3Days in PINK! My 3-Day Susan G. Komen Walk for the Cure! Philadelphia, October 15-17, 2010! About This Page:

[islandgirl]

Great job raising all the money!!!

[chezp]

Congrats on raising all that money Sue!

[RunningPrincess]

Wow, that is a lot of money! Great job.

[mpwife153]

Great fundraising Sue!

[rescuesk]

The five days before the walk flew by. We got home on Sunday and unpacked, did laundry, all those get home things. Monday I was off, and I got the doggies from camp, food shopped, cleaned the house up. Tuesday I worked, Wednesday I worked a double and Thursday I had off. I thought I would spend the day relaxing, but that was not the case at all. I came home and made a huge list. I had to go see my dad, get to the bank, get my nails done, and do about a million other things. On top of that, Steve and I are the unofficial videographers for the Save the Dansbury Depot project (our summer quest to save an 1864 historic train station from destruction). We had fought to get her moved to a safe location, and the move was taking place TOMORROW!!! There was no way I could be there, so I needed to get some last minute pictures of her before her move.

All that was finally done. Steve and I went out to dinner at our favorite local place, and then I went home to pack. I assumed that I would pack quickly and be in bed by 10. Yeah, not so much. I packed, then thought of alot of other things to take care of. I needed to charge all my phone and camera batteries, since we weren't sure if we would be able to charge them in camp. And then I did some last minute laundry. I decided to charge my MP3 player, too. By the time I really got to bed, it was almost midnight and I was almost too excited to sleep.

One detail made me a much happier camper. We were supposed to be camping outside for 2 days. I am not much of a camper, and I really wasn't looking forward to that part of the weekend. On Wednesday, we got an email telling us that our camping had been moved indoors, due to the forecasted inclement weather. Oh happy day!

Friday morning, I was up at 3:15 AM. I dressed and packed my last minute things, and kissed Steve and the furbabies goodbye. I was driving to my walking partner, Mitzi's, house, and her hubby was driving us down. Our plan was that Herb would drive us down, and Steve would pick us up on Sunday.

I got to their house at 4:30, and we were off. The walk doesn't give you breakfast the first day, so I ate a yogurt and a banana on the way down. Soon, we arrived at Willow Grove mall. It was dark, cold and crowded but you could feel the electricity in the air. Plus, the promised monsoon-type weather never appeared! We dropped off our luggage while Herb went to park the car. We headed over to registration, checked in, and we were ready.

Next...the emotional beginning!

[DawnK]

Great job raising all that money!!

[disney_duke]

Holy fundraising, batman. Wow!! Good work. Too bad you didn't get much rest before the big day. Oh well, our bodies manage somehow, don't they?!!

[chezp]

Wow, you really didn't get much rest before you started out, did you?

[Colexis Mom]

Another great update!

[goofysdtr]

Way to go on the fund-raising, Sue! Glad to hear you avoided the monsoon!

[kmurburg]

You are so awesome! I am so astounded by your energy and dedication to this very worthy cause! This disease keeps striking closer and closer to me and the fight becomes more personal with each new victim. In the past few years 3 women that I work with have been diagnosed. 2 have become survivors and our 3rd friend was just diagnosed this past June with a very aggressive type of breast cancer. She is my age and we went to Lab Tech school together. All of our coworkers are supporting her in any way we can. Recently we began making pink bracelets to fund raise for our local Making Strides against Breast Cancer Walk. We were able to donate over $1000 in our friend's name and participated in a 5K walk last weekend. I am so in awe that you were able to fundraise such a huge total and do 3 days of marathon length walks. you rock! I can't wait to hear more of your story!

[pamcarey]

Thanks so much for walking for such an important cause! Great job fundraising!

[rescuesk]

Thanks for all the wonderful support!

It was cold out, but the air was filled with warmth. The first thing we did was to head over to the rememberance table. On the table were white ribbons, and if you were walking in memory of someone, you put their name on the ribbon. I signed my mom's name:


We made a quick bathroom stop and then entered the holding area, which was lit by big pink lights:




One of the major corporate sponsors is Energizer, and when we arrived, we were given pink foam bunny ears. This is Mitzi with her ears on:



The sun began to come up, and soon the called all the walkers into the holding area. Mitzi had found Herb, and he was on the sidelines with his phone for some action shots. We went into the middle, and listened to the opening remarks. Most of them were about the sponsors, at least to start.

The theme of the 3-Day is "Everyone Deserves a Lifetime":

Check out all those pink bunny ears:




Then, the opening ceremony began. The speaker was Jenne Fromm, the spokesperson for the Susan G. Komen 3-Day. She started out her speech about why we were walking. She talked to us about the devastating disease that claims so many lives, and how many people, men also, would never have a lifetime because of breast cancer. It robbed daughters of their mothers, sisters of their sisters, husbands of their wives. It knows no economic or social boundary. It doesn't discriminate and it often strikes without warning.

As she spoke, the survivors who were walking with us began to fill the stage. Each carried a banner. Some of the banners listed all the things that happen in a lifetime, all the things that breast cancer victims would never experience. Graduations, birthdays, grandchildren...everyday miracles. Then, they began to carry the banners of who we were walking for. My mother, my friend, my aunt, my husband, my hero.


The survivors left the stage and carried the banners past the walkers in the holding area.








The survivors arrived at center stage. Before they ascended the stage, the ribbons we had written on were raised.


Then the survivors climbed the stage and circled the flag of ribbons, making a circle of survivors to protect and remember those inside the circle who had lost their battle.




Needless to say, this was so emotional for me. I turned to Mitzi, who was walking in honor of her friend Laura, who is battling breast cancer right now. We were both crying, and we just stood in the middle of this hugging. So were hundreds of other walkers. If I had any doubts about any of this, I knew right then and there why I was walking and that I was doing a good thing. I could feel my mother so strongly with me right then, I would not have been surprised to see her standing right there.

Herb told Mitzi later that he had been standing on the sidelines when a man about his age walked past him in the holding area. He was a walker, and his shirt said "I am walking in memory of my wife." Herb said that he really got it then. It really hit home.

The survivors came off the stage, filed down the center, and the mood began to lighten. The music changed, the banners now led the way, and we were on our way!



Next...Day 1!

[chezp]

What an emotional start to the walk - and so well put together as well. I love all the touches with the banners, the survivors and getting people to write who they were walking for. It sounds like so much thought went into this. I was filling up just reading it.

[Colexis Mom]

What a great start! I'm in tears just reading it, I can't imagine being there in person! More please!