The Bar Has Been Set!

So if you read the last post, you might have seen a comment that one of my son's friends was diagnosed with leukemia last month.  That is one of  the most devastating things for a parent to be confronted with.  Every parent wants their child, or children, to grow up healthy and happy.  So I decided that I wasn't going to sit around and not do anything.  If you have been a reader for a long time, I don't think that there are many long time readers left, you might remember the fact that I cannot donate blood which is in great demand by cancer patients.  What I can do is I can run.

And I have set the bar high.

Meet Josh.

Josh is the son of one of my husband's co-workers and we have known Josh since he was a little kid.  Josh is now a senior in high school.

Josh is a member of the band.  To say that Josh is smart is an understatement.  He was able to advance two years in school but his parents advanced him one year so that he would still fit in with the kids in his grade level.  But school is on hold right now.  After spending two weeks in ICU, Josh was able to come home for Christmas but he still has to go to MD Anderson three times a week for his chemo and transfusions.

I cannot help Josh out with a blood donation, but I can run my @$$ off and get people to donate money to help him.  I think that there might be some people out there who might want to see me do a few stupid human tricks and toss a few bucks Josh's way.

Here is the goal:  I am setting my goal to run a minimum of 100 miles by March 1st. for Josh and it started today.

Today I ran 7.2 miles.  But here is the exciting part.  By this time next week, I will have run over 58 miles for Josh.  Yep, this week I am running another 50 miles for Josh.  You will need to stay tuned to how it goes.  If you feel so inclined to help me raise $2,000.00 for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, here is a link for you to make a donation:

https://my.reason2race.com/LIZGARCIA

98% of your donation will go to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society for patient aid and research.  Patient aid is money to pay for the things that insurance will not cover such as the $14 a day parking garage fee at MD Anderson or the cost of one hour with a social worker for Josh's parents and brother as they learn how to live life with cancer in it.  The Texas Gulf Coast Chapter of LLS supports 16 research doctors in the Texas Medical Center at MD Anderson and Baylor College of medicine.  Your tax deductible donation stays local to benefit Josh and his family.

Now, I challenge you, gentle reader.  Hit the link above and make a donation.  It is whole lot easier than running.  If you think that you can donate a few cups of coffee money, hit the link above.  If you think that you can donate the cost of a night out at the movies, hit the link above.  If you think that you can donate the cost of the new pair of shoes you were looking at to add to your collection, hit the link above.  If you know that you cannot donate right now but you know three people who can, forward them the link above and tell them that they need to donate to Josh. 

You can make a difference with just a few dollars.

Stay tuned to how I am going to knock out 50 more miles of running this week.

Later Gators,

Liz