Sometimes I get surprised. My jaw literally drops, all air shoots out of my lungs, and the only thought I can manage is "are you kidding me?"
I took a big step in fundraising and sent out my letter to as many people as I can think of. I have been told over and over again that this will be the best way to get a good response. Who am I to doubt the success of past fundraisers? So I did it-- twice. My earlier described surprised response came when the first (and only--the initial 'anonymous' donation was actually me--i thought maybe it wasn't working since no donations had come in..) donation came from a former soccer teammate of mine who is now a missionary in Spain. She went to Spain almost immediately after graduating college... all of this is to say that she has had to do her fair share of fundraising that makes mine pathetic-looking, and she probably isn't exactly rolling in the dough. It boggles my mind how attached we are to money. I am completely at fault, too, (I'm known as 'frugal to a fault') so I am learning a huge and humbling lesson here-- gotta love those. It is so easy to receive these fundraising letters from people going on mission trips, or raising money for their sports team, or for Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and to have an instinctive "I'm broke, no way can I donate." But isn't it interesting how after we throw away that letter or delete that email, we pick up in our habits of paying $5 for our morning coffee, spending an ungodly amount to go see a movie at the theatre, buying an extra treat or two at the store, splurge on that super cute shirt-- even though you have three of the exact same one... this one is your color. I think it's easy to see the "Will you please consider donating to this cause?" and to feel like one contribution won't make any difference at all, when that is completely false-- one contribution makes all the difference. If you received my letter and think your pocketbook can't possible stretch to cover this cause with everything else it is already covering, would you at least take a look at what you are 'donating' to? Would you be willing to give up your morning Starbucks for a week (even a day), and send that money to benefit LLS? Would you possibly rent a movie to watch with your friends/family tonight and donate the difference in what you'll spend? No doubt-- money doesn't grow on trees. But I think if we are a little more creative and conscious of the way we spend what we do obtain, we will find that we are more able to support WORTHY causes such as LLS. I committed to raise $2,000, and by golly I'm going to raise it. But by no means can I do it by myself. Trust me, if I could I would (I've always hated group projects and stuff like that, I'd rather do it all myself). I am not asking you for $2,000, that'd be ridiculous. I am asking you to show your support for LLS through a donation of whatever size is appropriate for you. 'Appropriate' is a door that swings both ways.
I tried running on Thursday. It was absolutely glorious for one minute and twenty four seconds. Oh how I have missed the regular beat of the treadmill, lip syncing to my "Workout Mix"... That 0:01:24 quenched the increasing thirst that resulted from being parched for two weeks without running. However, at 0:01:25 extreme pain didn't necessarily knock at my door-- it broke it down. Words cannot articulate how much it hurt. It's not even the weight-bearing part of my stride-- it is the swing through; as I bring my bum leg forward it is the most excruciating sensation in the world. Pathetically, it isn't even due to my lack of tibial tuberosity-- it is the exacerbation that said tuberosity shenanigan caused. I have Petellar Femoral Tracking, meaning that my kneecaps are just screwy due to uneven strengthening of my quadriceps. It's rather complicated, and while I find it quite fascinating, I won't bore you with the details. No matter how much strengthening or therapy I do, I cannot seem to even out these darn quads so my knees essentially hurt all the time. My dooring incident took what was already quite uncomfortable and raised it to the millionth power. Something about inflammation blah blah blah. I guess it makes sense because the tibial tuberosity is where the patellar tendon attaches... and if that whole area is broken/inflamed/painful, it only makes sense that my silly pre-existing kneecap issues would grow and multiply and dominate my life.
Anyways-- all of that is to say that I skipped out on the group run this morning and it has kind of put me in a bad (okay, terrible) mood. I have admittedly struggled to keep a positive attitude through this injury and am struggling to gain some perspective. One of the triathlon coaches was telling me about a friend of his who got doored. His friend broke like every bone in his body and is at Rehab Institute of Chicago, a long term rehab facility (which is honestly the best facility in the nation, but to be in any facility is awful). So for like an hour after hearing that I was feeling better about my comparatively minimal injury, but at one minute and twenty five seconds, all perspective gained from that was lost. I'm sure I'll learn something.. I'm sure I'll build some character or something. I better anyways, sometimes I feel like that's all these trials are good for.
Summary: donate, please; open your car doors with caution.
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2 comments:
Hey how are you I was just reading about your PFS issue with your Tibial tuberosity and could completey relate. I too was a runner a few years back till a nice fall and a half marathon a week after my fall side lined me from running indefinatley.
I know there is not much you can do but grin and bear it. It was actually doing well for a few years (no running resumed, however) until I took up spinning prettty hard in the spring.
Well the injury prevailed after a class that also included running with the spinning. That was 6 weeks ago.
I start lovely PT again this Friday I just want to get back to spinning form (I gave up on the running a while back.)
I sure do miss it that was my sanity saver.
Try spinning it's great cardio but do not run!
Good luck to you and if you ever want to vent or update on progress you have an ear hear.
Marni Smith
Thanks so much for your sympathy! I am sorry to hear that you're headed back to PT, but hope that it can help get you back to spinnig shape! I LOVE spinning and miss it terribly. It's a phenomenal workout and is so much less taxing on the ole' knees! Have you done any road racing? It's something I'm sort of considering.
Good luck with PT! Thanks for your encouragement!!
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