I became involved with RFL in 2008 as a team member for the local mom's group. Then in 2009 my son MJ, at the age of eight, started his own team. I have been a member of his team which is made up of his friends and their parents. MJ's team has raised over $7,000 in three years.
So you might be asking yourself why did I get involved with RFL? I became involved with RFL because three of my four grandparents had cancer. While only two of them passed away from cancer. In 2000 my grandfather lost his battle with cancer. His death has been bittersweet for me because he passed away just fourteen hours after MJ was born. I honestly believe that he held on until MJ was born. My mom, who was in the delivery room with us, called her parents to let them know that MJ was here and healthy. My grandmother held the phone up to my grandfather's ear so he could hear MJ crying.
At my first RFL in 2008 I bought luminaries in memory of my grandparents. It had rained during the event so the luminary bags were wet and many did not stay lit for long. My first official shift was at one am, MJ was still awake so he joined me on the track. As we were walking the track we noticed that my grandfather's luminary was still lit. As we walked I told MJ about my grandfather and why he was so special to me. After walking the track for two hours we were nearing the end of our shift. As we passed my grandfather's luminary one last time, the flame flickered and went out. MJ stopped, bent down and said "Thank you for being here with us tonight. It made my mom very happy." I will never forget this simple act.
This year I agreed to chair the event. This has got to be one of the hardest things I have ever done and at the same time one of the most rewarding. There were so many details that needed to be taken care of. While it took months to arrange for the tents, stage, DJ, food and get volunteers for the event. The event day went off without a hitch.
The morning of the event was rainy, hmm this might be bad. The tents and stage arrived early, that was a very good sign. The rain ended around 11 am and the sun began to shine. By 2pm the team campsites, registration, luminary, survivor area, and track signs were all in their places and ready for action.
At 3pm the teams began to arrive to set up their campsites and the Cub Scouts arrived to fill and place luminary bags around the track (the scouts did over 200 bags in 3 hours). By 6pm most people had gathered for the event. This is when I got super nervous. Mostly because I was on center stage, literally. During the opening ceremony one of the hardest parts was to read a story that my Uncle Mike had written for a newspaper in Massachusetts. Here is that story:
The morning of the event was rainy, hmm this might be bad. The tents and stage arrived early, that was a very good sign. The rain ended around 11 am and the sun began to shine. By 2pm the team campsites, registration, luminary, survivor area, and track signs were all in their places and ready for action.
At 3pm the teams began to arrive to set up their campsites and the Cub Scouts arrived to fill and place luminary bags around the track (the scouts did over 200 bags in 3 hours). By 6pm most people had gathered for the event. This is when I got super nervous. Mostly because I was on center stage, literally. During the opening ceremony one of the hardest parts was to read a story that my Uncle Mike had written for a newspaper in Massachusetts. Here is that story:
The Story of Chippie
We face many challenges. The vast majority of these are positive. They reflect growth and adventure as we journey throughout our days.
However, there are those few times that cause us to stop in our tracks and wonder why, in the large scheme of things, we must face a particularly difficult challenge.
For more years than any of us care to recall cancer has been the great equalizer. Without rhyme or reason - regardless of our state of health or mind or anything else - we or someone we know and love may be diagnosed with cancer.
This was true for my family in the fall of 1992. Our entire family gathered together to hear the mom had three to six months to live due to stage four cancer of the brain. The tumor was midline and inoperable. We were told that any treatment would only extend her life by a couple of months and it would not contribute to her quality of life.
You could have heard the proverbial pin drop. Mom, strong as always made it clear that she wanted to go home and finish her days there. After a brief discussion, Mom, got what she wanted - which is usually the case. All seven of her children would pull together and make homecare happen. Mom headed to rehab for a short visit, while we contacted a contractor to rehab the home to make it wheelchair accessible and take care of the details that would allow mom to come home quickly.
Our mom, Charlotte, lived for five more months. She enjoyed one final Christmas with all of her grandchildren gathered around. She rang in 1993, took down the Christmas decorations and celebrated Easter. Then she was ready, if you are ever ready, to face life's final milestone in peace. In March of 1993, Chippie, as she was known to her childhood friends, crossed over into the eternal tomorrow.
In 1997, Chippie's daughter, Maryclaire, became involved in Relay For Life (RFL) in Connecticut. Since then, she has been team captain, committee member, chaired the local RFL twice, been an Ambassador on the Hill in 2006, has volunteered for RFL New England Task force twice and the New England Training Team.
Chippie's daughter and name sake, Charlotte, began Chippie's Kids a RFL team in Massachusetts, that includes mom's children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
Chippie's granddaughter, Tracy from Ohio is also a team member and the local RFL Chair. Three years ago her son, MJ, Chippie's great-grandson began his own youth team that raises money through lemonade stands.
This year, Chippie's daughter-in-law, Robin, has formed her first team in Virginia. And there is granddaughter Victoria who chaired her college's RFL and then went to Australia and helped get a RFL started there. The cadets at West Point had a community service project to complete, so under the leadership of Major Riley, West Point became another RFL chapter. Then Chippie's grandson Kevin and his two children joined RFL in Arizona.
Chippie made it very clear to her children that a cure must be found - that no family should have to go through what her family went through. Getting help was the easy part. Finding the cure is the hard part. Be we all have a part to play.
From this courageous woman, people take part in Relay For Life from Hew Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, Ohio, Virginia, Arizona, and Australia. Chippie's brave battle with brain cancer has inspired four generations of Relay For Lifers in our family. We are helping to raise countless dollars for cancer research. Now we along with millions of others are waiting for the time when one more challenge is overcome and a cure for cancer is realized. Chippie has taught us all that we can accomplish great things if we work together.
That was tough to read out loud to a ton of strangers. After opening ceremony, I had so many people come up and tell me that they really liked hearing about our family's cancer story. The rest of Relay was wonderful. The weather held up and it wasn't too hot. It took me several days to recover from months of hard work and from being up for 32 hrs straight. My children and I are already looking forward to next year's Relay For Life event, which I plan to chair again.
Here are some pictures from the Luminary ceremony at this year's Relay For Life.
Here are some pictures from the Luminary ceremony at this year's Relay For Life.
