Run With Passion: It's time

Monday, January 12, 2009

It's time

Well its time to make this real. I signed up back in November to do a half marathon to help raise money to find a cure for the horrible disease my father is battling. I did it to try to make a difference and to try to do something where i could partner with my father in his fight. It has been so hard to see what all he and my family has had to go through. Well I have put off long enough. I have been training since December and its time to start working on my finacial goal! I pray this experience will be one i will never forget and will never be the same after i complete. Its crazy that my sister started this blog site for me back in May six months before i knew i would do this. She asked me for a title for my blog spot and i chose: Runwithpassion. Amazing how things play out. I don't even like to run! Well here i go. I will run with passion for so many people who are fighting for their lives because of the terrible disease of cancer. Lord help me do this right and reach my goal and see great things come to pass.....

2 comments:

Unknown said...: We know your strength, determination and PASSION in Christ will get you through it all. We are praying for you and your family. We love you! Chris and Corina; January 28, 2009 at 1:50 PM
mimiof10 said...: Mary Alice, I am a former classmate of your dad's and a fellow CLL survivor. I want to thank you for participaing in this marathon. It is so important to the research of blood cancers. I will keep you in my prayers, as well as your dad and your family. Thank you and God bless. Peggy Schmeltekopf Grantham; April 3, 2009 at 10:45 PM

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Larry West by his daughter Summer West

Larry was diagnosed with Leukemia. He will be going through 6 rounds of Chemo...this is a little about him from his daughter Summer.....
No matter who I introduce my dad to they always say the same thing, “I like your dad, he is so cool.” From picking up his clothes at the dry cleaners or taking his car in to be serviced, when they find out that Larry West is my dad, they go to great lengths saying how much they love him. Dad has always been cool, calm and collected. Throughout his life he has been known as a good dresser and a great dancer. Daddy is genuinely kind and makes everyone feel like they’ve known him all their lives.
Larry Gene West was born in 1943 in Glenmora, Louisiana. He is the baby of 4 sisters and 2 brothers. He and my mom were 1st grade classmates and have been married since 1961. My mom is his only best friend. He never takes trips without her. As a husband, he showers her with love by keeping her favorite candy hidden in special places for her to discover. He buys her expensive jewelry and fashionable clothes. They go out on dates frequently also. They still lie on the sofa and watch movies together. Daddy has always been a great family guy.
As a father of 4 girls, he drove us to practice from ballet, cheerleading, band practice, drill team, and attended every performance and award ceremony. He was never out of town or too busy to be a parent alongside my mom. Occasionally, he even attempted to do our hair when we were little. Still today he will go with us to our doctor’s appointments even though we are grown.
I remember when I was little, being at the grocery store. Dad followed a stranger with a forgotten grocery bag saying, “Here you go buddy. Don’t forget to take this home too.” I would ask dad how he knew that man and dad would reply that he didn’t. He is always calling total strangers his “buddy.” He goes the extra mile to take hired help cokes outside when they are working. The garbage men have even received bottled water from Daddy.
A car driver in his youth, Daddy still enjoys watching NASCAR. His all time favorite driver was Dale Earnhart, but now he favors McMurry or Dale Earnhart Jr.
He worked hard for 31 years at the Harris County Flood Control where he retired as Chief Inspector. There is proof that he worked hard; He has 2 rods in his back, an artificial knee and shoulder, and 1 plate in his neck. We call him the bionic man. However, Daddy has always provided us with a nice loving home, extraordinary landscaping in the yard, and new cars.
.Dad loves to work outside as long as the sun is up. He loves the earth- especially rocks, sago palms and roses. He is known for having the most manicured lawn in the neighborhood. I have always joked that Dad is very close to God because the Bible says that cleanliness is close to Godliness. Dad continually takes great pride in keeping his possessions clean and organized. Saturdays, for him, are for cleaning up the cars, and polishing shoes. My girlfriends are always amazed how much Dad helps my Mom with the household chores. We pray that we can find someone like him.
Daddy has a strong sense of self, but he is always humble. Some people may accuse him of being passive, but he just listens to others’ opinions respectfully without judgment. Most of the time, we must ask for Dad’s opinion in order to know it. This is probably because he is outnumbered by women. He claims that he would not prefer it any other way. We joke that he should have been in politics because he can talk for 2 hours without making a conclusion about anything. He never wants to offend anyone.
Daddy is not a man’s man. He is not a hunter, nor a sports fanatic. He is a rare breed that prefers the company of his wife, his home, and his family over any other plans.
A simple man with a simple plan- and I am so proud to call him my Daddy.

Jaclynn Parkers Story by Leah Shackleford (one of my closest's friends)

Ok here is the story of my sis....

