Super Bowl Stroll

Brain cancer is...

  ...boldly going where no Guillaume has gone before [but not alone].

Today we hit our anti-cancer, anti-super bowl, second-anniversary-of-diagnosis goal of 35,000 steps (16 miles), breaking the first anniversary walk by 5,000 steps. 

Darrell went from being wary of today's goal, to eagerly preparing food and the cooler with beverages yesterday, to staying awake much of the night--excited to begin this morning. 

We thought it would just be a great, long, sweaty walk.  But it was much more, for a number of reasons. 

• First, he and I have never walked this far together before.  (Sure, back in the '80s we rode our bikes 80 miles with nothing but two frozen diet cokes for fuel, but that's an embarrassingly stupid story to tell.)  How cool to meet this physical challenge post brain cancer diagnosis and post 55 years of age.  
• Second, we were not alone.  Thanks, all you friends who texted us, sent awesome voice messages, and entertained us during the stroll.  Thanks, Mayfields, for allowing us to track your half marathon.  We lived vicariously through your 11-minute mile pace!  
• Thanks, Phil, for joining Team D.  Congrats on your 13.1 miles!
• Third, a real finish line with snacks and engraved medals?  We couldn't believe it.  It warmed our hearts to the extent that we considered another 35,000 steps tomorrow if another finish line would follow.  (We considered it for a total of 10 seconds.)

 Here's the slideshow video of the stroll:

Alternate YouTube Video Link for Slideshow

I am so proud of Darrell for turning the anniversary of the end of Life 1.0 (the Emergency Department visit) into something to look forward to, something to master together.

I love this team of his, Team D., for demonstrating once again that we are all in this story together, and for taking time out of your own lives to be with us in ours. 

Do we really need to wait a year for the 40,000-step Super Bowl Stroll? (Don't answer.)

Thanks for everything, Team D!