and in memory of these women. The team we were on "Team Wasson" (named for Stephanie) placed third at the awards ceremony for largest team with the most money raised. Total our team raised more than $18,000.
Hopefully, next year we will be able to raise even more money for this cause and encourage others in our family and in our community to walk/run in the Race for the Cure closest to them!
We are wearing the orange Team Wasson shirts that has the drawing on the front "Don't Give Up" designed by one of Stephanie's children. Aidan is wearing his Kids for the Cure 2006 shirt. It's a bit big.
