Relay for Life

Saturday morning my dad called to tell me my aunt had been diagnosed with leukemia. It's times like these it's really hard to be so far from home.

My morning was spent calling family, trying to make sense of everything. Saturday was also the Relay for Life. I hadn't realized until I arrived at the event that I had not been to a RFL since I had worked at the hospital in Virginia. I spent the summer of 2004 working at the Naval Medical Center Portsmouth on the pediatric hematology/oncology ward--kids with cancer and blood diseases. It was an incredibly hard summer working with kids that were so sick. I became good friends with Amanda--she was only a few years younger than me--and learned so much from her. She passed away a few weeks after I left. It was a hard summer.

As we set up the tent for the Relay, I found it really hard to be there. I was welling up just looking at the luminaries, knowing that each one represented someone with cancer. I thought of all the kids at NMCP, of Amanda, of family friends back home, and of my aunt. It was a very emotional day for me.
The Relay here was different from any I had previously attended as it was from 6PM to 6AM--I had only been to the one in Northwood which is during the day. There were food booths and many team tents around the makeshift track. They also had an entertainment stage and a huge colon. I took a tour of the colon to see what colon cancer looks like.
I had raised money through the Birdwatcher's team through Pioneer. All in all, we raised $8655 (our goal was $7500). Thanks again to all that donated!
I was also a member of the Salt Pond Stargazers--a team comprised of my friends from Salt Pond. I didn't spend much time in this tent, but thought I would show the neat sign we had made.

I asked Rick to come to the Relay for the luminary ceremony partially because he had never been to one before, but mainly because I was unsure how I would be holding up at that point and wanted him there for a shoulder to cry on if needed. After the luminaries we went to see our friend Rhian off--some of you may see her this week as she's on a work trip to Johnston.

When we got back from Lihue, things had died down at the relay. They had live music earlier, but because of noise ordinances, there was little going on. There were people in the Pioneer tent all night long and we talked story. I had to sleep for a while on the cot around 2 or so and while I slept, Rick walked alone along the track for an hour and a half. What touched me was he wasn't on the team, he wasn't there to raise money, and he hadn't signed up to be a night walker. He was there to support me. He gave up his whole night's sleep to stay at RFL with me because, as he said, he felt I needed him there. It's true.

Sunday I slept from 6 to noon. The coordinators said they plan it overnight because cancer never sleeps, but I like the day relay better. More to do, more fun. But this one was harder for me than any others before. Before, I never had anyone close to me die from or battling cancer.

The Kauai Relay for Life raised $140,428, but this will likely still grow as matching funds and other late donations continue to come in. Quite an accomplishment for our small community! Thanks again to everyone who donated!