Update on Shelby

This is an email from Shelby's mom that I received today. Please pray for Shelby. It is families like this that are my driving force to complete this marathon and raise as much money as we can. This is real life and people are affected daily from these blood diseases.


Hello,
I'm sorry that I haven't e-mailed, but my philosophy is...no news is good news...which brings me to the update...over the last couple of years Shelby has had bouts of severe fatigue and she just does NOT feel well. We have been through a gammet of tests and the doctors have put her on thyroid medication. That seemed to work for a while and although she would be extremely tired towards the end of the school week, we chalked it up to her less than perfect system (due to the chemotherapy and side effects). Well, this summer she was still going through the fatigue, so we thought, maybe she is about to "start", she is 13 after-all. Things have gotten worse...she has been on the couch this whole week. We went to the dr. for blood work hoping that the thyroid rx needed to be "tweaked", but the numbers looked in normal range...so...tomorrow she goes in for an echocardiogram...she may have an enlarged heart which would explain the fatigue. I am worried, JJ is worried and even Shelby is worried...she asked me if she would need a heart transplant!!...can you imagine having that worry at 13? It breaks my heart that she is feeling so bad, and worse that I have no solution for her. Of course, the doctors asked the usual questions...are you having trouble in school? are you having trouble with your friends? The answer to all are NO! Even she knows where they are going with that line of questions...it is so frustrating to have people think it may be emotional...I know it is NOT!! She told me today, I love 7th grade...I love it more than 6th grade, I love my classes and I miss my friends. Hopefully, she will feel better soon...please pray for her!!! She has been through TOO MUCH!! She is the sweetest, most compassionate girl...she needs a break, so do we, we are exhausted with worry...I thank you for your caring, love and support!
Sincerely,
Mollie

Happy Birthday Marilyn

Twelve years ago today, September 24, 1996, a beautiful baby girl named Marilyn Williams entered this world. No one knew at that time what her life would consist of. Know one knew that in less than 11 years she would be going to her heavenly home. God knew though, and God created her, prepared her and used her in amazing ways during those few years of life she had.

I received an email from her mother, Connie, this morning after she looked at the blog. This is part of what she said, "The impact of your dad and Marilyn's lives is tremendous. When I saw Shelby's picture it took my breath away. It reminded me of Marilyn - long dark curly hair, big dog.........WOW! Our prayers are with you and yours daily. "

Jeff was able to visit with Connie a little this week and we know it is extremely hard for her on special days like this. Days she wishes she was having a birthday party for her precious child instead of shedding many tears of sorrow. It has only been a little over a year since Marilyn went to be with her Heavenly Father and the pain is still so fresh. There is nothing to take away that pain of losing someone you love so dearly- - -I know because I feel the same pain for my father. Even though we may know they are in a better place and they are happy, we still miss them immensley.

Connie shared a part out of a book she was reading and said it seemed like something Marilyn would have written. It was a letter from a 13-year-old girl who had also passed away. I wanted to share a portion of it.

"This is one of those 'if you're reading it I'm not around' letters. I guess it might be hard for you to read, but there are things I wanted to say, and I might not have the chance. First is, thank you so much for not aborting me. I know it wasn't easy for you to go through what you did, but you gave me life. Maybe you're thinking it would be better if you hadn't, since I dind't get to live very long. Don't think that.

My life was not a waste. I know I lived for a reason. I've done what I was created to do. I served my Jesus the best I could, and I think others have hope because of me. I might have wanted a different life, a healthy one. But Jesus knew better. So don't be sad for what I've lost. Be happy for what I've found."

Marilyn touched more lives in her short life than many people do in their entire lives. She was a trooper, she lived for Jesus, and she told you about it. She was not ashamed of the gospel and she had the courage to live a life of suffering and hardship for her Jesus. She truly laid her life down for Him and glorified Him in the process.

Now she gets to celebrate her birthday with Jesus! Happy Birthday Marilyn!

The LONG Training Runs are OVER!

It's done. . .20 miles done! I am in major pain, but I am sure my pain pales in comparison to the pain my dad and Marilyn went through in their fight against cancer. These are the things I try to focus on when my body is screaming at me to STOP running!

I took my FIRST ice bath- - -that's how bad the pain was. I am not sure it helped, but I was numb for the time I was in the bath.

Now it is time to rest. Three weeks until race day and the runs are short- - -9 miles being the longest. I am excited to rest these next 3 weeks, but a little nervous that my confidence to run a LONG run will be shattered.

