It was the first walk for me and for Team "Beat the Bete!"
I came up with a sweet logo for the team and my
wife ironed the logos on shirts for all 11 of us walking.
My wife, kids, mother, sisters, cousin, friend, and future brother-in-law all came to walk with me.
It was a little like the night before Christmas for me. I was pretty excited and hardly slept. I was really looking forward to doing this since I had never done anything like this before.
I could not believe I was able to raise over $1000 which I thought was an impossible goal and I set the team goal for $2000 and we pulled that off too! WOW For our first walk ever, Team Beat the Bete was kicking some serious booty!
When we went to check in, my mother handed me a bandanna. Every 21 seconds a bandanna was handed out to people there to walk. By the time the walk began, pretty much everyone there had a bandanna. What a crippling visual. Every 21 seconds someone is diagnosed with Diabetes. In just a short period of time, the amount of people here at the walk represented all the people that had just been diagnosed.
It is difficult to get your head around.
I found myself crying several times
that day. Sometimes because my little sister and my son would decide to be the coolest looking walkers of all and strut their stuff especially for the
camera and laughter would bring me to tears!
Most of the time it was because I saw a t-shirt with a loved one's picture on it who had passed away due to diabetes. Or talking to my cousin who lost her father-in-law only a few years ago to the D. Thinking about my co-workers who donated so much money to the Team. My OC friends who sponsored me and who encouraged me to do this. My family who wanted to be there by my side in hopes to someday see a cure for their dad, husband, brother, and son. I thought a lot about little O and M who are just taking those first steps on the D journey. Praying for them and their families.
Most of all, I was just so thankful that I could be apart of a great event. It was a good day. Emotional. Fun. Exhausting. Hopeful and comforting .
All these people want the same thing I do.
A cure for Diabetes.
Let's Beat the Bete, shall we?
5 comments:
George, how great!!! - it sounds very emotional from every angle.
Congratulations on a wonderful effort.
P.S. to the previous post - I was so sure the Halloween treats were done - we were down to Laffy Taffy and Nerds here in the office, which I can easily say no to. Someone just brought in a huge assortment of Butterfingers, Milk Duds, and Twix...............
please, somebody, make it stop.
Congratulations. You did an awesome job. Thank you for all you do...the walk, the mentoring, your words, the prayers, and just being Super George.
Viv
What a cool day Bro!
Those things get at me too. Just to see so many people come together - for something that is so close to me.
I loved the picture of G-Money Jr. strutting his stuff!
Super George!!
you rock, really you rock. I guess, I never thought too much about how many people are diagnosed with diabetes and how often. It passed my mind, but until it happened to me, again, it didn't really hit home. It is people like you doing things like this that are really gonna make the difference!
Awesome job, George!!
And that boy of yours looks soooo cool.
Post a Comment