Come cheer us on!!!

So it's 2:25 am and the 3-day is finally here....or in about 4.5 hours it will be.  I have to be up at 4 am so I figure sleep is pretty much a lost cause for the night.  Smart, I know (but it was worth it)!  Some of you have asked for details about the 3-Day so here it is. I would be so excited to see friends along the route cheering us on! Please come!  I will have my cell phone on me so give me a call or send me a text (even better) if you end up heading down.

I started a Twitter account as a last attempt at getting to my goal of $15,000.  You can donate all throughout the walk if you feel inclined.  I will be posting pictures and observations along the way!  I've never done this before (I know I'm behind the times) so please hang in there with me while I figure it out.  My twitter name is "sefrakes."


www.the3day.org/goto/sarahfrakes <----CLICK TO DONATE!!!!  I need about $800 more to reach my goal of $15,000! Please help me get there before the walk is over on Sunday!

It's a very short post tonight because I've still got a thousand things to do.  But, I leave you with my one of my favorite commercials of all time that very much paints the picture of how I am feeling right now.

EVENT DETAILS<---Click here!

VIEW A MAP OF THE ROUTE <---Click here!

Please come and cheer us on!! The details are here below....I have also heard that the closing ceremony is a pretty neat experience to check out.  Click on the "EVENT DETAILS" link for more on that.

Cheering Stations
Please discourage your family and friends from driving along the route, as it can create a safety hazard. Instead, encourage them to show their support at a Cheering Station. The following Cheering Stations are safe, recommended places for your supporters to cheer you on along the route.

Friday, August 19

Mile 6.6, 8:45 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.
Lake Harriet Band Shell
4135 W. Lake Harriet Parkway
Minneapolis, MN 55409

Mile 10.4, 10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.
Parade Ice Garden parking lot
600 Kenwood Parkway
Minneapolis, MN 55403


Saturday, August 20

Mile 5.1, 7:30 a.m. - 10:30 a.m.
St. Paul Regional Water Services
1900 Rice Street
St. Paul, MN 55113

Mile 11.7, 9:45 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.
Ramsey County Island Lake Park
3611 N. Victoria
Shoreview, MN 55126

Mile 18.8, 11:30 a.m. - 6:15 p.m.
Holiday Inn Express
1100 County Road E.
Vadnais Heights, MN 55110


Sunday, August 21

Mile 1.7, 7:00 a.m. - 8:30 a.m.
Maplewood Mall (behind Sears)
1856 Beam Avenue
St. Paul, MN 55109

Mile 5.2, 8:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m.
Northwood Park
2006 1st Street N.
St. Paul, MN 55109

Mile 14.6, 11:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Indian Mounds Park
1113 Mounds Boulevard
St. Paul, MN 55106

Let's Prove Her Wrong!

