Last weekend I was cleaning upstairs in the bonus room. A chore that has been ongoing for the better part of two years. It is a project that is always two steps forward, three steps back. I have told you before about the countless treasures that await me each time I venture into a cleaning project. What I find even more amazing is how the things I find always seem to be relevant to something going on in my life.
On February 11, I received an email from our friend Shannon. In the email, she explained that the Chicerelli Family was not going to be participating in Relay for Life this year, but instead, will be running in the Gate River Run 15K on March 10th. All funds raised will still support the American Cancer Society.
Over the years, I have been more than happy to support and donate to the efforts of family and friends as they continue to help fight cancer. My sister and her family have participated in Relay for Life, my sister-in-law Amy has run with friends at the White Water Center to benefit the Hera Foundation and a close friend Tammy has been the chief architect in Laugh for the Cure. There are countless others who participate, support, donate or volunteer at a variety of efforts and everyone is kind enough to keep me in the loop and to reach out to me particularly as we get closer to the 10th of March.
Shannon's email (and I hope she doesn't mind me sharing) said this:
We'll be running in loving memory of many family and friends...my dearly missed grandparents, Tom Kucharek and Sue Magyar, as well as our inspiring friend, Lori Dubois. Their loving lives, as well as those of many others we care for: aunts, uncles, great grandparents, cousins, friends...the list goes on, were cut far too short. We participate also in honor of many loved ones of all ages who cancer has sadly touched, but who fight on. These special people deserve many more birthdays and I can think of no better reason to run! With each passing year we are more and more determined to do all we can to support the mission of the ACS: to eliminate cancer as a major health problem by preventing cancer, saving lives, and diminishing suffering from cancer, through research, education, advocacy, and service.
So this email from
her was still stuck in my head as I began again to clean up the bonus
room. Depending on my mood, I choose carefully which boxes to sort
through. In this case, I was not looking to be slowed down by the boxes
that had some of Lori's things in them. Instead, I jumped into the
bins of clothes, books, videos and my own archived files. And typical
to the way things work, it is in these unrelated bins that I came across
Lori's words. All typed up on two pages. Hand written notes
surrounding the organized paragraphs. The date on the page said "April
2002".
Hello! My name is Lori DuBois and I would like to Thank, all of you for giving me the opportunity to be a part of this very special campaign. In January of this year I was diagnosed with ovarian cancer.
I would like to build a picture for all of you, to show you what it's like to be diagnosed with Cancer.
Welcome to my life… Being in sales, I'm in the car all the time, I'm driving along, having an excellent day, brought in some new business, which puts me over my goal, I'm just so excited, because I heard about the sale at Ann Taylor, then I rush home, throw a load of laundry in, make dinner, finish my work on the Taste of Charlotte, return my calls…
It's amazing! How quickly time goes by, it seems like just yesterday I was 25 then 30, then Married, started a new career in Real Estate, Taste of Charlotte is getting Bigger and Better, I am just so happy to be finally ready to start a family…
Then someone yells STOP!
And this person says, "You must stop everything you are doing at this moment. You have a Choice to make, a BIG Choice."
1. You can continue living your life the way you have been, but you won't have much longer to live it.
OR
2. You can change everything in your life, as you NOW know it, from this moment on and I will give you the OPPORTUNITY to live.
For me, the Choice was an easy one and I am Thankful EVERY DAY, for having the opportunity to LIVE!
But for thousands of others, when they are STOPPED, at that moments notice, in life's path, THEY are not given a Choice. The research has not advanced far enough for them, and someone has to look them in the eye and say… I'm sorry, we cannot help you.
You see, when you are living with cancer, there is little you have control over, and being a control freak in my everyday life, has made this part a bit tricky. You see, you don't have control over the hours you spend at the hospital and the effects your medications have on you, or your chemotherapy treatments and the changes your body will go through, or your surgeries you will endure and the fact that you will lose the ability to bring a baby into this world. These things you DO NOT have CONTROL over.
But we DO have control to help people now, to help them before they are STOPPED, without warning, in life's path. By participating in the Relay for Life and raising funds towards cancer research, we can give these people a chance to LIVE.
By participating in the Relay for Life you have helped to save the life of our very good friend, David Medlock. By participating in the Relay for Life you are helping to save my Life.
When you go home tonight, do me a favor, look in the mirror and ask yourself, can Cancer happen to me? Because when I go home tonight and look in the mirror, this is what I see. (remove my hat)
The Reality is… Cancer CAN happen to anyone. We just want to make SURE that we have done EVERYTHING we can do NOW, to allow all of us, to have the Choice to Live.
I want to Thank each and every ONE of you and your families, for the incredible support you have given to both, me and my husband, Matt.
The best way I can repay all of you for your support, is to participate myself, in the Relay for Life. For when at a moments notice, when you're running around Living your life, and someone yells STOP to YOU, I will know that the American Cancer Society will have the research they need to save YOUR LIFE.
Thank you very much and I look forward to a successful campaign!
This speech was written by Lori and presented by her at a full staff meeting at the radio station in front of about 80-100 people. Needless to say, our campaign, with her leadership, was possibly the most successful one we had ever participated in. I can still picture her standing in front of the group, strong and determined and beautiful. So for those of you who are so inclined, please make a donation to a cause that helps people with cancer. If you are interested in helping Shannon, you can do so here: www.cancer.org
