Relay for Life

I haven't posted a blog...in too long. Sorry for that. So, here is a quick update! I got married, I am celebrating my first year (Yeah) and I am getting ready to move! The kids finished school, my business is growing, and I think," Hey, I should blog about that!". Then I get busy and don't do it. This past weekend, I did my first "Relay for Life" with my kids and my some great teammates. I can't just say everything cool about this life changing event in a little Facebook blast, so the blog was  perfect.
Now if you don't know anything about "Relay for Life", let me explain. "Relay for Life" is an American Cancer Society event that is put on to bring attention to cancer prevention for those that do not have cancer, finding a cure for those that do, celebrating survivors, and remembering loved ones that lost their battle to cancer. It is not just for one specific cancer, but educating regarding well known cancer's (such as breast cancer or colon cancer) but also lesser known cancers (such as brain cancer or Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma) and how to test and prevent them. Each "Team" fund raises from sign up to relay day. All proceeds go to Cancer research through the American Cancer Society.

What is the "Relay"? Relay is a 24 hour walking/running track event. The rules? Each team member needs to participate by fundraising and/or staying on the track walking or running for 24 hours straight. That is no typo, this is a 24 hr. relay, meaning if you are on the track and you get tired and need to leave the course, you need to have another member from your team take your place and continue walking for your team, and so on and so on. Since this relay takes place over 24 hours, you have plenty of opportunity to walk for your team.

What do you do when you aren't walking? Well, the rest of your team is fundraising to other team members by selling raffle tickets for gifts, or selling lumpia. I saw some crazy fundraisers, our team included! Teams sold  such things as t-shirts, jewelry, food, cold beverages, cheers, songs, dances, water balloons, glow sticks, hair chalking, pineapple upside down cake, plants, and a Justin Bieber ticket! I got my hair chalked, see below!

Relay for Life is not for the weak in spirit. It is about being a survivor and kicking Cancer's butt. It was 109 degrees on Saturday (so I was told) and there were plenty of runners out there anyway. My son's best friend Alex ran 50 laps to beat a team members record. Sountha Key  from "Austin's Bullriding Buckaroos" ran the most laps, he got to 138!

 I came home with every muscle sore, and blistered feet. My 12 year old son got heat exhaustion, and had to be taken home so he could get better. Our team was made up of  7 team members, and 3 out of 7 got sick from the heat. Only 4 of us spent the night, and none of us got through the night without sleeping a little. That is the point of the 24 hours.



Cancer doesn't sleep, so we don't either. You walk, you run, you are tired, you are sweaty, you ache, and by morning, you are delirious. The Relay starts with 100s of particants, and ends with about 100. Cancer is something loved ones suffer great pain from. Those that survive, went through agony in order to survive, so walking for 24 hours seems like a small sacrifice when you are trying to walk in someone else's shoes. Cancer kills 1 in 3 now. It used to kill 1 in 10. Cancer kills babies, mothers, daughters, sons and fathers. It doesn't care who you are, and it needs to be stopped. That is what Relay for Life is for- finding a cure.

Families and friends come together for a common purpose, walking to celebrate life, remember loved ones who have fought and are fighting cancer, and to fight back with education and hope.
Hope is the key.

During the night hours, a "HOPE" sign is lit, big enough for all to see. Lumenaria's for Loved ones encircle the track to remind us why we are walking. That sign was why I was able to keep walking at night. That sign was why when some walkers were so tired they couldn't walk anymore, so they laid down on the track just so they wouldn't break the rules and "a team member" was on the track at all times. Hope was what kept team members running around the track at 4am in the morning.

If you ever have a chance to participate

 in a Relay for Life, take the opportunity, it is a life changing experience that you should have. I did it with my friend and cancer survivor Donna Abbott and both of my kids. We came home exhausted, burned, and delirious, but wouldn't have changed a moment. We will be back next year. This years Relay for Life earned $70,000 for research, and you can still donate till August 31st. If you want to help, here is the link : http://main.acsevents.org/site/TR/?team_id=1302747&pg=team&fr_id=49126

"The human spirit is stronger than anything that can happen to it."

C.C. Scott

Thanks for reading my words,

Cameo Rose

Cameo Rose Photography

www.cameorosephotography.com

209-623-3302