Jeff did great tonight- - -he completed 19 miles and wasn't too far behind me. He quit last week at 10 miles so I was proud of him to make it 19 tonight. Remember, HE HATES RUNNING!

20 Miles- - Too Legit To Quit

In about 30 minutes, between 3:30 - 4:00 pm, we will begin running. So, when will we finish?? Good question! If we can keep the pace as normal, we should be rolling in around 7:30-8:00 pm. That is just insane to do any physical activity for that long of a period!!

I am quite sure I will have NO energy left to blog about it. I will barely be able to walk. I will barely be able to walk tomorrow either.

I am SO glad this is our final LONG run before the marathon. On my iPod, somewhere near the point where I usually want to fall over and die, the song Too Legit To Quit comes on. This is an oldy, but a goody, especially when you feel like lying down in someone's yard for a nap when you still have 8 more miles to run. Tonight it might be 10 more miles to run when that song comes on. Hammer Time!!

Well, I need to go get ready!

18 Miles

I was pretty excited I survived the 18 mile run on Monday morning. Then I thought, "Wow, the marathon will be 8 MORE MILES!" and I wasn't excited about my 18 miles anymore.

We have one more really long run- - -Sunday we will do 20 miles. Then it will be time to start tapering down to rest our legs for RACE DAY!! After our 20 miler, our longest run until race day will be only 9 miles. That will seem so easy at this point!

24 DAYS TO GO!!

It's Important to Me!

Things are going well. Jeff and I both seem to be injury free at this point. The knee braces have been miraculous to me. Fifteen miles didn't seem bad on Sunday- - - -our legs are recovering faster.

Now is the time to zero in on fundraising. I think it is hard for people who have not been affected by something to truly understand the cause behind it. I think LLS is a great cause and it is important to me, but that does not make it important to everyone. It is important to me because I was personally afffected by it.

I think about some friends of ours who battle with a different disease and there are probably a lot of people out there who don't feel "called" to support that cause either. I think after watching my father suffer from lymphoma, it makes me more sensitive to those who suffer from this disease. However, those who have not been affected by it, do not realize the trauma it causes to families. I get that and understand that. I was once was there also.

I want to raise as much money as we can- - -because I know and have researched so much about blood cancer treatments. I know how they are continually improving on treatments and treatments with less side affects. I realize that MONEY is important to their research. I realize that these diseases can be genetic and it is highly possible that those in my immediate family could someday suffer from one of these diseases. It is REAL for me! It is important to me!!

Encouraging Email From a TNT Teammate

This was an email I received today froma fellow Team in Training runner. It was encouraging to me so I wanted to post it here:

I trust all is well. I did a long run Saturday (22 miles) with my local TNT Chapter. At mile 20 I was a bit out of sorts. Self doubt, confusion and second guessing were leading the way in thoughts that were circulating in my mind. To be honest I was not happy. I was expressing my frustrations to a few teammates when one of them asked "do you know what your problem is?". My first response was "where do you want me to begin?". She said "you are thinking too much about it". Plain and simple. As we get into more miles it's hard not to have negative thoughts. Am I training enough? Am I training too much. The race is five weeks away. On and on and on. The bottom line is to "not to eat the elephant in one sitting". A mile here a mile there. Nice and easy, cool as ice. You continue to make it happen. I made a huge mistake and forgot for a moment what this is really all about. It's about the patients and survivors. It has ALWAYS been about them.

Fundraising Totals Through 08/29/08
TOTAL: $75,586.37
AMANDA: $4,835.56
DENNIS: $4,100.60
JONATHAN: $4,050.00
MARIE/JOHN: $3,700.00

A few weeks ago I spoke about where some of the money you raised went. Take a look and pass on while you finish up your fundraising.
$25 pays for 5 days of parking at a local hospital for a family member to take a myeloma patient to an outpatient clinic visit.
$50 pays for resources and materials (Trish Greene Back to School Program) for two children with leukemia to help ease their transition back to school after treatment.
$250 pays for 10 $25 phone cards for blood cancer survivor peer volunteers to make phone calls of support to newly diagnosed patients through the First Connection Program.
100 individuals donating $400 each will support one year of research for a Leukemia & Lymphoma Society Fellow.
$500 will provide reimbursement for cancer medications, not covered by insurance, to one patient with leukemia, lymphoma, or myeloma.
$1,000 will provide reimbursement for radiation co-pays, not covered by insurance, for two lymphoma patients.
"Fight the good fight" "Never ever, never ever ever, give up". Thanks for letting me in today. Peace and Love!!
Dennis