Why do I run?
It's that time of year again! I’m running the Country Music Half Marathon. This is the fourth year that I’ve trained with The Little Team that Could and I get excited every year. We have been raising money for The Caring for Carcinoid Foundation. This little group got started after one of my good friend’s sister, Payton, died at 29 years old of this very rare cancer.
As a nurse I’ve seen many patients experience cancer and sometimes the job can make you me feel helpless. Raising money for the Caring for Carcinoid Foundation has helped me feel like I can make a difference in my patients’ life. By raising awareness we can help people detect cancer earlier. By raising money for research we can help create new treatments for cancer.
Every penny donated to the Caring for Carcinoid Foundation goes directly to research. Please consider donating to this worthy cause and help us find more treatments for cancer.
Click here to donate to The Caring For Carcinoid Foundation
-ET
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Monday, April 18, 2011
Monday, April 11, 2011
Why I Run: Megan Ryan
Let’s see, why do I run? It’s now my 3rd year as part of The Little Team that Could, and each year I think my motivation for participating has been a little bit different. The first year a crew of college friends ran in memory of Payton Farnell Graeber, the sister of The Little Team that Could’s captain and our good friend, Sarah. As you probably saw on the main page for the The Little Team that Could, Payton lost her battle to cancer at the very young age of 29, and it felt like there had to be something positive we could do in this fight against cancer.
Last year my own sister, Maura, also participated as part of The Little Team that Could, and my motivation for running had a new dimension to it. After 5 years of being in remission, our dad had a recurrence of cancer, which was deemed stage 4. Honestly, I ran out of thanksgiving for the 5 years we were so lucky to have with him (and that not all people get), hope that things would turn out well again, and fear of the unknown.
This year, while my dad’s health news continues to be good, I run not only in celebration of that news, but also in celebration of the lives of all those who have passed on and the possibility of curing this disease.
-Megan
Why I Run: Hannah Carlton
I like cookies… especially ones that can be dipped in milk. I like warm, sunny days and bright pink on my toenails. One thing I do not like, so much, is running long distances. Hummm. What? You did just sign up for a half-marathon, didn’t you? Touché, friend. I sure did. But, this is different. This is me running for a cause greater than cookies (gasp!). This is me running for the memory of a very dear woman and raising money for the research of a very noxious cancer. Carcinoid cancer is considered rare, but that didn’t matter to Payton or any of the other thousands of people who were diagnosed. What matters now, is that we are trying to do something about it. The Little Team That Could is raising money to help find a cure for Carcinoid cancer. We are strapping on running shoes and taking it to the streets of Nashville on April 30th at 7am… oh dear! Anything you could donate to help us achieve our fundraising goal would be amazing. We accept all amounts of love and support, from $5 -$500, so please give what you can to this cause, as every penny will make it to funding research for the Foundation. Help us out, and on race day, I’ll be toasting a cookie in your honor as I cross the finish line!
Hugs,
Hannah
Why I Run: Brent Graeber
I’ve now run one full marathon and three half marathons. If someone would have told me that I would be running just five years ago, I would have said they were crazy. The reason I would have thought that is simple, I hated to run. It wasn’t that I didn’t like it, I hated it. I loved playing sports growing up like tennis, basketball and baseball, but whenever the coach wanted me to run then I was out. Maybe it’s because I wasn’t built like a runner nor did I have the mental capacity for it because running takes forever. I can’t believe how long it takes me to go only one mile much less anything longer.
So if I don’t like running, then why do I it? There are many reasons. One is that I run to raise money for the Caring for Carcinoid Foundation. Every penny goes straight to cancer research and I desperately want them to find a cure. When Payton, my wife, lost her life to atypical carcinoid cancer in 2007, I went into a funk that I hope people don’t have to go through. Hopefully raising money will help find a cure. This brings me to my second reason for running. It takes time. Payton’s sister once said she measures things in time, before Payton got sick and after, before she died and after. For me, my life was about time as well. Time that I didn’t know what to do with. Running became something for me that took up time. I still didn’t like running, but I liked that for three hours I would be somewhere listening to music and escaping my thoughts. It helped that I was slow because if I was fast, I would have been done quicker and that wasn’t my goal. My goal was to take time. 13.1 miles, no problem I have the time for that, I even want to train for that.
