The Rest of the Story

(I got cropped out, along with alot of other people, but I was there!!)

Tuesday night I got a call from my little sister Heather's friend, Shalonge. She was in town because she works for the Lance Armstrong Foundation and they were in DC for LiveSTRONG Day.

She called to invite me to be part of a news conference with LANCE ARMSTRONG! There was no opportunity to meet Lance or get a photo with just him BUT I was there, standing behind him, in a Yellow LiveSTRONG with 150 other survivors, caregivers and supporters.

Our group was a physical representation of the 150 people who are diagnosed with cancer every hour. It was a pretty sobering thing to consider when you look at it in such a physical way.

It was a great way to spend the afternoon and I had the opportunity to meet several members of the Cyclist Combatting Cancer group that I just recently joined. One gentleman in particular, Scott J., was a bit of a gardian angel for me. I was completely overwhelmed being with a group of strangers that I had "cancer" in common with. It might seam silly but I was really at a loss for how I fit in and quite franky, not sure I wanted to fit in.

I tried putting this into words and Scott listened kindly and shared some of his experiences in meeting fellow survivors. He also gave me a big hug. When in doubt, hugs always help!

Later in the afternoon, I got a chance to spend some time with Schalonge. She recently celebrated her 5-Year Cancer-Free Milestone, which is a huge milestone for Cancer Survivor and she is doing great things as a Fellow with LAF. She is making a big difference at a young age (mid 20s), it is an inspiration to see!

SILLY FAN NOTE - My goodness Lance is a hottie and cleans up so nice off the bike! I would have loved to have had a moment to speak to him but not this time around...It was still pretty cool to hear him speak in person from just 5 people away.