I can’t believe it has been 5 years since Mom passed away. I wish I could say it gets easier with time to get over the loss of a mother, but it’s still really tough. I miss her positive attitude… I miss her continual support and love… I miss being able to share with her all the neat things I have been doing.
So I’d encourage you to donate to what I’m calling the $5 for 5 campaign, donating one dollar in memory of every year that Mom passed away.
Each year it gets tougher to find something new to write about and I had no idea what I was going to go with… until I watched this year’s ESPY awards. It was the 20th anniversary of Jimmy V’s “Don’t Give Up, Don’t Ever Give Up” speech and ESPN really nailed it by honoring Robin Roberts.
Robin Roberts’ Journey was highlighted in the following video and the one quote that really resonated with me was something Arthur Ashe said to Roberts:
“If at the end of the day, if all people say about you is like ‘she was one heck of a journalist,’ you havn’t fulfilled all your potential.”
After watching that clip all I could think is that I am not living up to my full potential in the fight against cancer. I can say that I’ve been doing one heck of a job so far, but it’s not enough. I can do more, and that is where I am asking for your help to donate to Pelotonia. To donate to cancer research at the James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute.
After the Robin Roberts’ Journey feature aired, LeBron took the stage and introduced Roberts. His words: “I just want us to think about one thing as all athletes here… male and female. When it’s a time we’re working out or it’s a time where we feel adversity that hits us and we start to think about “I can’t do it” or “it’s too hard.” Let’s just think about this moment.”
While most of us do not have the good fortune of becoming professional athletes, we all have a moment when we have adversity, when we have times we want to give up, when we don’t think we have the energy to make a difference. Just remember watching that video and remember Jimmy V’s words: “in every day, in every walk of life, I’ve seen ordinary people do extraordinary things.” Robin Roberts’ acceptance speech at the ESPYs was truly extraordinary.
Robin Roberts was back stage during Jimmy V’s speech and presented the award after he delivered his incredible message. That night he said “We need your help… I need your help… We need money for research. It may not save my life, but it may save my children’s life. It may save someone you love. ” Roberts was blessed to achieve things in life that she could have never imagined as a little girl growing up in Mississippi, but most of all, she’d never imagine she would be standing in front of thousands of people exactly 20 years after Jim Valvano gave his speech and say that because of everyone who has responded to his challenges, because of all the donations, research and support, Robin’s was one of the lives that has been saved.
We never know what the future will hold. We do know the sobering statistic that one in every three men and one in every two women will hear the words “You have cancer” in their lifetime. I urge everyone to save someones life, to give strength to someone else, to donate to make more research possible, to take part in a clinical trial, to volunteer at a local hospital, to raise awareness so we can catch the disease early, to be the absolute best we can be, to fulfill our potential.
We need to be proactive in saving lives, because while you may think you are saving someone else’s life, you never know when you are going to get a phone call, just like I did several years ago when Mom complained about a pain she had in her neck. A phone call of a loved one having cancer, cancer that some of the best doctors could not cure.
Roberts said that “Through it all I learned that strength, true strength, isn’t when you face down life’s challenges on your own, it’s when you take them on by accepting the help, faith, and love of others and knowing you are lucky to have those.” I have been incredibly blessed by the love and support of my family and friends over the past five years. I’ve been blessed to have them stand by me as I fight against cancer, the dreaded disease that took my mother’s life.
So I urge you.
I urge all of my family and friends to make a donation.
Make a $5 donation in memory of the 5 years Mom has passed away.
This donation will never save Mom’s life.
But it may save your children’s life.
It may save someone you love.
“Cancer can affect all my physical abilities, but it cannot touch my heart, it cannot touch my soul, and it cannot touch my mind.”
Dont Give Up.
Don’t Ever Give Up.
If you are curious as to why I am passionate about cancer research click here.
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