Support My Journey
"Don't forget to breathe! In and out!" -Grover; Sesame Street Presents: Follow That Bird
"It always seems impossible until it's done." - Nelson Mandela
Arthritis seems impossible. There are more than a 100 different types of arthritis and one out of six Canadians live with some form of it. That's over 4.5 million people from coast to coast! No one knows what causes it but everyone knows someone who is affected by it. Including members of our families.
It is frustrating to watch someone you care about be unable to use their hand or get up the stairs without a lot of pain. It is also incredibly humbling to know that these same people wake up everyday and live their lives; taking care of responsibilities, working, making dinner, babysitting, and still managing to be generous and loving to their neighbours, families and friends. We want to honour that. How our heros 'show up' everyday, despite having arthritis and no matter what, they learn to live with something that can seem so unlivable. We want to say "hellyeah!" when they open a jar of spaghetti sauce and "you're incredible" when they run errands the rest of us feel are a big pain in the __ without them really being so.
We first heard about the Joints in Motion marathon through an ad on the radio and instantly knew this was something we had to do. First off, because we are more inclined to sit on the couch at the end of the day and sing silly songs to each other on the guitar while eating junk food rather than run. Secondly, we want to change that (maybe still keep the silly songs, but why not sing'em while running?) Thirdly, we get a chance to see an amazing part of the world as a part of a team with so many rich, rich stories!
And, a little "supergrover" drum roll here.... we want to elope, after the marathon, crawl to a city hall and tie the knot. We figure a marathon is a pretty good analogy for marriage and running for each others' families is a pretty good way to start a life together and something to continue each year...(or every two..) haha.
The fact that people live every day with arthritis is motivation enough to learn to run 42 km alongside people who have arthritis and are affected by it and are conquering it one footstep at a time.
Thank you so much for your support (the fact that you believe we can even run 42 km is a miracle in and of itself!) We are really excited to run with the Joints in Motion team in Athens, Greece on Halloween 2010! (It's hard to believe right now we won't just be dressed up as marathon runners but will actually be them!)
A few things we are doing to raise money:
1) Collecting our change and cashing it in each month.
2) Any engagement, birthday, xmas or holiday money/gift goes into the pot.
3) Holding fundraisers over the next year and a half such as movie nights, dance-a-thons, silent auction, door-to-door canvassing, letter campaigns and if we can convince a few friends, doing a dance routine on a busy sidewalk (that's bound to at least get us 10 bucks).
And the most important thing is who we want to run for! Our three hero/superstars:
1) Sherrill Hemsley - Jordan's step-mom. Sherrill has Rheumatoid arthritis which on-and-off affects most of her body, including her elbows, shoulders, hands, feet and knees. She makes the most amazing vegetarian lasagna, has a quick wit like Rick Mercer, and is retired in Peachland, BC.
2) Jocelyn Humeniuk - Laurie's first cousin. Jocelyn was diagnosed with Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis when she was 13. It affected every where in her body except her hips. She experienced swelling, lack of motion and fatigue. Three years ago, she went on a journey to see a healer in the rain forest and has been living pain-free so far. Jocelyn recently graduated from the University of Calgary and is one of the best people you'll ever meet.
3) Joan Goodmanson- Laurie's second mom. Joan has Osteoarthritis in both of her knees. She recently had to stop taking medication due to side effects and is managing the pain with advil. Going up and down stairs is hard. She'd like to run this race herself! And she has more energy, know-how and guts so aside from her knees, she could do it! Joan lives in Riverview, New Brunswick.