Thursday, May 22, 2008

Very sad news to report. Yesterday, we lost another family member to cancer. Patty Mock was only 61. She was battling cancer at the same time as my Mom. My Mom and Patty were cousins and had become close again during the past few years. They both shared cancer stories with each other for support and talked about how they struggled with the battle. All the while with a great sense of humor and grace about them. Patty and Mom are both together now with no more pain, no more suffering, no more surgeries, no more chemotherapy, and no more worrying about when their time will come.

I walked the 5K walk earlier this month with Patty's name on my tribute sign, in Support and Honor of her and all the others who are currently suffering and still fighting.

Here is a photo taken at my wedding last July. Pictured left to right is my Auntie Pookie, Debbie (Patty's sister), my Mom Elta Murdock, and Patty Mock. Notice the smiles on both my Mom and Patty's faces.

click on photo for larger view


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Wednesday, May 14, 2008

We're home! Our trip to CA was very full. We got to see so many of our friends and family, and still didn't get to see everyone we wanted to. And we're sorry about that.

We stayed at Pacific Palms ~ my old stomping grounds. It was great to see friends there and visit during our stay. Everyday we saw someone new.

I even got to try my hand at golfing again. Michael, Curtis, Alanna and I went to the driving range at the resort and hit a bucket of balls. This is the second time I've picked up a golf club in over a year now. It was all I could do hold onto the club and not throw it since I had a hard time with my left hand. Alanna says to me, "Wow, I didn't know you had that in you!" I'll get back into it for sure. I don't hit like I used to, but I'll work on it and I'll play a round of golf again soon!

On Sunday, we went to Mom's church and visit with her friends. It was so nice to see them and can't wait until next time. Then we went out to visit with Denys's family and grandparents for Mother's Day.

On Monday, I scheduled a post-walk massage in the new spa at Pacific Palms. It was wonderful and can't wait for my next massage!

Later that afternoon, we made a Sprinkles Cupcake run to Newport Beach! YUMMY!! My favorite. We stopped in Santa Ana and got to visit with more friends.

Tuesday was spent at Mom's house packing up items to bring home. We traveled with four suitcases home, all stuffed to the gills and maxed out on Alaska Airlines weight restrictions. So close to 200 lbs. of stuff.

Here are a few pics at the driving range. Click on photo for larger image.

Alanna and Curtis

Skippy

Michael


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The 5K Walk - Los Angeles, CA May 10, 2008

There were 5 of us who walked the 5K today. My sisters Cindy and Lori, nieces Tracy and Alanna and me.


Today started early for all of us. Some alarms went off at 4:15am. We got an early jump start to try to beat the crowds of walkers and runners at the LA Coliseum. The Run/Walk started at 9:00am. Traffic was starting to get congested but tolerable still as we were parked by 6:00am.
My Auntie Pookie came out with my cousin Dave and his fiance' Cherilyn to support us. My brother Curtis was there along with my brother-in-law Gary, my nephew Sam and my wonderful, loving and supportive husband Michael.
The weather was cool all morning which helped during the walk. I was afraid it would be too hot but that was not the case.
Sorry, Lori and Cindy for using your left shoulders for support during the walk!
And thank you everyone for your donations, support and encouraging words! You all helped me raise a total of $2,030~! THANK YOU!

Here are some pictures from the day. Click on photo to view larger image

Skippy and Michael

Skippy and nephew Sam

Skippy and niece Alanna

Our tribute signs - left to right
Skippy, Lori, Cindy, Tracy

Auntie Pookie and sister Lori

Dave and Cherilyn

Group photo

Niece Tracy, sister Cindy and brother-in-law Gary

I held up my cell phone and took this picture. This is the crowd we walked in at the START line.

The non-walkers in our family cheering us on at the START line

Entering the Coliseum - nearing the FINISH line

Skippy and Alanna at the FINISH line

A view of the thousands of combined runners and walkers on the field with more and more walkers finishing. The event went on for two more hours. I can only imagine how the field looked then.

Niece Alanna ~ post-walk with finishing medallion

Nephew Sam and sister Lori

Michael and Skippy

Alanna inside the LA Coliseum

A celebatory post-walk lunch at Chevy's

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Tuesday, May 6, 2008

A few more days to go before Michael and I head to California. I looked at the total count of donations raised so far by my two sisters, my niece and myself. All together, we've raised $2,950 so far. So thank you everyone for all of your support!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Karen $2,020 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Lori $450 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Cindy $340 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Tracy $140 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Saturday, May 3, 2008

Thank you to everyone who has donated so far. With the help of friends, family, and folks I have yet to meet I've reached my goal of raising at least $2,000. THANK YOU!!

I am also honored to add the many names I've been given to wear on my tribute signs. It shows how many people are affected by so many diseases in such a small circle of friends we know. Everyone has a story to tell.

I'm blessed that I survived my stroke and that I'm overcoming the obstacle of learning to walk again and building my endurance to walk this distance. It proves to me that I am winning and not the stroke that changed my life. I'm walking for all the names on my signs that are unable to walk this event or are no longer with us. But they will be with me in spirit.