A Poem To Me By A Fellow Relayer

A “Relayer” from Illinois wrote a poem about me and sent it to me via Facebook a month go.  I wanted to share it with all of you!  Thank you Lee!  Your gift is beautiful!

The Walker

I was making my laps , trying to show I cared
but , it was really hard , maybe I just wasn’t prepared
I’d been doing this so long , it started to seem old
a heart that should be fiery , was starting to get cold
that was when I saw her , walking around the track
I knew , in just an instant , she had something I lacked
for , she just seemed so focused , without even seeming to try
and when she saw a luminaria , a tear fell from her eye
I gathered up my courage , and asked her for her name
she looked at me a moment , as if wondering my game
Then , she said , ” My names Jemma !” , as she shook my hand
“But , I’m called , The Walker !” I didn’t understand
She said , ” I come to all the Relays , some near , and far away
and , though it’s quite a drive , I came to yours today !”
Now , I must confess , I didn’t quite understand
for I had driven a hour and a half , and thought that was quite grand
” Why drive so many hours , to a place that you don’t know ?
What is your incentive ? What up and makes you go ? ”
She said , ” Cancer is a menace , that is just my view
it’s taken many loved ones , it almost got me , too !
so , this is how I fight it , the lines have been drawn
and God , give me the strength , to carry this fight on !”
I looked at her and hugged her , and cried a tear or two
and , that night walked away , with a different point of view
oh , I know , friends , how easy to get down !
But , you will find new vision , when the Walker comes to town !

By: Lee Lane

  • Share/Bookmark

Tour of Hope – Relay stop #31: Nordic Style Relay

Dr. Lockridge (Board Member), Ali (Event Chair), Me, and Jessica (ACS Staff Partner)

In March I attended the Nordic Style Relay For Life event in Stowe, Vermont.  The Nordic Style Relay is an event like no other as it is held at the Trapp Family Ski Lodge.  The Trapp Family Ski Lodge is most popularly known for from The Sound of Music.  This was the 7th year for this Relay and yes…it’s held outdoors! 

I have never gone skiing in my whole entire life and in the past have not been much of an outdoor person.  However, after attending so many Relay For Life events I had gained some appreciation of being outside more often.  Since this event was held when temperatures were typically in the teens and twenties I enlisted the help of the ACS Staff partner and an outdoor enthusiast friend of mine!  Jessica from the ACS office sent me a list of things needed for such an outdoor event and my friend Jose took me to REI and Cabela’s…stores I have NEVER set foot into!  I also made my own trips to the North Face and Columbia.  After several shopping excursions and a lecture on the importance of wearing so many layers I was ready for my trip to Vermont!  Vermont is a very beautiful state!  The residents of Vermont are big on supporting everything and anything local from chocolate, to cheese, to peanut butter, and even soap!  The list goes on and on.  I only scheduled myself to be in Vermont for the Relay For Life event.  I wish I had made more time to see and appreciate all the natural beauty of the state.  The next time I go I will have to make a real vacation out of it! 

 Anyway, on to Relay…  I volunteered to work at the Survivor Reception. I met many wonderful volunteers such as Rachel the Survivorship Chair and Ali, the Event Chair.  I also met their Staff Partner, Jessica and the VP of Income Development, Hilary.

I like volunteering at the events that I visit rather than just being a guest.  It gives me a real opportunity to talk to the people in the community, meet fellow Relayers, and other cancer survivors.  Since this is such a unique event this Relay also drew other out of town guests aside from me.  I met a caregiver and volunteer from Michigan.  His name was Brian.  Brian’s wife is a cancer survivor and one of his reasons to Relay.  He traveled with a friend to the event.  Brian participated in the “Swimwear Lap!”  I maybe from the “Windy City” but the thought of being outside without my layers of clothing didn’t appeal to me.  He almost won the contest for that lap.  However, one other gentleman that participated in the lap decided to make a snow angel on the ground!  Brrr!!!  This Relay also attracted a Staff Partner from the Canadian Cancer Society.  I met Josianne who was from Canada.  Both Brian and Josianne are hoping to bring the Nordic Style Relay to their hometowns.  I promised both of them that if they made that happen I would definitely attend!  I am sure a lot of you are wondering what a Nordic Style Relay looks like.  Here is the public link to my pictures on Facebook.  You don’t have to have an account to view the pictures: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=158465&id=500043657&l=f68cc03f24

 As I mentioned before the event is held outdoors in the snow!  Participants of this event either cross country ski or snow shoe their way around the track.  The weather was beautiful and the snow was great enough for me to just walk the track that night.  Teams have the option to either camp out…that’s right camp outside!  Or they can rent a room at the lodge.  There is a warm up tent and inside that tent food is served all night long!  The best part is the food is free to all participants not just survivors!  The local restaurants and businesses really give and donate great food, desserts, coffee, etc.  I had two bowls of chili!!!  At midnight there was a baked potato bar!  Also inside the tent there was a Relay store!  Yes, I shopped there!  What did I buy?  A fleece hat and scarf of course!  I also located the ACS CAN / Advocacy area and met their Relay CAN Chair, “Purple Susie.”  Yes, purple is her favorite color.  She was an Ambassador at Celebration On The Hill in 2006.  Ironically, so was I!  Then last, but not least there was all sorts of entertainment throughout the night.  I took a long break when the local comedians were up on the mike.  One of the most important things to remember in life is to laugh.  Finding the humor in all things positive or negative goes a long way.  Laughter not only fills your heart, makes you smile, and fills your soul, but if you laugh enough in life you’re abs will thank you for it!  On that note I will end my post here.  Mere words could never describe the experience that I had nor show my gratitude to those who made me feel welcome at the event.  If any of you are looking to attend a unique Relay For Life event that is outside of your home state this is definitely one you have to see and participate in!!! 

