Get to know... Michele

Sweet Michele is next!

Michele is a source of all medical knowledge!  She is the lady I call when I have to do my home Immune Booster injections and am too scared to do them because I think I am going to do it wrong.  She is the lady who came and looked after me and Kayle every week when I was on my really bad chemo and couldn't get off the sofa.  She is the amazing lady who blessed my sweet Kayle with dance lessons so that I could see her in a dance recital!  She is the lady who then came and picked me and Kayle up every Thursday and drove us to dance so I could watch Kayle in her lessons.

Michele is, without a doubt, one of the most thoughtful, considerate people I know and would do anything to help you.  I am so grateful for her friendship... oh yeah, almost forgot, she is an crazy good roller skater!

Michele is the mother of 4 beautiful girls, Naomi, Eden, Ivy and Juliet.  

Get to know... Heather

Next is Heather... she is where I get my strength!  I watch Heather in her every day life and I want to be a stronger person.

Heather is a single mother to 3 beautiful children, 2 girls and a boy.  She works full time, she is going to school and she is just fantastic!  Her personality is so out-going and fun, she is just a joy to be around.  My husband regularly calls Heather to 'pop in' and say Hi to cheer me up on my 'down' days.

There is so much to admire about Heather and her life.  She has overcome so much and still smiles!  Her love for the Lord is so obvious and she reaches out to everyone around her and gives tirelessly.  She always brings me a treat... whether it's my favorite flowers, my favorite chocolates or favorite dessert, she always seems to remember what I like!

If Heather had $20, she would go to the store and buy you your favorite treat and bring it to your house and not save a penny for herself... that pretty much sums up Heather! 

Get to know... Carrie

First of all... let me introduce you to Carrie!

Where do I start with Carrie... when I was first diagnosed with cancer and had to move back to England for treatment, Carrie emailed me, skyped me, called me, messaged me, facebooked me... she was in contact with me all the time to make sure I was OK, to keep me focused on God, pray with me and to study the Bible.  For this, I will always be grateful.  

Losing my hair for the first time was one of the most upsetting things to go through.  As a women, I feel you get some of your identity from how you look so losing my hair made me feel less like a woman.  Carrie knew I needed support, so the day I shaved my head, she shaved hers!  She waited until I was ready to cut my hair and then went through the cutting process with me on the other side of the world.

Carrie is an wonderful wife to Heath and an amazing mother to 4 beautiful girls, Izzy, Hannah, Lacey and Allie.  She works hard every day to provide a God filled, loving environment for her family.  I look at her and see how much she does for her family and I want to do more for mine!

Carrie and I talked about doing this walk a long time ago... we talked about how fun it would be to do, not really knowing if we would ever get to actually do it.  Well, now we are and we are doing it with some amazing friends.

Grateful!

I got a letter last month from an amazing 12 year old girl... she is the daughter of a lady who is very special to me.  In her letter, she said 'Cancer is a horrible disease and it's not fair'!  I agree!

Did you know...

- Breast Cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer and is the leading cause of cancer death among women worldwide!

- Every 19 seconds, somewhere in the world, a case of breast caner is diagnosed in a woman.

- 1 out of every 18 women is at risk of developing breast cancer during her lifetime.

I think our team would agree with me when I say that we are walking so that no more women have to go through what I am going through.  Cancer is not fun... we all know that!  The treatment is not fun, it exhausts your body, mind and spirit.  It is the last thing I think about at night and the first thing I think about in the morning.  I dream about my cancer and how much I would like to have a 'normal' life... but then I think about all the amazing things that I have experienced because of my cancer and I am actually grateful.  I know it sounds a bit weird to say that you are grateful for cancer, but it's true!

