Honored and Humbled

Remember our friend Patty, the one who was in town for business and sat with me at chemo?  Well, she's running a marathon.  No big deal, right?  26.2 miles.  She'll be training throughout the summer to run the Chicago Marathon in October.  This ain't her first rodeo, either.  Just like Chris (who is just as crazy), she has run previous marathons in Dublin, New York and Chicago.

The impressive thing with all of this running is that each time she has done it to raise money for charity.  And each time she has done it to raise money for the Lymphoma Society.

When I was diagnosed with Hodgkin's, Patty reached out to her contacts at the Lymphoma Society to see if there was anything they could offer me.  She sent me a link to their services, and I had no idea that they do what they do.  In addition to providing money toward research on various lymphomas, they also offer support to people who are fighting the fight.  From gift cards for dinners out, to support groups, to offering information about the diseases they hope to eliminate.

But she didn't stop with reaching out with the link to the charity.  A couple weeks ago, she asked me if she could run the marathon in honor of me.  Needless to say, I was and am touched.  I told her that running the marathon is something that I could never do.  (Have you ever heard the story of how I sat on the couch each Saturday and watched cartoons while Chris was training for hers?)  I said that I would rather go through chemo again than run a marathon.  Of course I didn't mean that, but you know what I mean. 

I have been humbled that she wants to do this for me.  As I've said before, I wouldn't wish this on anyone, but I was really lucky with my experience.  I asked her if there may be someone else who was more worthy. 

Thank you again, Patty.  May your runs be fun, swift, and may you raise some money to help more people undergoing treatment for this senseless disease.  Get it girl!  You rock.

If you would like to make a donation to the Lymphoma Society, here is the link to Patty's donation page:
http://pages.teamintraining.org/il/chicago13/pcrescenzo