Ribbon Irony

This is the pink week. Watch MLB this week and you'll see pink ribbons, shirts, hats & bats. We look around and see pink ribbons all over the place right now. This Saturday Pam will be heading off to the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure as a survivor for the 5th straight year. In 05 she looked the part, no hair, frail, and weakened by the treatment she had just finished, but managed to walk a mile. In 06, not so much the look, but still not even close to 100%. In 07 and 08 she made people wonder..."You're a survivor? You had breast cancer?" but still she walked just the mile. Here we are in 09 and the race is sandwiched between chemo treatment #11 and #12. She returns to the race as a survivor with an asterisk, a recurrent patient in the middle of treatment. Last August 2nd, the day she ran 21 miles for St. Jude kids, her thoughts were of running the competitive 5K at the Race for the Cure in 09. She had worked so hard to be a "runner." When she decided to undergo chemo again this year, and when she received the schedule of treatments, she knew she would miss the Race entirely. Chemo would put an end to her streak of participating.

But with a very well planned and executed therapy protocol, the encouragement of friends who have kept her walking some each week, and a huge desire by her to keep things as normal and positive as possible for our kids, Pam plans on not only attending, but walking the entire 5K. So our little team of 4 will set out early Saturday morning and join the pink crowd. The numbers are expected to exceed 25,000 and they hope to raise at least $1.1 million. It is sure to be a hugging cryfest. See you there?

Wednesday Pam had her 11th treatment. It went well. Gina delivered Pam's Marigold hats (one pink/one black). The normal reactions to the chemo set in eventually, nothing major. She came home and rested. The day before she attended the Peoria County Jr. High track meet in Farmington. Our Josh is in the 6th grade but competes as a 7th grader with several of his friends at Chillicothe Elementary Center. At this meet he competed in three events, the last being the 800m run. He was running in 8th place for most of the race. With about 50 meters to go he passed two people, placing him in 6th. While 1st thru 8th place scores for your team in the meet, ribbons are only awarded through 6th place. At practice yesterday he received his ribbon for the 800m, brought it home and left it on the table. Sometime last evening Pam noticed it and couldn't miss the irony. I suppose everyone knows that 1st place ribbons are blue and 2nd is red. Fewer people know that 3rd is white and 4th is yellow. Even fewer realize that 5th is green and 6th...pink. Quite appropriate for Josh to bring home a pink ribbon this week.

Heb. 12:1 ...and let us run with perserverance the race marked out for us.