Karen and I found our seats (we were much more relaxed about it than earlier in the day) and settled in beside the nicest man. Karen was wearing her Nike Women's Marathon hoodie and he commented on it. He was asking us questions about it and he seemed sincerely interested in learning all about it. Well, we got to talking about the true reason why we were doing this whole thing and I told him about Mom.
He thought that was outstanding and was genuinely interested in the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society part of it all. After lots of talking on my part, he finally just kind of slipped it in that his father was battling Lymphoma. Well I felt so foolish going on and on about all of the race stuff and so forth. It is truly all put into perspective when you continually meet people everywhere you go, including people that have nothing to do with the race, that are affected by these diseases.
At the end of the ride, I got his father's name and asked him if it would be ok if I ran with a ribbon in honor of his father on the day of the race. He was so sweet and said he'd be honored.
I pray for him and his family every night and I will never forget him. And in honor of you, Joe Nix, I ran so much stronger!
1 comment:
My husband is named for his late uncle, also named Joe Nix, so this post caught my eye. Truly, so many people are affected by cancer. My mom is not considered in remission now from her multiple myeloma, but her doctor still feels like he can manage it with alterations in her medication. Thanks for running for so many people's loved ones!
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