Meridian Speedway Fundraiser

This Friday evening at the Meridian Speedway we will be holding a fundraising event. (Gates open at 4, races start at 6:30.)  We are raising money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society in memory of my uncle Gordon who we lost to Leukemia on March 16^th and in honor of my friend Jamie who has been fighting Leukemia for nearly a decade.  We are not just raising money, we are also training to run in the City of Trees Marathon on October 14^th.  Our goal is $4500 for our team ($1500 X 3) and we are at almost $1500 right now.  Please support us at the Speedway by buying a raffle ticket or 10.  We have some really cool items for the raffle. 

 

-        “Peace Like a River” Quilt made by Sylvia and Mary (my aunts)

-        Bowling passes donated by Angela’s parents

-        GNO jewelry donated by Debra

-        Acrylic on canvas painted and donated by Hollie

-        Coupon binder bag donated by Stylin’ Binders

-        Hand crocheted rugs made by Alicia

-        Football tickets donated by BSU (BSU vs. Colorado on Nov 17^th).   

We will also be selling bracelets at the Speedway, from $2 on up.  Some handmade, some not.

Come support us at the races.  And if you can’t make it the races, don’t worry, you can still 

participate in the raffle!  

Here’s how:  follow the link below to our team donation page and leave a donation equal to the amount of raffle tickets you would like to buy.  Then leave me a message at the bottom of this blog post telling me which items you would like to “bid” on.  We will put your name on those items, up to how many tickets you purchased.  Any questions?  Let me know! 

Help us make this a successful event, and together we can help wipe out cancer!

http://pages.teamintraining.org/oswim/trees12/gordonsrunningdorksquad

In the Name of Love

“In the name of love.  One [more] in the name of love.”  – (Cue Ewan McGregor from Moulin Rouge.)

These are the words that played through my head all morning as I ran 8.5 miles.  One more step, one more mile.  Keep moving.  Keep going.  And each moment I do one more, I do it, truly, in the name of love. 

This week we celebrate Gordon’s life and mark his passing with the placing of a beautiful headstone.  We mourn the loss of a life cut short from a terrible disease. A life filled with laughter and love.  A life filled with service and hard work.  And one never empty of family and friends.  Gordon will always be cherished and we will always be grateful for the opportunity to spend this part of the journey of life with him. 

This week we also celebrate the undaunted spirit of Jamie who has lived with leukemia for almost 10 years.  Yesterday she underwent her third Donor Lymphocyte Infusion (DLI) since her bone marrow transplant when she was 16.  She is positive that this time is the time.  This time the leukemia will be gone.  Next Friday the 27^th is Jamie’s 26^th birthday.  For her birthday, I hope she gets her birthday wish: to be cancer free!  (For my birthday last year, I got to go to Vegas.  Jamie gets to spend her birthday recovering from a DLI, in SLC, right next to the hospital. What did YOU do for your last birthday?...Kind of puts it all into perspective…)

For Jamie’s birthday, I am issuing a challenge.  I know that money is tight for so many of you. I know that times may be tough.  I also know that most of you never knew my uncle Gordon and even fewer of you know Jamie.  However, most of you, sometime in your life will face the reality of losing a loved one to cancer.  Unless we find a cure. 

So here is what I am asking.  If you have donated in the past, I ask you to donate $1 more.  If you are planning on donating in the future, I ask you to keep that goal in mind, and donate $1 now.  If you have donated time or other things, I ask you to donate $1.  And if you are struggling financially and have been supporting through the “like” button on facebook only, I ask you to find that $1 and donate it on behalf of Jamie. 

Jamie literally owes her life to Team in Training.  How many more lives will you help save with $1?  Here is my website:

http://pages.teamintraining.org/oswim/trees12/kristygriffard

 
Oh, and don’t forget to wish Jamie a happy birthday!

Cancer Warrior

Who’s my hero?  This amazing young lady named Jamie who is heading down to Utah to receive a treatment (DLI – Donor Leukocyte Infusion) for her leukemia.  The leukemia that was gone and was supposed to stay gone.  But then she decided to have a baby and so it came back.  Now she has to live for her son, Jayden.  He is a beautiful little boy.  19 months old.  And Jamie is an amazing mother.  And, really, she’d like to stay that way. 

If you met Jamie on the street, you would never know that she is dealing with a deadly cancer.  She never stops smiling.  Never stops laughing.  And people at work are donating money and PL time so that her cancer treatment won’t be such a burden on her family.  Lots of people at work didn’t even know she had cancer. 

Jamie is my inspiration for raising money for blood cancer research.  I want her to be able to raise Jayden and to see her grandkids some day.  I want that to be a reality for her and everyone else like her.  I want every person diagnosed with leukemia or lymphoma or any other type of blood cancer (or really any type of cancer, period) to be able to know with a surety that their cancer has a cure and that they have a future.  That is my wish for Jamie.

My Team in Training team had a potluck this morning and we invited Jamie.  Our manager, Dan, (a lymphoma survivor) put Jamie on the spot and asked her to speak.  There was not one dry eye in the room when she was done talking.  Members of the team recommitted to work harder after hearing her story. Like I said, she’s amazing!

