COMMITMENT
"The biggest and hardest single thing that you will be required to do in the entire battle is to make up your mind to really fight it.
You must, on your own, make the commitment that you will do everything in your power to fight the disease.
No exceptions. No halfway. Nothing for the sake of ease or convenience.
Everything! Nothing short of it.
When you have done this, you have accomplished the most difficult thing you will have to accomplish throughout your entire treatment."
Richard and Anne Bloch, A Tribute to Life, Cancer Survivors Plaza, Dallas TX
It is the 2008 Relay for Life season, and this year, teams "Perseverance" and "Perseverance Too" have commited to CELEBRATE, REMEMBER, and FIGHT BACK!
We are celebrating those who are surviving cancer and celebrating the lives of those that are no long with us.
We are remembering those that we have lost, and all that we loved about them.
We are fighting back in honor of those that we have loved and lost, we are fighting back in honor of us that are still fighting our battles, and we are fighting back so that some day cancer will be just a very bad memory.
Last year team Perseverance raised $21000! We acheived state recognition for our fundraising efforts, and we celebrated how much we were able to do when we put our hearts into what we were doing...well, guess what! Our hearts grew 3 sizes over the holidays!
This year we have branched into two teams because of the number of people we have helping us towards our goal. Team Perseverance will be captained by myself, and Lori and Michelle have graciously accepted the responsibilities of being co-captains. Our other team will be called Perseverance Too (which is not really another team at all)! We are all one in our efforts. P Too will be captained by Skye! He is very proud of his new responsibilities!
This year our goal is to raise $35,000 by team Perseverance and $5,000 by Perseverance Too! And WHEN we accomplish this next goal we have set for ourselves, I (and my co-captains, so they say) will get my head shaved! I have to admit, I have started to have a few panic feelings about the head shaving (I like my hair, and I have really big ears) but when I think about all that I have lost to cancer in the last 3 years, I am reminded that a head shaving is NOTHING compared to the losses that I have felt. I have gone through difficult treatments and permanent body alterating surgeries, I have cried with friends who have been diagnosed with difficult cancers, I have listened to friends who have lost family members to the disease, I have spoken to hundreds of people about my story and about how the American Cancer Society is keeping me alive and I have vowed to do everything I can to help them in their efforts, I have attended the funerals of beloved friends, and I have looked into the teary eyes of my children and I have promised them that I will do everything in my power be here with them as long as I possibly can.
So...if shaving my head, gets some people excited, then I am going to do it! I will tell every newspaper and TV station in the state about our goals, and WE will get this done! I do this for my children, my parents, my husband, and my family and friends.
I do this in memory of Christopher, Dr. Larson, Ginni, Mrs. Trindle, and Kim. I do this for the love of my survivor friends that I have met through the RELAY, HEROES OF HOPE, LIFESPRING, METHODIST AND MIDWEST CANCER CENTERS, and LIFE. I do this for my friends who have lost parents, siblings, neices, nephews, aunts, uncles, grandparents and friends. And, I do this for me, I am not done here!
If you want to do this too, then please, go to my website and make a donation:
To make a donation online and to track our progress, visit
http://main.acsevents.org/goto/tracy.harnly To send a donation, make all checks payable to: American Cancer Society
5733 S 34th Ste 500 Lincoln, Nebraska 68516
(Indicate Relay team: Tracy Harnly-Team Perseverance)
You can also help by forwarding this information on to others that you think might be with us in our fight! You will be affecting the lives of millions!
HOPE and LOVE to you!
What am I thankful for?! All the friends/family that have joined my team, all the people that are considering helping us out this year, and I am thankful that I have hair....today! =)