This last reason I simply call “the finish”. There is a sense of accomplishment, joy, relief, happiness, sadness, pain and pride all rolled into one when I cross a finish line. There’s always a push that gets me to that line, like the first year for me it was my loved ones who were there at the race. Without words, but in my thoughts they pushed me to the end. I’ve always wanted to tell people that, but I got caught up in “the finish”. All of my half marathons I have raised money for the Caring for Carcinoid Foundation and they were in Nashville at the Country Music Marathon. My only full was last December in Las Vegas. This was the only time I didn’t raise money. I took this one event and ran further than I ever thought my body would take me. I opened up avenues of emotions that I didn’t think that I had. In the end, I was in pain, I was happy, I was in tears, and couldn’t express my emotions. Maybe the lyrics of the song playing at the time could. It was a Ben Folds Five song called Magic. How that song came up after exactly five hours and twenty-five minutes of running, I’ll never know. It wasn’t planned. The lyrics are “You're the magic that holds the sky up from the ground. You're the breath that blows these cool winds 'round. Trading places with an angel now.” Payton was the push that got me to the finish and to have that play when I crossed put something into words that I simply cannot.
I ask that you simply take any money you can spare this year and donate to the Caring for Carcinoid Foundation, even if it’s only one dollar. If you are unable to donate, please think happy thoughts for The Little Team That Could as we make our way through the streets of Nashville on April 30th. And know that I’ll do everything in my power to finish the 26.2 miles and push forward as I know my will knees hurt, my right shoulder will sting, I’ll get a cramp on the right side and probably even have a little pain above my right ankle, I will push slowly on. I know what the finish brings me. I know I can make it.
-Brent
Monday, March 28, 2011
Cassie McDonald: Why I Run
For me, running is a personal challenge. I'm not built to be a runner and it's never been easy for me...and that's why I do it. In life, just like with running, it's the hard things worth fighting for, and it's overcoming a challenge that shows me what I am truly made of. As a physical therapist, I work with patients who have been through all kinds of trauma. To them, taking a first step after weeks (or months) in a hospital bed is their challenge, and every day I'm reminded of how lucky I am to be able to run until I can't breathe, my legs hurt, and I think I can't go one step further. I love digging deep down and finding the will to go the last mile (or on a bad day, 4 miles), because that's what I ask my patients to do every day...dig down, and find the strength to take a few more steps. And that's why I run...for all the people I have or will work with who can't, and to remind myself that no matter what challenges in life (or on the road) present themselves, I can dig down and find the strength within myself to overcome.
As for why I'm running on the little team that could, it is simple. Sarah Farnell is one of the most genuine, caring, encouraging, and giving people I know. I've known so many people who have battled cancer, and it's a disease that affects all of us, directly or indirectly. I never knew Sarah's sister, but when Sarah asked me to be a part of her group and to raise money for Caring for Carcinoid, I didn't think twice...because I know she'd do the same for me (and probably more).
-Cassie
As for why I'm running on the little team that could, it is simple. Sarah Farnell is one of the most genuine, caring, encouraging, and giving people I know. I've known so many people who have battled cancer, and it's a disease that affects all of us, directly or indirectly. I never knew Sarah's sister, but when Sarah asked me to be a part of her group and to raise money for Caring for Carcinoid, I didn't think twice...because I know she'd do the same for me (and probably more).
-Cassie
Jane Wilson-Moses: Why I Run
I run for my friends.
I don't actually run that much. Mostly I walk. But at least I'm moving!
In 2003, I was just 19, an awkward tall skinny girl, often mistaken for a boy, who drank too much. I laughed a lot but I was brittle. When I met the early members of this Little Team we were working together for the common joy at a summer camp for people with disabilities. That place and these people have changed my life. Now I'm 26, still tall, a little less skinny, never mistaken for a boy. And I'm happy. I'm surrounded by complex, funny, beautiful friends. We have dinner together every Sunday night.
Back then most of us hadn't known a lot of loss. These days lots of us have. I move because Peppy, Rosey, and Allie have lost family to cancer. I move because I have cancer in my family. I move because I belong to a world where everyone loses people they love, to one thing or another, and with my friends I can do some small thing to stand up for life. Because life is sweet.
I move for life, and for love.
-Jane
I don't actually run that much. Mostly I walk. But at least I'm moving!
In 2003, I was just 19, an awkward tall skinny girl, often mistaken for a boy, who drank too much. I laughed a lot but I was brittle. When I met the early members of this Little Team we were working together for the common joy at a summer camp for people with disabilities. That place and these people have changed my life. Now I'm 26, still tall, a little less skinny, never mistaken for a boy. And I'm happy. I'm surrounded by complex, funny, beautiful friends. We have dinner together every Sunday night.