It’s August 11^th, and there is only 6 more full days to raise money (that counts before the walk) for the Susan G. Komen 3-Day for the Cure.  I spent a lot of my day today reflecting on everything breast cancer.  My mom was diagnosed a little over 5 months ago.  Crazy to think it has already been that long.  This whole process of being a part of the 3-Day has been one of the best experiences of my life, and the walk isn’t even here yet!  The other day I posted on Facebook that our team was $90 away from reaching our goal of $20,000.  I remember the day that I decided to do the walk so clearly.  I made our team goal $9,200 (4 walkers times the required $2,300 to walk) and I honestly thought there was no way that we would ever get to that amount.  I was so nervous about raising $2,300 to be eligible to walk.  I knew that I would do whatever it took though, my mom just so happens to be one of my biggest passions in this short but sweet life.  And, I have always loved a good fundraiser.  My mom still talks about when I was in 4^th grade and was raising money for my elementary school.  I went to St. John the Baptist.  And here again, I had a lot of motivation.  If we raised a certain amount as a school we got a non-uniform day.  I would do just about anything to get out of wearing my blue plaid jumper to school.  So, my best friend Anne and I (she didn’t even go to my school, but I recruited her to help) started making calls all over town.  We decided to not only go door to door like my classmates were doing, but additionally go to the businesses that had the big money.  We started calling locally at first, mostly restaurants and then started calling big corporate companies like AT&T (we had the Yellow Pages out, that was when we still used phone books).  Why the heck we thought we should called AT&T as fourth graders was beyond me but I am impressed to this day that we did.  It’s quite comical actually (maybe just to me, could be one of those you had to be there moments), after talking to several people I finally got a no, at which time I proceeded to tell them that we were going to switch our phone service over to Sprint.  So we didn’t get AT&T but we surprisingly did get a lot of money from local businesses and a few gift certificates as well.   And we got our non-uniform day, whoo hoo!  Then there was the DARE Bike-a-thon.  Jumping ahead to 5^th grade, whoever raised the most money at St. John’s received a $200 gift certificate to Rosedale Mall, motivation strikes again (and of course, I was definitely into keeping kids off drugs).  I raised the most money in my school, 1^st through 8^th grade.  I remember biking those 16 miles to this day, it seemed ridiculously far as a kid.  But it was worth it, I had secret plans for my two $100 gift certificates.  I went into Claire’s and bought a pencil (the cheapest thing I could find in the store) with each certificate and received cash back.  I used the money to buy a plane ticket to fly by myself to visit my aunt and uncle and cousins in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Good for a laugh...Made my shirt and likely did my own hair!

Thank goodness I have matured a lot since my younger fundraising days, my motivations for raising money for breast cancer are a lot less shallow.  All I want is to see a world without breast cancer in my lifetime.  I don’t want anyone to ever go through what I have watched my mom go through, and a few of my friend’s mothers.  My mom just got done with her first round of chemo.  She is now on a break period before she goes in for her third surgery.   She agonizes daily over all the extremely tough decisions that go along with this whole process.  My mom isn’t known for her decision-making skills (and I must say the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree), let alone decision that have life and death consequences.  After her next surgery she will have another 9 months of chemotherapy.  It makes me sick to my stomach thinking how long the road still is ahead, but I can’t thank all of you enough for making the last five months as positive as they possibly could be.  Every single donation that comes through gives my mom and our family renewed energy. I thank God numerous times daily for her amazing attitude; I know that it goes so far.  She is always so cheerful and positive; she really is an incredible, incredible woman.  And she’s definitely a fighter as well, no matter how many times she gets knocked down by this horrific disease she will always get back up.  And I think a lot of her strength comes from all of our family and friends (YOU reading this) giving her unbelievable support.  She doesn’t want me sharing a lot of the gory details on here, but writing this blog is so therapeutic for me.  My mom hasn’t had hair for a long time, but she has to be the cutest thing ever in her little hats she wears around the house.  She is so beautiful.  The best moments of my days are when she’s in her hat and her glasses (wish I could put a picture up but I think I would have to sleep with one eye open if I did) and gives me a big hug and kiss goodnight.  My mom gives the best hugs.

My only complaint about my mom right now (and it’s not really even a complaint, it’s just late and I can’t think of a better word) is that she doesn’t think it’s possible for me to get to my personal goal for this walk of $15,000.  As I sit here typing I am at $12,259, which leaves $2,741 to go.  That is a heck of a lot of money.  But if there is one thing that I have learned from all of this is to not underestimate you guys, my family and friends.  My personal goal started at $2,300, I raised it to $3,000, then to $5,000, to $8,000, $10,000 and now $15,000.  Can we do it?  I’m not sure, $2,741 is a ton of money to raise in 6 days.  But I never thought it would be possible to reach $12,000 either.  Please help me prove my mom wrong. 

