Red Carpet Run benefiting the Hillman Cancer Center in 1 day!

Wow! It's already time for my 11th race...tomorrow!!! I am looking forward to the Red Carpet Run as it is described as "fun and fast" with music promised throughout the course. Plus, people are encouraged to dress up as if they were on the red carpet! I have yet to determine if I'm going to be competitive or just enjoy the run.

3 days after being diagnosed with cancer, we hopped on a plane to WI.

Through this race I am raising funds in memory of Aaron for the Hillman Cancer Center where he was treated in Pittsburgh. We first walked through the door in mid-June. The last time he walked out of their center was mid-December just after we were told there was nothing that could be done.

"And then you'll never guess what Mamma said!" - Taken at the start of chemo in mid-September, 2011

We had a love/hate relationship with Hillman. Hate because we hated the fact that we even had to know the staff there. Love because we loved the staff, the other patients we met, the doctors who considered us family, and even the time we got to spend together. 

The first time I realized Aaron was losing his hair - Sept 24, 2011

You have to have an enormous heart to work in a location where people are trying to outwit death. The nurses had the compassion and amazing ability to treat Aaron just like any other person, recognizing that cancer did not define him. Yet, they were able to show him that they understood that cancer was a huge part of his life and left him with needs, thoughts, and considerations that were different than any other person.

Mid-October, 2011

As I have said before, cancer tries to take everything before it takes your final breath. Hillman was a place where Aaron not only went to be treated, but was around other people who understood what it was like to have cancer.  They were able to share tips about how to keep food down and weight up. How to get comfortable to sleep at night or medications to try.

Eating donuts while I ran my first half marathon

The nurses are not only amazing, Aaron's oncologist and PAs were fabulous! We truly felt loved and cared for every single time we went in. His oncologist wept as he told us the cancer had returned only 6 weeks after surgery. His PA for the last half of his cancer diagnosis stayed late on the night of his 30th birthday, a Friday night, to call us and tell us that the chemotherapy seemed to be working!

30th birthday surprise!!!

This post was really hard to write. It has been a while since I looked through pictures of Aaron's last 2 years - really looked at them, remembered them. Honestly, some of them I don't want to remember. It hurts. Some of them, like the one below, I look at in awe remembering how I thought Aaron looked "pretty good" in the picture.

Trick-or-Treating 2012

Yet, the doctors and nurses in the cancer center choose to be involved in the lives of people with cancer. They choose to place themselves in the very place no one wants to be. They do not do so timidly, but with love, compassion, a zeal to kick cancer's butt!

12/8/2012

Without the Hillman Cancer Center we would have been very lost. How blessed we were to have a sarcoma center only 15 minutes from our home! Not only did they provide amazing medical care, but they were able to connect with us, cry with us, rejoice with us. Thank you.

Christmas 2012

How can you contribute to the Hillman Cancer Center?
1. Donate: By check: Please send a check made to the "Aaron R. Moeller Memorial Fund" with "Hillman" indicated the notes section. If you need my mailing address, please leave a comment or e-mail me so I may respond privately. I will be collecting donations throughout the month of August!

2. Run: Come check out some crazy glam outfits while we run through West Bloomfield, MI! You can register at the race. Please be sure to let me know you are coming so I can look for you!

3. Spread the word: Please share this with your friends and family by posting it on your Facebook or sending the link by e-mail...

4. Pray:
* Praise God that He has moved hearts of people to be oncologists, oncology PAs, oncology nurses, etc.
* Pray for the staff at Hillman Cancer Center that they would be filled as they fill and care for their patients and their families
* Praise that there are centers like this specializing in cancer and even specific types of cancer
* Pray for the families walking through the doors for the first time, the last time, and every time in between.
* Pray for the runners and the fundraising efforts of this race series