Back then most of us hadn't known a lot of loss. These days lots of us have. I move because Peppy, Rosey, and Allie have lost family to cancer. I move because I have cancer in my family. I move because I belong to a world where everyone loses people they love, to one thing or another, and with my friends I can do some small thing to stand up for life. Because life is sweet.
I move for life, and for love.
-Jane
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Rachel Katz: Why I Run
On April 30th, I am running the Country Music Half-Marathon in Nashville, TN to raise money for carcinoid cancer research. I am running in honor of Payton Greaber, my college roommate's sister who passed away three years ago from this cancer at the young age of 29. Caring for Carcinoid is an amazing organization that raises money for carcinoid research and is committed to finding a cure for this currently uncurable disease. Every penny given to this organization goes directly to fund research.
This 13.1 miles race will be an amazing experience, as I will be running for Payton and all other families affected (~100,000) by this disease. For every $100 raised, I pledge a mile to a family member affected by carcinoid. With just 13 donations of $100 (smaller and larger donations are accepted too! every penny counts!) I can cover the entire length of the race! Please consider donating to this great cause and you will be helping children and families, and help prevent future generations from suffering from this disease.
Thank you so much for your support!
-Rachel Katz
This 13.1 miles race will be an amazing experience, as I will be running for Payton and all other families affected (~100,000) by this disease. For every $100 raised, I pledge a mile to a family member affected by carcinoid. With just 13 donations of $100 (smaller and larger donations are accepted too! every penny counts!) I can cover the entire length of the race! Please consider donating to this great cause and you will be helping children and families, and help prevent future generations from suffering from this disease.
Thank you so much for your support!
-Rachel Katz
Allie Pillatsch: Why I Run
"I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith." 2 Timothy 4:7
I run for my mom, Teresa Lynn Pillatsch. It's been 8 years since she finished her race, and lost the battle to Ovarian Cancer. The courage she had to live her life to the fullest, regardless of nearly a decade fighting illness, gives me hope that as long as we keep fighting for her, we will overcome this battle with cancer.
This will be my first Country Music Half Marathon. I have been a Nashvillian for one year now, having left my family on the west coast. In that year, I have found a new family. With them I have found people who have been through exactly what I have been there. In a way, our loss has brought us together, and allowed us all to keep the memory of the ones we have lost alive and well. I'm proud to be a member of the Little Team That Could, and look forward to many years of running in the future.
-Allie
I run for my mom, Teresa Lynn Pillatsch. It's been 8 years since she finished her race, and lost the battle to Ovarian Cancer. The courage she had to live her life to the fullest, regardless of nearly a decade fighting illness, gives me hope that as long as we keep fighting for her, we will overcome this battle with cancer.
This will be my first Country Music Half Marathon. I have been a Nashvillian for one year now, having left my family on the west coast. In that year, I have found a new family. With them I have found people who have been through exactly what I have been there. In a way, our loss has brought us together, and allowed us all to keep the memory of the ones we have lost alive and well. I'm proud to be a member of the Little Team That Could, and look forward to many years of running in the future.
-Allie
Erin Rose: Why I Run
It's that time of year again!
The Little Team that Could has officially begun training for our 5th Country Music Half Marathon in a row! This is my third year to run the race and I couldn't be more excited about all that this event brings to my life...spreading the word about Carcinoid research, planning the race and event parties with the team, all of those long LONG Saturday training runs, all of those wonderful WONDERFUL post-training run breakfasts, and simply the opportunity to watch winter turn into spring as we put our hearts and energies into something much greater than ourselves.
This team was originally formed out of loss. As my best friend Sarah "Peppy" Farnell struggled through the pain of losing her sister to Carcinoid cancer, she turned to this race as a meaningful way to heal. After losing my own father to an equally rare and incurable Sarcoma cancer almost exactly 2 years ago, I found myself responding to the cause in much the same way. Yet over the years, I am so pleased to say, The Little Team that Could has grown and developed into so much more.
Each year, the team gets a little bigger, our bodies (and hearts) get a little stronger, and amazingly it always brings something new to our lives. This year Peppy, our remarkable team captain, is placing emphasis not simply on what we have lost, but all that we still have and especially all that we've gained. I want to echo her tone of celebration and express my incredible pride and gratitude at being apart of something so special.
