Nothing to do but blog, that is. Life has been so busy lately, it's been hard to get on and write regularly and I'm hopelessly behind on my blog reading. Basketball season officially got underway last night with the start of a tournament at Ouachita Baptist University. Bethany's team played at 8:30 p.m. (getting us home around 10:30 p.m.) and they won. Lucky us, that means we get to play tomorrow night at 8:30 p.m. And win or lose, we'll play again Thursday night. Then there's the start of football playoffs Friday night. Busy, but fun. And I am so thankful that Bethany has sufficiently recovered from her concussion to be able to play a little bit last night. She was not quite on her game, but she'll get there. God is good.
I've been wanting to share a little bit about the CureSearch Walk for pediatric cancer awareness and funding that we were privileged to be a part of on October 15th. This was the first time this event has ever been held in Little Rock, and we felt it was a huge success.
The morning began at Murray Park in Little Rock, where a ceremony was held to honor the young cancer survivors, and then we walked a 5K. The route took us over the Big Dam Bridge and back. As you can see, the weather was perfect!
When we reached the end of the Big Dam Bridge, there was a banner for all of us to sign, either in honor or in memory of our children. Just take a look at how many children, just from Arkansas, are touched by cancer.
We walked with our friends, Bobby and Amy, whose 5-year-old son Joel went to Heaven in August after a battle with pediatric brain cancer. We got to see several of the families whose children were fighting cancer at the same time that Hannah was. It was wonderful (if somewhat bittersweet) to see those kids growing and thriving. We were also able to visit with Hannah's oncologist for the first time since we walked out of Children's Hospital over two years ago, and it was great to visit with him outside of a hospital setting. He introduced us to his wife, and said that Hannah was the "most beautiful girl he had ever seen." Maybe he says that about all of his patients, but knowing him, I really don't think so. Let's just say I was glad I had my sunglasses on.
Over $50,000 was raised for pediatric cancer research that day. We've got a long way to go to catch up to the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure, but it's a start. You know...the breast cancer folks have done an incredible job of raising awareness and funding for their cause. And it's a great cause! I don't think you can find anyone who is not aware of the prevalence of breast cancer in this country. But...I can not tell you how many times I've heard someone (including myself) say, "I had no idea how many children were affected by cancer until my child was diagnosed with it." It's time to get the word out. We are looking forward to being a part of the CureSearch Walk for years to come!
2 comments:
What a sweet compliment to Hannah. And what a neat cause. I was shocked at all the names on the sign. I once heard someone say that he had taken a relative to M. D. Anderson and that there you saw that cancer was no respecter of age, gender, or nationality - that people came to that center from all around the world, young and old. But I never thought about that many kids being here in Arkansas. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for sharing this! You are right...until you are faced with it...you have no idea how big it is!!! I guarantee Hannah was the most beautiful! :)
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