http://sanfrancisco.info-komen.org/goto/elizabethgunderson
Please don’t feel like you have to donate at all - just if you want to or would like the tax write off, etc. Last year I had a team of people and collected over $1K in donations, but this year is much different for me in many ways. This time last year my mother was just beginning her war with breast cancer. She had two surgeries at this point and would be having another soon after. She began her chemotherapy treatments in October - every three weeks through March. My mother lost her hair and lost her energy, but she never lost her will to fight the cancer. She continued to work as a nurse helping other people in need. She wore a beautiful wig that seemed like the perfect hair day to those who did not know she had cancer. She had co-workers compliment her wonderful hair, asking where she had gotten it done. She smiled and accepted the compliments and continued to work. My mother spent Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and Valentine’s Day with her family and with a smile on her face.
My mother was hospitalized twice during this time, each time she had caught something that was tough for her to battle while she was weak from chemo. She had nurses helping her and she followed the orders of each doctor. The sentiments that my mother discussed with me during this hard time were amazing. I will never forget them and keep them close to my heart. She has an incredible grasp on life and reality and she was always aware of her medical state and what that meant for her physically that day, the next day and beyond.
My mother completed her chemotherapy in the late winter/early spring last year. She had a short break and then began radiation. The radiation treatments exhausted her, she had to go every day for treatment. She had to get a few very small tattoos (the size of a pin point) that showed the technicians where to point the machine. The tattoos were a new thing for her, definitely a new thing. On her last day of radiation, she got up early and took some donuts and fruit to the technicians to thank them for such a wonderful job, she was always appreciative of the help people gave her during this time.
My mother is still receiving one drug for cancer, but that will be completed in the next month. Then she will officially be done with her treatment. Her hair has begun to grow back, she has stopped wearing her wig, she has gained more energy and color in her face. She has fought a battle that many women face and she has won. She fought with a smile on her face and never complained. She fought as a mother, a grandmother, a sister, an aunt, a cousin, a friend, a nurse, a senior citizen, a woman… She fought and she won and for that, she is a hero. My mother’s strength in the past year has shown me that there is so much more in life than most people realize. Life in itself is so precious and so important. Life is not something that we should hold onto so tight, but loosely so there is room to breathe, room to grow. As each day goes on, every person changes, grows and expands mentally, physically and emotionally. I feel it’s important that we let this change happen, let life live us.
I’ve chosen to spend these past couple of months training to run this 5K race. I have never been a runner, never understood what it takes to run and never been able to run consistently without stopping to catch my breath. I started by walking for 5 minutes, then running for 3 minutes – I did this for a half hour at a time. Each week I tried to increase the amount of time that I was able to run without stopping. I can now run a 5K (3.1 miles) in about 38 minutes. For someone who was barely able to run 3 minutes at a time, running for 38 minutes straight seems like an amazing accomplishment. I am incredibly proud of myself and proud of the fact that I will be able to run the race this weekend. The accomplishment coupled with my mother beating cancer is a wonderful celebration for both of us. We’re both happy and healthy and we’re excited to support breast cancer research this Sunday. The best thing about running the race will be my Mom waiting for me at the finish line.
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