BARBARA JO KIRSHBAUM

2009 AVON WALK FOR BREAST CANCER

Avon Walk for Breast Cancer---Charlotte--Oct. 24-25, 2009---1200 participants----raised $2.3m

We arrived home about 2 hrs. ago, and I am in the midst of doing laundry.....Bob is talking about going to Dallas for the 3Day in 10days.....that is a good sign that he wants to do that when he has a choice of doing anything....the commitment to the cause and the experience of the walks has always seemed to be about my participation with Bob 'going along' with me.....but now I see that his commitment and desire to participate are equal to mine....I will keep you posted if we decide to go ahead with Dallas.

So, we arrived in Charlotte on Thur. It was the first long flight that we had been on since Bob's diagnosis and I was a bit apprehensive; however everything went fine. We are still pushing 'calories' since his body seems to burn them up much faster than normal, so I was concerned about snacks on the plane and enough nutrition....but all went well. Our daughter Ronda joined us on Fri. afternoon. She was going to do 'signage' with Bob on Sat. and Sun. while I was walking. It sounded to me like they had a great time and had many stories that were not supposed to be told! The adage went like this: What happens in the van stays in the van! So, I probably don't know everything that happened yet.

One of those special experiences happened to us at the Westin Hotel in Charlotte. Bob and I went down for breakfast on Fri. morning. They have a lovely buffet and he had been looking forward to it. I am not exactly sure how it all started but we must have told our waiter why we were in Charlotte....to do the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer......eventually Bob shared what I had done as far as walking and raising money. The waiter, Gabriel, told us he was going to comp our breakfast...not only that but he made Bob a huge pitcher of chocolate milk and gave us a container to fill to eat later! A few moments later the hostess, Dionne, came over with a bouquet of balloons for our room and a card signed by everyone working in the restaurant. Dionne's mother is a breast cancer survivor. They were so charming that we came back for lunch and when we received our hotel bill there was no charge for that or the next day when Ronda and Bob went for the Sun. brunch. I told the hotel manager about this because I thought he should know what 'heart' his staff in the dining room have. Their 'heart' touched our hearts to the core. Wasn't that an incredible way to start out our walk weekend?

The weather on Sat. was predicted rain, and it did exactly that until lunch. I put my rain poncho on/off several times, each time thinking that it had finally stopped. It was not a cold rain which makes it not quite as bad. I walked both days with Meagan and she was completing her 9 walk challenge this weekend. The walk on Sat. started in the dark...very dark...and we had to be cautious...more cautious than usual. There was some mix up with the route signs and Meagan and I ended up walking an extra mile, but we decided at lunch that Bob could drive us a mile to make up for that....we decided we didn't need the challenge on any extra steps!

I talked to Stacy. I had met her 2 yrs. ago at the L.A. walk when she was walking with Steve. She was pregnant at that time and I remembered talking with them because they were so tall, and I was wondering how they managed to walk with me for such a long time. It is often difficult to adjust to the change of pace when you are trying to pace someone else. Stacy is doing a different walk each year and Steve was home with their 18 month old son. I was delighted to see Stacy again and she was with her friend Lindsay. Keep up the good work and I hope to see you next year.

Jeff & Sarah were walking in their first walk. Sarah was diagnosed in Jan. 2009 at age 30 with breast cancer. She found the lump herself after she finished nursing. She had 9 month old twins at the time. Since then she has had a mastectomy and completed radiation in May. She is now 'clean'. Both of them were enjoying themselves and were looking forward to seeing the twins at closing ceremonies. What a story....thanks for sharing with me...wish I would have seen you and the children at closing.

Closing ceremonies sent me into an emotional place.....because I no longer see/hear it as 'breast cancer' but as 'cancer' and how that has now impacted us. Bob and I were able to weep together and hold each other. We were both grateful to have been able to be in Charlotte. After closing ceremonies, a few of us went to dinner.....all out of towners who were leaving on Mon. It was fun to end the last walk of the Avon season with that camaraderie.

I do want to say that I was so proud of Meagan....she is just 18 yrs. old....and the youngest to walk/fundraise all 9 events in one Avon walk season. We actually walked 16 days together.....it was amazing that she wanted to walk with me and I was amazed that I enjoyed spending something like 160 hours with someone, not related to me! She is a young woman who represents the future and I know that she will use this experience to continue to make a difference in the world. Meagan, I know you will be successful as you 'stay focused and remember your goals'! I love you.

And so another Avon season ends as I have completed my 109th long distance walk and have raised in total $1,133,448. I look forward to next year's Avon walks. In the meantime we are still doing events for the 3Day. Thank you for coming to my website and following my journey in the fight against breast cancer.