The Walk,

Where to begin?  An empowering experience having participated and completed one of the most amazing journeys of my life.  I have felt strength and peace ever since Saturday morning at the opening ceremonies.  I still Miss Cathy each day, but now I am more at ease.  I met some wonderful ladies at the opening ceremonies and they adopted me as part of their team!  We walked the 32 kilometers to Downsview Park on Saturday and the last 7 were truly hell!  Each time we saw a member of the crew they said just 1.8 to go!  That was a long 1.8 to go!  Susan and I were exhausted and actually discussed sweeping!  Thank goodness for the neighbourhood!  We were given freezes with the plastic already cut off for us, homemade Italian treats and lots of encouragement. Without the participation of those neighbours many of us never would have made it walking to camp.  It is with a big smile I say THANK YOU to all the folks who sat on their front lawns and cheered us on and fed us, gave us water, the Corona guy! The little girls who pretended that their lil shooter glasses of water were vodka! Banners and cheers, horns honking and smiling faces saying thank you to us for walking.  The tears are coming now thinking back on how fantastic an experience the weekend to end breast cancer was and what a profound impact it has had on me.  Then we walked 28 kms from Downsview Park to the Canadian National Exhibition grounds on Sunday. 

To all my family and friends who called me on my cell phone and kept me going. At times I did not think I was going to make it to the next pit stop.  Craig for coming to camp and massaging my insanely tight and sore left calf muscles and left shoulder.  Cara for walking with me from Eglington Park and oh get this Cara stopped at Starbucks for me and got me a chai soy latte! OH SWEET! It was so GOOD! She caught up to me at medical and then I went on my way and Cara back 3 kms to her car.  Mom Bingie for calling on Saturday and cheering me on from Thunder Bay.  Doug for being there it seemed when I was at my lowest point on Saturday. I was on my own for a bit and had hit the wall, when Doug called and talked me into the lunch stop.  My Mom for being on the phone with friends and Doug making sure that folks were checking on me, Craig called numerous times to see how I was fairing.  Mom and Doug for driving into the big city together and meeting us at the lunch stop on Sunday and then being there for us at the finish line.  Doug walked the last several kms with me. He took the Sunday pictures as I had just enough energy to get myself there and barely.  Mom for playing surrogate Sweep Car, playing her tunes loudly for walkers and honking her horn and cheering along the course!  It really does make a difference!  Seeing the doctors at Princess Margaret Hospital and shaking their hands as they cheered us on our journey.  Meeting and having my picture taken with Peter Gallagher on my way to the Direct Energy Centre.  Susan for calling me during the walk to encourage me, even though she was walking with her 73 year old Mom!  Shanny for calling me on Sunday about 7kms from the finish line, I was so surprised! Relieved! Happy to hear Shannys voice encourage me on my walk. The emails of encouragement that came in just before I left for the walk on Friday Teresa, Sandy, Eileen, Beth, my cousin Mary Lou and my walking coach Danielle all sent me little notes of encouragement just before the walk.

The closing ceremonies: WOW! As we walked hand in hand into the DEC Susan looked at me and said here we go, get ready and boy was she right!  The cheers and high fives were everywhere!  Clapping and cheering from all around us.  Families, friends, staff, crew, all there to cheer us in on our last part of our incredibly long journey,  I just let the tears flow as we did our victory walk. We collected our victory shirts, blue for walkers and pink for survivors.  Then the survivors walk with Tammy and the cheers again and the outpouring of support from everyone in the building was truly an amazingly empowering experience.  We posed for pictures and said our good byes collected luggage and were on our way home.  Honking our horn at anyone on the road that we recognized. We stopped at Angels in Brantford for burgers and when we walked in, well, Mom and Doug walked; I kind of did a gorilla impression!  I was almost at my table when I saw a blue victory shirt and a fellow walker! She was walking the same way as I was and we just stopped and roared with laughter!  I am sure we were quite the spectacle but we did not even notice. We made our way home and the swelling began and is now today abating.  My toes are nearly touching the floor again. I wore my pink Frog Gifted slippers to work yesterday.  I could not get my feet into flip flops they were too big!
An incredible journey one that I will always look back on with fond memories and new friends, cancer might be awful but it sure pulls folks together!  To all of you who supported my journey, I truly thank you!  Here is to next year!