Thank you everyone at the Nordic Style Relay!  I had an AWESOME time!! Hope to see you all again some day!

  • Share/Bookmark

“Relay Hopping…” I like to call it my “Tour of Hope”

Last year was the 25th anniversary of the American Cancer Society’s signature event, Relay For Life.  In honor of the 25th anniversary and my 30th birthday I decided that I wanted to attend 25 different Relay For Life events.  From March till September I toured around my home state of Illinois, Wisconsin, Washington (Tacoma), and Canada.   By the end of my tour I had gone to 30 Relay For Life events.  My Tour of Hope was an experience I will never forget!  I got to meet so many great people including Dr. Gordy Klatt, Founder of the Relay For Life!  The people that I have met, the stories I have heard, and the friends that I have made that year will always hold a special place in my heart.  The experience of Relay For Life and this tour that I went on was so life changing that I promised the National Vice President of Relay For Life that I would attend a total of 100 different events in the next four years.  I am already 30 events down!  In the year 2013 the American Cancer Society will be celebrating its 100th birthday.  I will definitely be way ahead of the game of attending 50 Relay For Life events when Relay itself turns 50 in five years.  However, I have decided to take my tour outside the Illinois state lines.  This year I will be visiting several states.  I am currently scheduled to attend Relay For Life events in Vermont, Puerto Rico, Ohio, New Jersey, Indiana, Michigan, California, and Arizona. 

To learn more about the American Cancer Society and Relay For Life please visit www.cancer.org.

Stay tuned for more blog posts!

  • Share/Bookmark

JEM of the Month: Lisa Hayes

Lisa HayesHello. My name is Lisa Hayes. My story is short and sweet, but has a decent ending. That should be obvious since I am here to tell it. I am a 19 year cancer survivor. More importantly, I am a fighter. The slogan that the Relay For Life uses is, “Celebrate, Remember, Fight Back”. I prefer to tell my story by rearranging those simple words.

Remember: My Grandmother was Bernice Hayes. She helped to raise my brother and myself when my father was suddenly a single parent. She was the most amazing person I have ever met. She was bold, determined and outspoken. I like to think I am like her in that way. Gram did not have the best of luck when it came to her health though. She lost her fight to cancer when I was too young to have any close knowledge of what it meant. To me, all it meant was that I had lost the most important woman in my life. She is the inspiration to keep me going when times get rough.

Celebrate: I celebrate the fact that, although I had the same unfortunate luck with my health, I had learned how important it was to see the right doctors at the right time. I began having a problem, ovarian cysts, in my teenage years. Because of seeing the doctors often due to polycystic ovaries, I was careful to show up for all of my checkups and yearly tests. I received a phone call from the office only a day after one of my appointments. They needed to see me in the office as soon as possible. I truly only thought they were having a problem with the insurance company or something. When I got there, they told me that my tests had come back showing a problem. They wanted me to call my boss to tell her I would need the rest of the week off of work. Less than 24 hours after hearing the word cancer, I was in the outpatient department of the hospital. On my post-op visit, I asked the doctor why he rushed me so much. His explanation was two-fold. He was confident of what needed to be done and after the biopsies came back, his opinion was confirmed. The cancer was very early, stage one cervical and by having done what he did, he prevented the disease from becoming a hard and difficult fight for me. His second part of the explanation was also so true. He didn’t want to give me time to let the cancer beat me in my own mind. If I had sat and sulked about it, it would have had me petrified. I got lucky that having regular appointments was what made it possible to catch the cancer so early and easy to overcome. I got lucky that I never had to go through the chemotherapy or radiation that so many of the cancer survivors have gone through.

Fight Back: The very rude intrusion of cancer to my family when I was just 17. The return of cancer to my own world at 21. These are the things that made me choose to get involved with the American Cancer Society’s Relay For Life. After my first season with the Relay For Life of Phillipsburg, NJ I became a team captain. An old saying in the RFL world is “There is no finish line until we find the cure!”. I have never had a large team but the ones who do join me are in it for the win! Being the captain of a small RFL team was not enough for me. Two years later I joined the planning committee. I have been the online chairman for Phillipsburg ever since, and I enjoy it thoroughly. I volunteered as a coach for youth sports for 15 years so it was an easy transition from getting one team pumped up to inspiring another team. Every year, I take the same Fight Back pledge. “I vow to introduce 10 new people to the ACS, its programs and activities.” The cheerfulness, the tranquility, the family atmosphere, it is a package deal. I have become addicted to the Relay For Life and the whole way it envelopes the people involved. I participate in as many as I can get to within driving distance. Each and every one I have been to has a different feel to it. Some are like tailgate parties celebrating the survivors. Some are more solemn to remember the loved ones we have lost. We all need to have a time in our lives for both celebrating and remembering, but now, it is time to fight back! It is time to tell cancer where to go and how to get there. It is time to never be cancer victims but cancer fighters.

Please visit my web page to get more involved or to make a donation. Every dollar raised is one less tear we will shed for loved ones lost.

Thank you for taking the time to read my story,
Lisa Hayes, cancer fighter
Relay For Life of Phillipsburg online chairman
www.relayforlife.org/phillipsburgnj

  • Share/Bookmark

Hello world!

Finally!  Welcome to the IAMJEM.com blog!  I hope all of you enjoy my posts, the “Just Extremely Motivated” people that I meet, and the journey that I will share with all of you!  Take a look around!  I promise there is more to come!

  • Share/Bookmark