2013 Great Strides - another AMAZING day!

Last Saturday was an awesome day!  We gathered early in the morning with the sun shining, the fear of rain erased by the beautiful blue sky and an abundance of amazing family and friends for our third Orland Park Great Strides Walk.  After setting up the tents, tables, chairs,  t-shirts, and hanging the banner, we were blessed with an abundance of food from dear friends to satisfy every craving all of our 150 team members had.  We were able to chat, walk and share while Dean (and Evie, Owen and Cali) ran around playing, smiling and turning his head at the camera.  Associates from both the Frankfort and Tinley Park Kohl's participated and shared their morning volunteering with us, only one having a connection to Dean.  I want to list out every name of all the people that helped us last Saturday but I'd be listing everyone. We wanted to talk to everyone on Saturday but there were those that we only got to hug and say hi and goodbye too.  We appreciate the time and energy it took to join us.  We are so blessed and amazed by the support we receive, both financially and spiritually and absolutely know we could not do this without any of you.  The majority of the $23k so far has come from your generous donations and the people that have signed up to help us raise money by sending our story to their family and friends.  We are excited to have another two (maybe three) more walks this year:  Aunt Karen will be walking in Reno in a few weeks and Aunt Dor in October in Palm Springs.  We are forever grateful for their time and excitement for our cause.  Here is a team picture from last Saturday and a wonderful picture of just how tired Dean was by the time the walk was ending.



Eat. Pray. Dean Orland Park Great Strides 2013

Sleepy Dean on dad's head

Besides the two walks, we are doing everything possible to generate money to ensure that by the time Dean is eligible, he'll be able to have medicine to treat the underlying cause of his Cystic Fibrosis.  If we didn't already mention, nearly 90 cents of every dollar goes directly to fund vital research and development.  Money is what pushes the needle to get us closer to the cure.  Prayers are what help keep us faithful that our cure is within reach.  Yesterday evening, Cali asked me how long a person with CF lives. I almost cried at that question, hoping that I would never have to verbalize to one of the kids.  Armed with the knowledge that the truth can never fail, I told her. 37 is the median life expectancy. I will turn 37 this year and as Kimmy said, I couldn't imagine my life being near the end.  I explained to Cali that that is exactly why we fight so hard to raise money, why we get up and do all 3 meds and a vest treatment first thing before breakfast EVERY SINGLE MORNING and a vest again before bed, EVERY NIGHT.  That is why we take him to clinic appointments every 3 months, why we make sure he gets a ton of exercise, why we keep up with his vitamins and enzymes, why we changed our diets so that they ALL understand how important nutrition is to their well-being. That is why we walk in Great Strides, why we spend a crazy amount of time ensuring that the Chillin' & Grillin' event is fun so people want to support us and keep coming back.  That is why we run, bike, climb, swim - to not only raise money with Team CF but to teach all the kids that besides nutrition, exercise is vital to keeping your body healthy. Finally, that is why we pray and have faith that we can accept and know that God put us here for a purpose and we're all in this together.  This family works with all of us in it and that's exactly how we intend to keep it.  I hope that calmed her fears a bit, but I know it made her realize how important of a role she plays in helping raise awareness and in loving and fighting for her brother.

We are preparing for the Saturday June 8th Chillin' & Grillin' for a Cure on Yellow Finch Lane in Frankfort, Il. from 3-9pm. Check out the schedule of events and purchase tickets at www.eatpraydean.com.  We welcome you to join us and support this very worthy cause for either the satisfaction of knowing you're helping Dean, the 30,000 others in the U.S. or just to have a FUN family day. 

Connect with us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/eatpraydean where we'll soon post the raffle items that we have and on Twitter @EatPrayDean and Instagram CURE_CF_EATPRAYDEAN

Thank you for all that you do to help us add tomorrows.