Put On Your Walking Shoes!

These doggie walking shoes have absolutely nothing to do with writing. (Of course by the end of this post, you never know, they might.) What they have to do with is a strong, courageous, and determined woman who I am thrilled to have had the pleasure to get to know.

Debra Lewis is fighting cancer for the second time around. Her story can be read on her blog http://thekclewisfamily.blogspot.com/. Every year Deb puts together a team for The Kansas City Race for the cure (a local charity walk-a-thon). This year, she has also decided to do, I guess what you could call, a "virtual" walk for the cure. Here is the email she sent and asked everyone to forward:

Help us fight breast cancer with only $1!! Please read on... and forward to everyone you know!! Debra's Circle of Friends is once again raising money for our team for the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure in Kansas City on Sunday, August 9th. Last year we raised over $5,000. This year we are embarking on a new journey.... to raise funds to end breast cancer, $1 at a time! With the economy the way it is, I wanted to find a way to raise funds this year without having to ask people for big donations. So, I thought it would be fun for me and the boys to try to raise more money than last year by doing it $1 at a time. Please help us out by doing the following: 1. Send $1.00 (to be donated to the Susan G. Komen foundation) to Debra Lewis, 16141 S. Raintree Dr., Olathe KS 66062 2. Forward this email on to everyone in your address book asking them to send $1.00 to us for the Susan G. Komen foundation (and have them forward the email on to everyone in their address book). All money will be donated under team name, Debra's Circle of Friends for the Kansas City Race on August 9th, 2009. Please have all money sent in by race day, August 9th! We hope this email gets forwarded many, many times! Please keep it going! We know that we can beat our $5,000 raised from last year with your help! Thank you! Debra A little update on me: I am currently still undergoing treatment for my recurrence of breast cancer which showed up in my lungs in December of 2007. All is going well. The tumors are very small and stable. I am taking the summer off (partially) from treatment. Our hopes are that the tumors stay small and unchanged during this time. So far I am 8 weeks off chemo and no change! I am looking forward to spending lots of time with my family and friends this summer! "When you worry and hurry through your day, it is like an unopened gift, thrown away. Life is not a race. Take it slower. Hear the music before the song is over. Life may not be the party we hoped for, but while we are here we might as well dance!" author unknown

I wanted to pass this on to my lovely followers (all 5 of you) and my visitors (hopefully, all 2,000 of you). Deb truly is a lovely lady, and maybe we could all take a moment to see what it's like to walk in her shoes. Feel free to copy and paste her email and forward to all your friends and family, or mention it in your own blog. Deb would be very appreciative!

Hmm...nope, no tie-in to writing. Weird, huh?