The tattoo parlors of Washington, DC have seen an uptick in the Hope Business over the past couple of months…
Hey- do me a favor? Click on this link right here, watch the 90 second video and (if you’re inspired) click “Vote” on the bottom left of the screen.
May is Brain Tumor Awareness Month- and while this designation is useful in terms of spreading the word- I can’t help but remember that for those touched by the disease, every second of one’s life is about brain tumor awareness. Now I know you can say this about any old cancer or scary illness, but the woman running in the aforementioned video is my friend, and as such I want to do everything in my power to support her as she continues her courageous battle with brain cancer.
She is BethAnn, and she is awesome.
Here’s a photo of me and some of my fantastic running friends- all posing in the early Arlington morning just before the start of the 2009 Marine Corps Marathon. See the woman at the bottom with the big smile, pale blue shirt and red visor that says “Survivor”? That’s BethAnn, and she runs wicked fast.
And we clean up rather well! Even this guy who looks like he just wandered into the photo.
I stepped out the door this morning here in west Africa at 6:30AM in order to log 14 long slow miles. Now that the evil humidity has returned, I need to start these runs before the sun comes up- but not so early that I can’t see where I’m going and invariably tumble into a hole in the ground. Still, I was kind of grumbly as it took a good four miles before my legs didn’t feel like lead weights. Also the rain started to come down- one of the first rains of the year here in Senegal. I was tired from jet lag, and my hamstrings were yelling at me for not doing a better job of stretching them on a daily basis. All of these mental conversations were filtering through my brain- but I didn’t stop once. I never stop or allow myself to complain (too much). You know why? Yep, you got it- it’s because I always think of BethAnn and remember that my life is pretty fricking awesome. I’m healthy.
Post LSR activity includes painting my toenails. I’m going gray in May for BethAnn.
If you want to learn more about BethAnn and how in this year alone she has raised over $100,000 for brain tumor research, then I encourage you to check out her website www.teambt.org. It would be time well spent, but for right now, what I really just want all of you to do is go to the link I mentioned up above (and I’ll put it right here again) and vote for BethAnn as she campaigns to get into the 2012 Kona Ironman World Championship in October. I know that we’re all living on borrowed time, but in the case of those fighting cancer, time is a luxury. I don’t think that I need to say it any plainer than that.
We all cherish the friends and family who radiate nothing but support and love. I am lucky to count BethAnn (okay and Janelle who is also pictured here) as one of these friends.
Just by knowing BethAnn- and not because she is a brain tumor survivor- my life has been changed for the better. And I’m not just saying that because she knows how to make some killer cherry bombs. She is a wickedly funny, determined, beautiful and undaunted person who has turned a scary thing like cancer into a major movement to further research and improve the lives of those around her. The least we can all do is click on a link and help support her dream to get to Hawaii.
So thanks for reading this, and thank you BethAnn for being my friend.