Ferg_e - A Mom On A Mission
Hey there. My name is Ferg_e and I am a mom on a mission. My mission is to make this world a better place for my son Bradyn to grow up in. In this segment for the San Antonio Current I will blog twice per month about local and national initiatives aimed at making the world a better place for all of us. If you want to see more of me, hop on over to my blog where I write about social causes, epilepsy awareness and our personal journey from chaos to calm in the middle of epilepsy, divorce and life.
This year I have had the amazing opportunity to work with a great organization with a fantastic mission. I joined the San Antonio Team In Training team. With the group I trained for the Nike Women's half marathon and fund-raised for cancer research. My fund-raising commitment was $3,300 and it was much easier than I thought it would be to raise it. As a team we have raised over $266,000 and that number is still growing. People in our community are generous and they want to help. I found it amazing how many lives have been touched by cancer, people that I talk to everyday, that I never knew had dealt with such terrible loss, opened up and shared heart breaking stories of how cancer changed their lives. And how Team In Training and their fund-raising dollars had helped in a very real way.
Are you asking what was in it for me? Why I chose this organization, why cancer research? Well, even if your not, I'm gonna tell you anyway. My grandfather Mario Chavez Jr. died of cancer. That was the first time that cancer touched my life and it was devastating. I still miss him every single day. When my son does something awesome, I think about my grandfather and how much he would love this little boy that he never got to meet. And when things are bad and I need someone to talk to, sometimes I still catch myself reaching for the phone because he was my favorite person to bounce ideas off of. He had this way of taking care of everything and everyone around him. Cancer left our family without our anchor.
The second time cancer touched my life was when I met my dear friend Lisa Hammond. On November 10th 2001, Lisa and her husband were blessed with an amazing little girl.
I never had the privilege of meeting Lauren. When she was six months old she was diagnosed with cancer. During her short life she endured chemotherapy, the removal of both her kidneys and spent more than a third of her life in the hospital. Her mom will tell you that she was strong beyond measure, that she didn't complain and never asked for anything. That she was and is an inspiration, her short life changed so many, even those that never had the chance to meet her. Lauren lost her battle with cancer on November 10, 2004. She changed my life. Her and her mother. The loss of a child is something that no parent should have to endure.
Lauren Hammond and Mario Chavez Jr. are the reason I joined Team In Training to run a half marathon and raise money for cancer research.
Has cancer touched your life? Do you want to help raise money for research?
If so check out the Team In Training Website and sign up to complete a marathon, half marathon, triathlon, hiking event or 100 mile bike ride.
If you liked this post, you should check out my TNT Update from mid-season training.