I am ever grateful for the support that my friends and family have shown me over the years. I can't properly put into writing how much all of the words of encouragement, donations, trips to see the race, and this year my sister Kellie actually joining the team, has meant to me. If you have supported me in the past or are considering doing so now, please know that you have already given me so much more than a simple donation. I truly thank you with all of the joy in my heart.
Please consider making a donation at our fundraising site. Thank you again!
Love, love,
Erin
The Little Team that Could has officially begun training for our 5th Country Music Half Marathon in a row! This is my third year to run the race and I couldn't be more excited about all that this event brings to my life...spreading the word about Carcinoid research, planning the race and event parties with the team, all of those long LONG Saturday training runs, all of those wonderful WONDERFUL post-training run breakfasts, and simply the opportunity to watch winter turn into spring as we put our hearts and energies into something much greater than ourselves.
This team was originally formed out of loss. As my best friend Sarah "Peppy" Farnell struggled through the pain of losing her sister to Carcinoid cancer, she turned to this race as a meaningful way to heal. After losing my own father to an equally rare and incurable Sarcoma cancer almost exactly 2 years ago, I found myself responding to the cause in much the same way. Yet over the years, I am so pleased to say, The Little Team that Could has grown and developed into so much more.
Each year, the team gets a little bigger, our bodies (and hearts) get a little stronger, and amazingly it always brings something new to our lives. This year Peppy, our remarkable team captain, is placing emphasis not simply on what we have lost, but all that we still have and especially all that we've gained. I want to echo her tone of celebration and express my incredible pride and gratitude at being apart of something so special.
I am ever grateful for the support that my friends and family have shown me over the years. I can't properly put into writing how much all of the words of encouragement, donations, trips to see the race, and this year my sister Kellie actually joining the team, has meant to me. If you have supported me in the past or are considering doing so now, please know that you have already given me so much more than a simple donation. I truly thank you with all of the joy in my heart.
Please consider making a donation at our fundraising site. Thank you again!
Love, love,
Erin
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Julianne Billington: Why I Run
"And you're doing this for fun?" This has become the common response I get from people when I tell them about one of my long runs I'm embarking on! The past few years I've ran off and on with my main reason being for my health and making myself feel and look better. This past year however I decided to run for something other than just myself. When Sarah asked me to consider running for the Caring for Carcinoid Foundation in memory of Payton, I thought why not?!? I now achieve my normal goal, but this gives me that extra motivation because when it's snowy, rainy, and cold and I don't want to run, I think of the greater good. This race is about so much more than me and my running! So this year when I run 13.1 miles I'm running for others who can't with the hope that one day there will be a cure for carcinoid!
Kellie Coleman: Why I Run
I have never been one to enjoy running...ask anyone who knows me. =) For the past three years it seems so much has happened, one thing after another, that eventually you stop and question yourself. You do things you wouldn’t normally do.
I was pregnant with my now two and a half year old son when my daddy was diagnosed with a soft tissue sarcoma in his right leg. On September 22, 2008 my son was born, and 3 days later we found out daddy’s cancer had spread to his lungs. The following week he was given 6 months to live and sure enough, on March 17, 2009 daddy died. So fast it took him, and my son will only get to know him through the pictures that we show him.
You try to move forward with your life...you try to put back pieces that are broken and figure how to go on with all that has been taken from you and figure out who you are in the world without this person in it, and that takes a long time I have found. But the days go by anyway whether you want them to or not and you have to keep living.
Jump forward a bit and l found myself reading a blog in January written by Sarah Farnell- "Peppy." Everyone started running this marathon in honor of her sister Payton who lost her battle to carcinoid cancer in 2007 at the way too young age of 29. She wrote in her blog "Perhaps that honesty can help someone else who is going through the process of grieving. Or the process of living." And I realized as I read her words it was time for me to stop putting all my focus on the past three years and start putting more focus on what is to come.
I realized I needed to do something big to keep me motivated and to help me actually keep in the process of moving forward. So I decided to run. Run away all my stress and let go of my grief. Run with my sister Erin who I love so much. With Peppy, who I am so honored to run with - thank you for being such a wonderful friend to my sister. And with the rest of the team, who I get strength from knowing are all out there training just as hard as me.
But most importantly I am running to prove to myself that I am not broken. That life has not beat me down and that I can still get up to do something bigger than myself even when it hurts. Training for this half marathon has not been easy so far, but I can already feel myself getting stronger after 3 weeks and that’s a nice feeling.