I’ve had a fortune from a Leeann Chin fortune cookie on my car’s dashboard for a few years now, it says, “If you think you can, you can.” I need to remind myself of that everyday.  I think I can do this.  I think we can do this.  PLEASE HELP ME DO THIS!!!!  If any of you reading this can spare a few dollars to make lives better for those suffering from breast cancer, please, please, please donate.  It is in all of our best interest to not only fund research to get rid of this awful cancer, but to also give support and help make the lives a little bit easier for those currently fighting it.  None of us know when or if breast cancer will strike someone close to us, or even invade our own bodies.  I am so humbled to be a part of the Susan G. Komen mission.

Green 8GB iPod Nano Touch

And last but not least, a really generous friend of mine donated an ipod for me to give away for a donation.  THANK YOU, JIMMY!!!  So the highest donation up to Wednesday, August 17th at 11:59pm will win it!!!  It's an green 8GB iPod Nano touch, retail price $149.   Remember, this is for charity so you can write your donation off ;)

www.the3day.org/goto/sarahfrakes  <-----Click here to HELP/DONATE!!!!!

www.the3day.org/goto/rackonteurs  <-----Our team page



Sarah

It's Been Awhile....

The Cancer Care Center waiting room

It's 9:30 in the morning and I am sitting at the Cancer Care Center at St. John's Hospital.  It's Friday, chemo day. On on a normal day my mom goes to work at the hospital extremely early for meetings and such before I meet her for her chemo between 9 and 10 am.  Today, because she was feeling very tired, I decided to drive her into work myself and just wait in the waiting room until her appointment.  It's the first time I've had the chance to observe the waiting room, to really take in what goes on around here.  Immediately my eyes are drawn across the room to a couple in their 60's. They are sitting on one of the benches in the waiting room, the husband with his arm tightly around his wife, her hand on his knee as she rests her body on his for support. (I'm writing this as I watch!)  They are laughing, staring into each other's eyes and even share a little kiss.  So sweet!  My eyes drift to another woman in her 60's, alongside her is her mother, probably in her 90's.  The daughter so lovingly gets her mom coffee, takes her book out for her and they chat about trivial things waiting for their appointment.  She was doing little small simple things for her mom, but it is the little things, right? I can feel the love between them!  It was one of those moments where your insides smile.  Do you know what I mean? There was so much love in this waiting room this morning, what a blessing I came early!

Women's Day article

The room started to clear out so I picked up a Woman's Day magazine from March.  I opened it up somewhere towards the beginning, right to the page titled, "tender loving care, one family, three perspectives on what it's like when someone you love is chronically ill."  What are the chances.  Well, I better read this I thought to myself. someone wants me to.  The story was about three generations of women and how caregiving for the grandmother, who was ill, affected all of their lives equally.  My favorite part was the daughters account, she essentially gave up life as she knew it to care for her mother but found that it was exactly where she needed and wanted to be, "As the years go by; I am more and more convinced that I have been at the right place in the right time doing the right thing.  How often in life do we get to acknowledge that?...I have been stepping in my mother's sun, absorbing all the light I can," she says.  I LOVE THAT.  I think I love it so much because it hits so close to home for me.  My mom, and my grandma, are my light and she said it so perfectly, I just want to absorb all the light I can.  When it comes to caring for others, most importantly our family, my mom has been the greatest example I could have every dreamed of.  For as long as I can remember, my mom has been the first to jump and make a trip to Duluth anytime my Grandma or Grandpa had an appointment or something happened, on a moments notice.  It's one of my favorite, of her many amazing qualities, putting everyone else first always.  The magazine article was just so fitting for my life today.  There are so many little things like this that have been happening to me for quite some time.  At first I played them off as little coincidences... after so many of these kinds of things, I now know better, and give the credit straight to God.  God is so good.

