RELAY FOR LIFE - Mechanicsville, VA Edition

We are hoping for exactly this - a cure!

I had an amazing time at Relay for Life yesterday at Lee-Davis High School. I participated with the New Highland Hope team. The team was comprised of individuals from my church. I arrived about 4:45 and checked in at the survivor tent. There I received my purple "SURVIVOR" t-shirt, a hat and a pin. As I walked back to our tent, I was surprised to see Staci wearing a survivor shirt. I did not realize that she had had cancer. She is very lucky to have survived stage 4 melanoma. Her doctor later told her that there had been a 98% chance that the melanoma would be fatal. I know that she thanks God daily that she is alive three years later.

Staci and I then joined Tommy to kick off the relay by walking the survivor's lap. Tommy's wife, Linda, is a survivor as well, but she and Rose, another survivor, weren't there yet to walk the lap. After the survivors tok a lap, caregivers - past and present - joined the survivors for the next lap. Then the other participants were welcome to take the track as well.

The American Cancer Society provided a dinner for survivors, which was catered by Italian Kitchen. Staci, Tommy and I enjoyed a wonderful meal. We certainly appreciated their generosity and recognition of survivors.

After dinner, I headed back to the track to put in some more laps. They had a karate demonstration in one end zone. Jazzercise did another demonstration in the other end zone. Music was playing over the speakers, and later there were bands that also played. It was a very celebratory atmosphere, which made walking in circles around a track very enjoyable. I don't usually like track workouts, but this was different. It was also neat to see the various fund raising ideas that teams incorporated into the event. New Highland brought their moon bounce for children to enjoy at $1 a turn. Many groups sold food. One group was giving manicures. Another was selling purses. And some took advantage of the impending nighttime to sell illuminated sound makers and necklaces. The (almost) full moon rising above the stadium was gorgeous.

I ran into some fellow Lee-Davis graduates on the track. It was wonderful to see Sheri and Kelly again. We walked several laps around the track together and reminisced.


The luminary ceremony followed nightfall. It was a very touching experience. They read aloud each name for whom a luminary had been purchased - both for those "in honor of" and for those "in memory of." It's a sobering reminder of how many people have been directly impacted by cancer.

Jolene Ashcraft, another L-D graduate, passed away July 2002

The Relay for Life committee had planned many fun things for the evening. They had a crazy hat lap, a birthday celebration lap with party hats, and a Miss Relay competition, just to mention a few. I left before the Miss Relay competition got underway, but this picture was taken by Sheri and will give you some idea of the fun had by all.


Next year I plan to spend the night and be a part of all the activities. I hope you will also consider joining a future Relay for Life event. Much money is being raised by individuals to help find a cure for cancer, which is so important!

Visit with Uncle Mike

Last Friday, my mom, my sister and I went to visit my Uncle Mike. Unfortunately he has terminal lung cancer that has metastasized to his brain. I don't think I'd seen him for about twenty years, but he recently reached out to his ex-sister-in-laws, asking that they come see him. My mother figured that Mike might enjoy seeing his nieces as well, so she asked if we would like to go along.

Mike lives in Caroline County, not too far from my mom. So my sister, Tricia, and I met at her house and drove to Mom's. My nephew, Josh, also went along. We had decided to take a meal to Mike and his family, so Mom made her famous short ribs and bought an angel food cake. I made farmer's potatoes and bought a salad, and Tricia bought rolls to round out the meal. When we arrived at Mike's, no one was home. So we hung out and pet the horses and visited with the rooster. There was an adorable field mouse that would sneak out and steal the rooster's food while we were watching. If you look closely, you can see the mouse near the red caddy.


We had decided to leave and put the meal in their fridge, when Mike got home. I'm glad we got to see him. We all brought pictures to share with Mike. Some were from when we were kids, and some were present day pictures of our families. Mike has never met our children, so we wanted to share them with him. We reminisced about old times for a short time, and then Mike was worn out and let us know he needed to rest. It's hard to see him undergoing the ravages of cancer. He still has the same eyes and the same voice, but otherwise we wouldn't have even known him. He spends most of his time sitting out in his garage, pictured here, enjoying his land.


I often coach Team in Training participants and have fund raised for them three times. Team in Training focuses on blood cancers, but their research often benefits all cancers. And all cancers need to be defeated! This has been brought home to me even more after visiting with Uncle Mike. I will take part in the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life on June 6th and 7th at Lee-Davis High School to raise awareness and funds. You can click here for more information. I will be sure to post about Relay for Life next week. This will be my first time participating in that event. I'm looking forward to the special survivor activities they have planned. But more on that later....

Memorial Day Weekend 2009

We had a wonderful time with family and friends at my dad's river house last weekend. Friends included Mike and Angela and their girls and Keith and his dog. Our immediate family, consisting of my husband, Don, sons, Ryan (18) and Adam (15), and daughter, Rebecca (11), were all able to go, including Adam's girlfriend, Heather. Also, my sister-in-law, Donna, and niece, Kelsie, were there. We were greeted the first night with this beautiful sunset.

There was a lot of relaxing, napping, reading, playing games, great food, boating, canoeing, swimming and wonderful fellowship.

Is there anything better than slowing down to enjoy the life that God's given you? After having cancer twice, I really appreciate life.

Sunday morning I walked/ran 8 1/2 miles. It's one of my favorite routes, especially down at the "rivah." I walk from Daddy's house to a subdivision that's on the Chesapeake Bay and back. There is a house on the Bay that has beautiful landscaping. There is so much to look at and appreciate. I'm always tempted to stop and ask if the metal sculptures that are in the yard are the handiwork of the owner. I'm trying to stay in shape for my next half marathon. I think that will be the Patrick Henry Half Marathon in Ashland, VA on August 29th.

But, back to our long weekend. Ryan, who is in the Air Force and stationed at Langley AFB in Hampton, VA, was able to be part of the weekend. Here's a picture of him riding on the tube behind the boat.

And another of Kelsie and Donna.

The kids tried fishing one afternoon, with no luck. From reading Facebook posts, very few people had any success with fishing on Memorial Day weekend.

Here's a picture of Adam and Heather in the canoe. They were inseparable the whole weekend.

I am so thankful that I am blessed with a beautiful family and friends. I'm looking forward to our next gathering.

16 years

Today marks 16 years from the day that I was told that I had cancer the first time. I was seven months pregnant with my second son and was still in the operating room after having a lymph node biopsied with local anesthesia. The pathologist called my surgeon and confirmed that it was Hodgkin lymphoma. It seems like yesterday that my mom told me that she was willing to share anything with me -- but had hoped this wouldn't be one of those things. You see, she had Hodgkin lymphoma just four years earlier in 1989.

I am so happy to be a long-term survivor and have participated with Team in Training on three separate occasions to raise funds to help find a cure for blood cancers. I have coached other participants to walk half marathons and marathons as well. On March 4th of this year, I was diagnosed with thyroid cancer. There is a good chance that this cancer was caused by the external radiation used to cure the Hodgkin's. We must find cures that don't increase a survivor's risk for other cancers.

GO TEAM! ~Kristi