I did something crazy. Something that I am sure I will regret at many moments in time in the next 7 months. Yet in the end, it will be amazing. One of the best decisions I will ever make.
I signed up for the Project Athean Rim2Rim2Rim. Sept 12-16, 2013 I will be hiking from the South Rim of the Grand Canyon to the North Rim and back to the South Rim. It will be a 24 mile and 12-14 hour hike on the first day. 20 miles and 11-13 hours the second day.
Here is the description on their site...
"Ever dream of hiking not just IN the Grand Canyon, but across it?? AND BACK?? The Project Athena Rim to Rim to Rim Fundraising God/ Goddess Adventure is an unforgettable and life changing experience, and with every step, you are helping inspirational Survivors get one step closer to living their own adventurous dreams. Gods/Goddesses will start their journey on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon and hike 24 miles to the North Rim (an awesome 6,000 foot elevation gain), where we will stay in rugged cabins and enjoy a warm meal. On the second day of the trek, we will hike 20 miles from the North Rim back to the South Rim on a different route—taking in INCREDIBLE views on the final 5,000 foot climb out of the canyon. Even more meaningful than the views, though, is the camaraderie and friendship that develops with your fellow Gods and Goddesses as you laugh, cry, encourage and care for one another along the way. We travel as a team and share the luuuuuuuuv. For the icing on the cake, the last day of the adventure will be spent on the South Rim exploring, relaxing and celebrating your success in the most beautiful place on earth"
So, their is a back story to this...
When I was diagnosed on August 24, 2012, my girlfriend Hollie brought me a stack of magazines to distract me until Lee got back from Afghanistan. One of the magazines was a SELF from Oct 2011. They had a focus section on Young Womens Cancer Alert. It had a ton of details about different cancers but they only had one feature story in that section. It was about a woman who was diagnosed with my form of cancer about my age. This story was a few years after her diagnosis and she was doing this Rim2Rim2Rim. I remember reading it with tears in my eyes. I was thinking about how this wasn't a death sentence! I was so overwhelmed with the diagnosis. All I heard was CANCER! CANCER! CANCER!
This made me realize there was more life in me. She was a military wife. My age. My diagnosis. She was alive! I remember calling Hollie and telling her that it was a sign. That it was going to be okay. She told me that one day- it would be my story in a magazine. I would be the survival story.
I am not trying to be in a magazine. I am just trying to live my life as big as I can live it. I cannot think of anything much bigger than the Grand Canyon.
Mind you- I have never hiked. I have to do three hikes that are GPS tracked in the next few months. One lasting 4 hours, one lasting 6 hours and one lasting 8 hours. Wow!
So... I even roped my bestie into this! Sucker! No. She loves me . She has been such a support through all of this- along with many others- and how fun to do this together. Plus, 5 days together! Woohoo! Including a day in Sedona after the hike, relaxing!!
I have to fundraise $2,000 to do this. I have a fundraising page set up. Obviously, I will take any donations I can get. Even if you do not want to donate.... I hope you will go to this amazing organizations site and read about them. They are amazing. Doing amazing things for women who face setbacks in life. As they say- helps them get their "mojo" back!
Here is my site- incase you are interested!!
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