I’m usually a pretty private person, particularly on FB, but that changed yesterday when I received a surprise visit from Pink Heals, Joliet Chapter (#PinkHealsJoliet) I’m now prompted to make public what I’ve been keeping private. Here’s what: Late Sept. 2013 I was diagnosed with Triple Negative Breast Cancer (tnbcfoundation.org/understandingtnbc.htm) and am in the midst of my final leg of treatment -- radiation. I have told very few about my diagnosis because, quite honestly, it’s very awkward and difficult to say “I have aggressive breast cancer.” There’s no easy way to do it. Bringing up cancer feels like I’m a total Debbie Downer that leaves others feeling awkward too. And once I do tell someone, I feel so awkward and don’t know how to respond to their response. So I’ve resisted saying anything until now. This is what happened: Yesterday, my brother, Dan, invited me to a Crossfit benefit at his box. He said it was a collaborative effort to raise money for a local breast cancer charity. His box, Crossfit Plainfield, and Pink Heals Joliet Chapter (joliet.patch/groups/giving/p/pink-heals-tour-returns-to-memorial-stadium-this-sunday) teamed up to make this incredible, well-run event happen. The Pink Heals trucks visited three people yesterday; I was one of them. About 3:00 in the afternoon I was at Danny & Holly Grimes house with my dad, Kate, and close family friends. We were supposed to leave to follow the Pink Heals parade to the recipients’ houses when I heard sirens coming through the neighborhood. A lot of commotion began to ensue as everyone started going outside. As I looked outside and saw the pink Pink Heals trucks – there were three or four fire trucks and a pink squad car – my eyes immediately welled up and flowed over with tears, and I began to tremble with emotion. I was approached by several firemen in pink fire gear with a bouquet of flowers for me. Behind the men in pink stood a line of people who were all waiting to give me a hug, give me encouragement, and tell me they loved me. I can’t even put into words how this made me feel. As I type this, my emotions and tears are flowing all over again…in a good way! At the end of the line of hugs, I was presented with a check, to use any way I want. I thank The Lord for answering my prayers. God knows we have medical bills, and I have not worked in over eight months. Not to mention, I still have a lot of work to do to get my court reporting skills back to where they need to be. Thanks to God, Plainfield Crossfit, Pink Heals, my family, and my friends, I’m a little better off than I was yesterday. This is one charity that I will now give my total support because I have been looking for a charity that raises funds for actual, real people in need, not just some huge non-profit entity where nobody knows where the money goes or what it’s used for. This is real people helping real people. It doesn’t get better than that. If you’re still reading this and interested, go to the Pink Heals Joliet FB page to see pics of me and how it all went down. It was the coolest thing ever!!
Posted on: Sun, 13 Jul 2014 16:56:42 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015