My mom and I are now sitting in her chemo room, it's kind of weird, we've been here so much that it begins to feel like home around here and most of the time we really enjoy our time there.  We just got done with a really good belly laugh.  She just randomly turned to me and said, "I told Grandma, that sometime this summer I'm going to take her up the Shore and we're going to stop at any gift shop we want!" Well that's something that we all three have in common, my Grandma, my Mom and I cannot pass up a good gift shop!  This is just another example of my mom's amazingly wonderful personality.  She always turns to me and states completely random things that make me gut laugh.  The conversation turned to how I've always loved to buy things. We got the biggest laugh after she told me, what she says, is one of her favorite stories.  I guess I was 4 or so and we were in a long line at the grocery store.  We got up to the line and I said, "Please, mom, let me buy the bread, please mom, please!  I really want to buy the bread."  The bread? Why does my 4 year old want to buy the bread my mom asked herself.  She tried to tell me that I didn't need to buy the bread, that she could definitely afford to buy the bread, she said laughing.  I guess I begged and begged her while starting to put my change on the grocery belt and even the clerk said,"just let her buy the bread."  So I bought the bread with my allowance and saved my mom a dollar off her her $100 grocery bill with a big smile on my face.  Too funny.   My Aunt Kathy just got here and my mom told the story again, laughing even harder this time.  There is no better sound to me in the world than hearing my mom (and my grandma) laugh.  I'm glad it was at my expense too ;)

My mom's spirits are high and her attitude is great, which is so important.  However, the side effects of the chemo are becoming too much.  Last week we went through the problem of not knowing if her chemo was available because there was a shortage (she got it), and now this week they decided to give her a week off of one of her chemo's because of all the side affects.  I pray that was the right decision.  She has just been too exhausted, nauseous and having a lot of neuropathies, which is essentially numbness in her hands and feet.  We are going to assess how she is over the next week and take it from there.  But she is now on the home stretch for her first round of chemo!!  Up next is surgery and then more chemo.  The great news is that next Friday could be her last treatment for awhile, but it is going to be really hard for me.  It will be the first chemo I have to miss.  I will be leading a group down to Haiti on a mission trip.  I know that my Aunt Kathy will be there but it still is hard.  She always has visitors too, which is so nice.  Two chemo's ago my mom's friend Cheryl came to visit.  She is a breast cancer survivor and such a great friend to my mom, helping and talking her through all of this.  That was also the day I played the Reverie Harp for my mom to relax her... haha, lets just say it wasn't likely the best music she's ever heard, but she claimed to like it.

Playing the Reverie Harp

Cheryl and my mom

As for the Susan G. Komen 3-Day for the Cure, it is now under a month away!!!! THANKS to all of you,  my extremely generous family and friends, I am now the #1 individual fundraiser for the Twin Cities walk!!!  I wish all of you could have felt my heart beat with joy the night it happened, it was such an incredible feeling.  So thank you for that.  It was the best I've felt in a long time, knowing that all this money will truly help and affect so many for the better, and hopefully one day lead to a cure.  I am currently a little over $9,000.  Our team is doing fabulous, we are just under $16,000 with a couple thousand that has yet to go through officially.  I dream of a world with no breast cancer, I pray to God that this will happen in my lifetime.  So if you are reading this and you haven't donated, please consider doing so.  Every single dollar helps.  I am serious, and I am thrilled with every single donation, no matter how big or small.  If you guys only saw the look on my face when I get an email stating a donation came through.  I light up inside and so does my mom.

CLICK HERE TO DONATE!!!

So the training continues, I'm thinking I've walked somewhere around 300 miles so far...Gracie is my main walking partner, I think she's more ready for the race than anyone else!! She's walked up to 17 miles with me in one walk! Not bad for a 4 pounder ;)  All in her pink harness and breast cancer ribbons.

Walking around Lake of the Isles

I will be at the White Bear Lake Cub Foods starting at 11am tomorrow, Saturday, July 23rd giving away bracelets and necklaces (from Patina!) for donations!  Hopefully we'll raise a lot of money and have a little fun.

Please feel free to "share" my blog on Facebook or invite followers...you can also put the link to my 3-Day page on Facebook or email it to family and friends...all in the name of ending breast cancer forever.

www.the3day.org/goto/sarahfrakes

www.therackonteurs.blogspot.com


THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH!!!!