Her name was Jaclynn. She was a fair complected little girl with big blue eyes and pretty blonde hair. She was know for her awesome smile and kool-aid mustache. No matter what was going on in her complicated little life she would always have a smile. Right before her third birthday she came down with a strep throat and was very sick. My mom lived in a small town in Louisiana and the doctor gave her some simple antibiotics and sent them home. After a couple of weeks of getting worse my mom took her back. They did a blood test on her and when the results came back the doctor's office thought their machine was broke and told my mom that she needed to head down to the hospital immediately. She did just that and it was confirmed that she had two extremely rare forms of Leukemia. When the types had been diagnosed before they were normally found in adults. She was referred to St. Judes Research hospital where she would spend the next year in half. When she arrived they gave her a 10% chance of living. A very scary place for my mom to be all alone with her 3 year old. I am sure that sweet smile is what got her through most days. She underwent intense chemo and became very ill. After losing all her hair including eyelashes she started to show signs of recovery; she eventually would go into remission. This is when my mom would come back to Houston and my sis would follow up at Texas Children's. The remission was short lived she got sick again this time treatment was not as aggressive. I do remember our family getting to do some awesome things to having some lasting memories with her. Make a wish foundation came to our house and she wanted to go to Disney in Florida and we went first class all the way~ limo rides, condos, dinner theatres it was a vacation of a life time. We celebrated her 5th birthday there it was awesome. Towards the end of that year we got the news that the Leukemia was not responding to the treatment and there was nothing else they could do but keep her comfortable so that is what they did. She got to go to school for a couple of months...she loved school but then got too sick to attend. One night she went out to eat with my mom and step dad and saw some girls in their homecoming dresses and told my mom that she wanted to go on a date with Patrick (my moms best friends little boy). My mom shared the funny story with her friend, and she was overtaken she wrote a letter to a local radio station to see if they would sponsor "a date" and her letter was read on the air and Al's formal wear called donated a tux for Patrick and man called in and said the would donate $200 for a dress for my sister. Red Lobster said that dinner would be on them and a limo was also donated to make the evening special. It was a night to remember. I think she wore that dress almost every day after that. This was one of the last things that she did before she passed. She died 12 days after her 6th birthday. She is still in our hearts and the pain of watching Leukemia take her life will never be forgotten.

Ryan's Story by Stepahnie McCabe (one of my friends a singer on CLC's worship team)

Ryan was diagnosed with a form of cancer classified as Hodgkin's Lymphoma, in the fall of 2001, at the young age of 19. He was a college student at the time who was working towards a degree in business finance.
It was a typical evening as he laid his head on his pillow to sleep. When he woke, there was a large growth between his neck and shoulder, approximately the diameter of a softball. Thinking it was nothing more than a pulled muscle that would subside in time, he proceeded to dress his finest as he would be taking his girlfriend to her prom that evening.
The following day the mass was still there and his mother drove him to their local family medical center. One glance at the mass and the doctor directed them straight to the hospital. Upon arrival, a biopsy of the growth was ordered and then administered to find that it was not benign but rather malignant. The specialists then ordered a bone marrow biopsy to see if the cancer had spread. The results came back negative and the diagnosis was confirmed as Hodgkin's Lymphoma. From the local hospital he was referred to M.D. Anderson where he would undergo chemotherapy for a year.
A catheter was inserted into his chest to serve as a port to administer heparin (an anticoagulant to prevent clotting in blood vessels). This port would remain in his chest throughout the year of chemotherapy and had to be cleaned with iodide daily to keep out infection. Throughout his treatments he became weak, pale and inevitably lost his hair. He was put on a high protein diet to maintain a healthy body weight. His immune system was so weak he would get painful skin infections that were very uncomfortable. He was able to be home but due to his weak immune system, family members had to be careful as to not transfer any kind of sicknesses. About midway through his chemotherapy he was allowed to take home a machine that would administer the heparin through his port. Once the year of chemotherapy had come to an end and his white blood cell count had stabilized, he then began to undergo radiation that would confirm the elimination of malignant cells.
Ryan, is now 25 years old and no signs or traces of cancer remain. He was able to maintain a 4.0 average during his battle with cancer. He is a graduate of Texas A&M with a Business Finance degree who now lives a happy and healthy life. Ryan is one amongst a multitude of those that have been or are currently afflicted with cancer. Support is needed for the research of and treatment for this disease so others can have a hope of an ending to their struggle much as this.

Run With Passion

Monday, January 12, 2009

It's time

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Larry West by his daughter Summer West

Jaclynn Parkers Story by Leah Shackleford (one of my closest's friends)

Ryan's Story by Stepahnie McCabe (one of my friends a singer on CLC's worship team)

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