Moving Tribute ::: Light the Night Walk 2013

Photo via Katie Grana, our AMAZING "Ramblin' for Ron" team captain, and Ron's other niece.

Words cannot even express how amazing this girl is. Seriously!

This past Friday, my family and I participated in our second Leukemia and Lymphoma Society Light the Night Walk with our family team, "Ramblin' for Ron."  Last year we had a pretty great team turnout, and this year was insane, and I'm not just saying that because we are a collective tribe of nuts. 

Unfortunately, my uncle, the family member we are participating in support of, is back in treatment this year and hopefully beating this horrible disease once and for all.  Because of this, he wasn't able to physically walk with us like he did last year, but he "rode" along!  Hopefully he will beat this evil disease this time around and will be able to walk again next year and every year thereafter.

Photo via Katie Grana, our AMAZING "Ramblin' for Ron" team captain

It's a pretty emotional event, being among so many people with so many stories and a seeing that huge trail of flickering balloons/lanterns in front and behind you, literally for miles, each representing someone currently fighting, someone who won their fight or a loved one who lost their fight. 

Here are a couple more photos, including the majority of our team (some of those with little ones left not long after the race), taken by my cousin....or with her camera.

Look at us...all nuts. The best kind of nuts, too, honey roasted.

Photos via Lauren Dieckmann, designer of our fabulous team shirts, 

who also happens to be my cousin and daughter of the strongest guy I know.

Yes, we are a bunch of nuts, and we're damn proud of it.

This walk also a great time to get on the Bone Marrow and Stem Cell Registry list to help those fighting find a donor. DKMS typically has a booth set up where you can actually get swabbed if you meet the criteria (and we're usually set up right near it!), and there's a booth for Be The Match, the official donor list, to get more information.  

DKMS facilitates a lot of swabbing drives to get people on the Be The Match list--so don't do both, you will end up on the official list through either means.  I was lucky to get swabbed at last year's walk, and I carry my fob and donor number with me, waiting for the call. I cannot even imagine not being ready and willing if I got called. Are you on the list? 

It was a fantastic turnout, and another moving event, literally and figuratively.  If you participated in the St. Louis event, I'd love to hear from you. Since I believe it was simultaneously held in several cities, if you attended elsewhere, I'd love to hear from you as well!

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