Relay for Life

This summer's Relay for Life event is this Friday. It will be held at Haymarket Park on Friday night, starting at 7 pm and lasting until 7 am Saturday morning. Each team will have its members take turns walking the track. At least one member from each team must be walking. I'm excited about it. We've been fund raising for this event for quite a while. And now that the week of the relay is here, it's finally set in that I'll have to stay up all night long! I haven't done that since studying for a college final at Wesleyan. But the point of it is sleeplessness and fatique is something that cancer patients routinely endure. It's fitting that the relay has the format that it does.

There are several activities that will be going on during the relay. One event will be an auction. All procedes going to the American Cancer Society of course. We're going to auction off this rock at the Relay for Life event. It was donated to our team by Big Red Custom Rocks. I spoke to the owner of the company. He's donated items before and is very supportive of the cause.

Cancer Challenge Video- Let's Beat Cancer!

Spring Fling 2009

The Hair Raisers

The response to our fund raising efforts from family, co-workers, friends, and neighbors has been tremendous thus far. As of today, the Hair Raisers Relay for Life team sits on top of the standings for the Lincoln Haymarket Park Relay. After our first fund raising event, the garage sale, Tracy also reached the $1,000 mark. One thing that is cool about getting to one thousand is that they give you a t-shirt in recognition for getting there.

While we're proud to have reached that amount, we both know how we got there. The vast majority of the money I've raised so far has come strictly from donations made by friends and faculty members from our middle school and high school. There are still others who have said they plan to donate. I'm proud to know so many generous people. I also know from messages that they have given that a number of them have lost loved ones to cancer. Donations have been made in their name. Their donations come from the heart.

We made over $400 from yesterday's garage sale. Much of it came from the sale of smaller items. I would guess that over half of the items at the garage sale were donated by co-workers and neighbors. Tracy's mom raised some money toward her own goal by making some kolaches and cinnamon rolls to sell. That went over very well as well. And we had two neighbors on our cul-de-sac that had garage sales of their own. All of this contributed to yesterday's success. But the major thing that stood out was the willingness of the general public to help out in the fight against cancer.

There is still a long way to go. Our goal is to raise $10,000. But we've got a great team and several fund raisers still in the planning stages. We've got a shot to get there. I doubt that we'll stay very high in the rankings for much longer as many teams are just getting started in their efforts. And getting passed by many teams would be just fine with me! This is about finding a cure for a dreadful disease that is breaking hearts and taking lives every day. It feels good to be fighting back and it feels even better to have friends at our side in this fight.

Recovering From Surgery #4

Just a quick update from Friday's surgery, Tracy's 4th if you're scoring at home... I talked to Dr. Riley after the surgery and he expressed confidence that all of the cancer has finally been taken out. There was not a "margin" on what was taken out after the surgery on April 3rd. The good news is that the cancer tested out to be "noninvasive", meaning that it is not the kind of cancer that spreads, causes lumps, etc. However, if left alone, noninvasive cancer can develop into invasive cancer. That was why Tracy needed an additional portion taken out. We'll find out later in the week if the surgery was successful in taking out the rest of the cancer.

A quick update on our Relay for Life efforts. So far the response to our fund raiser has been tremendous. Thus far, we are 2nd out of 60 teams for the Haymarket Relay. It's still early on in the fund raising process though and that's a good thing. Because we set a goal to raise $10,000 this year and we'll need a lot of help to get there. The higher goal is pretty much just a reflection of the anger and determination that we have to fight back against this horrible disease. I hate what it's done to my wife and our first year together. And I don't want it to cause anymore damage. But with one in three expected to get cancer in their lifetime, I'm sure that Tracy and I haven't heard the last from cancer-- whether it's with us or our friends & loved ones. That's why we chose to fight back. We're determined to join the fight and try to make an impact in this battle.

Another surgery

We're going back to Omaha for another surgery today. We all were disappointed to hear that another surgery would be required. Tracy's attitude has been outstanding through all of this. But she's really handled the entire experience very well, so I guess that shouldn't come as a surprise. One thing we can all control through this process is our attitude. So we can make things better on ourselves, or worse. We'll post an update on how things go today.

On another topic, our Relay for Life "Hair Raiser" team is off to a good start. With 98 days left, we are 2nd out of 58 teams. I'm sure that a lot of teams are just getting started, and we have a long way to go as well. We've raised $3,300 so far, but our goal is to raise $10,000. The goal was set high because that's what a goal should be-- possible to attain, but a challenge to get there. And the reward will be worthwhile. One out of three of all of us will get cancer at some point in our lives. We cannot afford not to contribute to cancer research. And boy does it feel good to be fighting back against cancer after everything that we've been through. If you want to donate to the cause, check out my Relay for Life webpage!

Relay time!

We had our first team meeting with our Relay for Life team today. The turnout was very good with nine team members present and, with families there, a total of 17 here for the meal. Tracy made chili for lunch and afterward she went over all of the information with the team. She really did a great job with everything and I think everyone was ready to go after the meeting. Like most Relay teams, our team is primarily made up of family and friends. Our team, the Hair Raisers, has several members whose families have also had to deal with cancer so it is as personal for them as it is for us.

Relay for Life is a fundraiser for the American Cancer Society. The money goes toward cancer research as well as other cancer related services such as cancer patient care. Team member raise money for their team through donations and fund raisers. Then on July 24, our team will take turns walking between the hours of 7 pm to 7 am at Haymarket Park. It is a great activity for a wonderful cause. Cancer touches everyone, and we have a long, long way to go in the fight against cancer. Nobody knows who will be affected by this deadly disease in the future. Money we raise this year could save lives in the future.

If you are interested in donating to the cause, check out my fund raising webpage! On the site, you can make a quick, convenient online donation to our team. You can also navigate to Tracy's page, our team's page, or find out more on this great fund raiser.