However, there is one thing that stood out to me the most.  Jamie said (and I am paraphrasing), “The drug that saved my life, Gleevec, was discovered using funds partially raised from the Boise chapter of Team in Training.  In essence, you guys helped bring a life into this world” (she pointed at her son Jayden) “and you saved a life from being taken out of it.”

She was only 16 when she was diagnosed and may have died without the Gleevec.  This month Jamie turns 26. My goal is to help Jamie get her cure so she can live 10 more years, then 10 more, and 10 more after that, and on and on.

Jamie’s treatment is next week and she has asked for everyone’s prayers and positive thoughts to go with her so that her bright spirit and enthusiasm for life may continue to infect all those that she comes in contact with.

And if you have an extra $5 lying around, would you consider donating to the cause so that Jamie may get her cure?  (If you have more than that, well, that would be awesome too!)

Here’s my website: http://pages.teamintraining.org/oswim/trees12/gordonsrunningdorksquad

Oh, and Jamie says thank you!

Garage Sales and Gourmet Cupcakes

Cupcakes literally help cure cancer.  At least these cupcakes do.  (Thanks for that inspirational phrase, Hollie!) 

(Cancer Fighting Cupcakes)

After weeks of planning and coordinating, numerous phone calls, facebook posts, text messages, and little reminders, my fundraiser was ready to go.  Numerous friends and family members dropped their “junk” off at my in-laws’ home on Friday night for a giant garage sale on Saturday.  It was sweltering in the sun and there was so much stuff to sift through. Some was awesome.  Some was trash.  But it was all appreciated.

Every person who donated items or time that weekend is a hero. Every person that posted something about the sale on their facebook page is a hero.  Every person who stopped by on Saturday and bought something is a hero…especially those who were heard to say, “Keep the change.”

I can’t name every person who helped because I am afraid I would leave someone out; there were just that many.  But each person holds a special place in my heart for the incredible work they did that weekend.

However, two very special and talented ladies do deserve to be recognized.  When I mentioned that I was going to be having a garage sale they volunteered before I had a chance to even ask.  My friends Hollie and Ashley made gourmet cupcakes for the sale and they did an amazing job.  Ashley even stayed the entire time to sell them.  The cupcakes were a hit and brought in quite a bit of money!  I couldn’t have done it without the two of them.

Thank you to each one of you who have supported me this far and who continue to support me every day!  You know who you are. =)

 
P.S. We made $600 in one day.  So, yeah.  You guys rock!

Moments of Inspiration – Reminders of Why I Do What I Do

Every Saturday morning we get up early and run.  We run for miles.  We run to beat cancer.  This morning we pounded out another 7 miles towards our goal of running a marathon.  With one heart and one mind it seems there isn’t anything we cannot achieve. 

Over the last few weeks I have had a few experiences that have inspired me and given me a confirmation that I am doing something beyond worthwhile.

My friend Jamie (who is quickly becoming a hero of mine as I learn more about the things she has to go through because of her leukemia) was on her lunch break at work a few weeks ago.  I went to chat with her quickly and give her an update on my progress on fundraising and training.  I announced that the next day I would be running 8 miles.  8 miles!  That’s insane! 

Apparently her boss thought so too, because from the adjacent room we heard, “Why in the world would you run 8 miles?”

Jamie and I peeked around the corner and she gave me a big squeeze and a huge grin as she said, “She’s doing it for me!”

I got a little misty eyed and my heart felt so much warmth.  I thought, “This…this is why I get up with the sun every Saturday morning even though I hate mornings and would rather be sleeping in.  This is why I run and keep on running even though my muscles are screaming at me to stop.  It’s why I do what I do every day.”

Then, just this week, in conversation with my coworker Linda we got to talking about her dad who lost the fight to Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma many years ago and how painful that still is for her.  Because let’s face it, it sucks when you lose somebody, especially your dad. I handed her one of my fliers that talks about my blog (this very one) and my website, and then I went home.

I didn’t think anything else about it until I checked my email later that evening.  Linda had written me a beautiful thank you letter for what I was doing and had forwarded my information to her sisters.  Two of them then proceeded to donate to my fundraising efforts.  Once again I received a confirmation that everything I am doing is for an amazing cause and I wouldn’t choose to be doing anything else. 

I told Linda that I am adding her father’s name to my shirt on race day as one of my honored teammates.  I believe that those who have fought the fight and lost need to be remembered and those that are fighting and those that have overcome need to be supported and celebrated.  Their names will be added to my shirt as well in recognition of all that they have and will go through.

In recognition of the fight with cancer that our loved ones go through, if any of you who donate to my fundraising efforts have a loved one that has lost the fight to cancer, is fighting the fight or has won, I would love to honor them by adding their names to my shirt on race day and making them a valuable part of my team.  It doesn’t have to be leukemia or lymphoma or even a deadly kind of cancer.  Just send me their names, and if you can, a little bit of their stories so I know who it is I am running for.

And every day when I wake up, I remember, oh, yes, today I am running to wipe out cancer.  Today I am running for my uncle Gordon, and my friend Jamie, and Linda’s dad, and all the family members of all of my teammates, and all of the many other people that are out there struggling.  I am running for them. Then I throw on my running clothes and my shoes and I put one foot in front of the other and start pounding the pavement once again.  For on this day, I am running to beat cancer.