My cancer has allowed me to make and develop many friendships, all of which I am truly grateful for.  They all provide love and support for me every day.  My cancer has allowed me to do new things that I have always wanted to do and never thought I would get to do.  I got to spend Christmas in New York.  I got to learn to ride a horse.  I got to go to Hawaii, something that Jason and I have wanted to do for 9 years!  There are too many things to list that I am grateful for but most of all, I am grateful that I have God in my life to get me through each day.  Each morning I wake up and make a conscious decision to trust the Lord with my life and provide for me and my family.

So... The Faithful Fighters walk so that no one else, man or woman, has to go to bed scared... 

We walk so that no child grows up without their parent...

We walk so that no one has to go through Chemotherapy again!

'How can I help?' I hear you say...

The Susan G Komen 3 day walk is a 60 mile walk around Seattle.  We get to sleep in cool pink tents for 2 nights and raise as much money as we can so that others can benefit from life saving treatment and research.  

I have personally benefited from money raised at previous years walks through my hospital, Seattle Cancer Care Alliance and it's attached research facility, Fred Hutchinson so now it's time to raise some money so that the research can continue and so no more people, men and women, have to fight cancer.

So... we will do the walking... but we will need you to do the supporting!

Each member of our team needs to raise $2300!  That's a team total of $13,800.  

We believe with all our hearts that with your support, we can raise the money!

Here is how you can donate...

You can click on the clinks below and give to the team members.  We are going to aim to raise as much 'personal' money by the beginning of May so that we can raise the remaining amount needed as a team before the walk.

So, just click on the links and donate!  Once a member reaches their fundraising total, please donate to another member so that we can meet our goal!

Donations for Katie

Donations for Carrie

Donations for Heather

Donations for Michele

We are all honestly and truly grateful for any donation that you give... now amount is too big or to small!

Please consider spreading the word about our participation in the walk!  The more support, the merrier!

Thank you in advance for everything!

Team Photos

This afternoon, our team gathered for a very special job... our team photos!  

Our amazing friend Gretchen Korf of Gretchen Fawn Photography did an amazing job controlling us ladies as she took our team photos.  The main concept for our photos... 'Faithful Fighters'.  We managed to rally a great friend Than to be our 'Cancer Ninja' and then us ladies basically beat him up while Gretchen took our photos!   We also took our Individual Participant photos. I'll put them up here too with a little bit about each member!

I was so fun... it made me realise just how amazing this walk is going to be and how wonderful an experience it will be to complete this walk with such great friends.

Here are a few of the best fighting shots...

Thank you so much Gretchen for taking our photos... we are so blessed to have you supporting our team and to call you 'friend'!

We continue to grow

We got news today that we are growing by 2 more...

Jolene and Sammi Cesmat are joining the team!

It's getting so exciting!

3 + 1 = 4!

And so... it is done... we have another member!

Mrs. Michele. Dunlap is an official member of The Faithful Fighters!

We are growing...

Guess what?  

We are growing!

Our team of 2, is now 3!

Our sweet friend Heather wants in on the action!

As of 30 minutes ago, she is all signed up and ready to roll, or walk, with us!

This is getting exciting!

Off to get some info

It's Tuesday evening... it's raining... it's cold... but Carrie and I just popped over to Mercer Island to get some more information on the walk, what it involves and what to expect!

We know the basics of the walk from watching the TV adverts, but the meeting gave us the opportunity to ask questions, talk to experienced walkers, find out how to register, pluck up the courage to actually register... and most importantly, get our photo taken in a BRIGHT PINK TENT!

The meeting was great fun.  We got to chat with a few lovely ladies about their experiences with the walk and they told us exactly what will be involved and how we should prepare.  The walk will involve 3, 8 hour days of walking around Seattle, sleeping in a fantastic tent (see above example!), hanging out with fellow fighters and survivors and just generally giggling and laughing.  (I'm sure there will be crying involved too!)  We are also going to need to raise $2300 each!

So... it is done... Carrie and I are registered!  The forms are signed, the registration fee is paid, the information packets have been collected!  Now all we need to do, is get our thinking caps on and start planning!