I am so excited to be a part of this marathon experience, and to raise money for such an important cause- Carcinoid cancer is a rare type of neuroendocrine cancer and every penny raised for the Caring for Carcinoid Foundation goes directly to cancer research. These rare cancers like sarcoma and carcinoid need all the help they can get in finding a cure. Please donate if you can and thank you so much for stopping by my page!
-Kellie
I was pregnant with my now two and a half year old son when my daddy was diagnosed with a soft tissue sarcoma in his right leg. On September 22, 2008 my son was born, and 3 days later we found out daddy’s cancer had spread to his lungs. The following week he was given 6 months to live and sure enough, on March 17, 2009 daddy died. So fast it took him, and my son will only get to know him through the pictures that we show him.
You try to move forward with your life...you try to put back pieces that are broken and figure how to go on with all that has been taken from you and figure out who you are in the world without this person in it, and that takes a long time I have found. But the days go by anyway whether you want them to or not and you have to keep living.
Jump forward a bit and l found myself reading a blog in January written by Sarah Farnell- "Peppy." Everyone started running this marathon in honor of her sister Payton who lost her battle to carcinoid cancer in 2007 at the way too young age of 29. She wrote in her blog "Perhaps that honesty can help someone else who is going through the process of grieving. Or the process of living." And I realized as I read her words it was time for me to stop putting all my focus on the past three years and start putting more focus on what is to come.
I realized I needed to do something big to keep me motivated and to help me actually keep in the process of moving forward. So I decided to run. Run away all my stress and let go of my grief. Run with my sister Erin who I love so much. With Peppy, who I am so honored to run with - thank you for being such a wonderful friend to my sister. And with the rest of the team, who I get strength from knowing are all out there training just as hard as me.
But most importantly I am running to prove to myself that I am not broken. That life has not beat me down and that I can still get up to do something bigger than myself even when it hurts. Training for this half marathon has not been easy so far, but I can already feel myself getting stronger after 3 weeks and that’s a nice feeling.
I am so excited to be a part of this marathon experience, and to raise money for such an important cause- Carcinoid cancer is a rare type of neuroendocrine cancer and every penny raised for the Caring for Carcinoid Foundation goes directly to cancer research. These rare cancers like sarcoma and carcinoid need all the help they can get in finding a cure. Please donate if you can and thank you so much for stopping by my page!
-Kellie
Sarah Farnell: Why I Run
I am so excited to be running in the Country Music Marathon and raising money for the Caring for Carcinoid Foundation for the fourth year in a row!!! Over the past few years, the Little Team that Could has raised over $30,000 dollars, every penny of which has gone directly to cancer research.
In addition to raising money, the Little Team That Could is dedicated to raising awareness of carcinoid cancer because, "If you don't suspect it, you can't detect it." Carcinoid cancer is a rare type of neuroendecrine cancer that took my sister's life when she was 29. Payton was a wonderful sister, daughter, and wife. I am honored to run in her memory.
I would like to take a moment to thank my teamates who are running this race with me. I am so lucky to have the best friends and family in the world and literally could not have made it through the past four years without them.
I have healed so much in the years since my sister died, and this race has been such a crucial part of the healing process. And so I want to thank all of you who have donated in the past and are considering donating now. This year we are running not only to remember those we have lost, but to celebrate those who remained behind and who have fought so hard to regain their lives. So come on out to Nashville and come celebrate with us! Thank you again for all your support!
Love, Sarah
In addition to raising money, the Little Team That Could is dedicated to raising awareness of carcinoid cancer because, "If you don't suspect it, you can't detect it." Carcinoid cancer is a rare type of neuroendecrine cancer that took my sister's life when she was 29. Payton was a wonderful sister, daughter, and wife. I am honored to run in her memory.
I would like to take a moment to thank my teamates who are running this race with me. I am so lucky to have the best friends and family in the world and literally could not have made it through the past four years without them.
I have healed so much in the years since my sister died, and this race has been such a crucial part of the healing process. And so I want to thank all of you who have donated in the past and are considering donating now. This year we are running not only to remember those we have lost, but to celebrate those who remained behind and who have fought so hard to regain their lives. So come on out to Nashville and come celebrate with us! Thank you again for all your support!
Love, Sarah
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Saturday, February 12, 2011
Follow the Money
Sarah has asked me to write a few words on the progress being made in finding a cure for carcinoid cancer. I guess the lowest point of my life was when we were at M. D. Anderson Hospital in Houston, Texas with Payton, and the doctor came in, and what I remember him saying over and over is “no cure, no cure.” His English wasn’t too good and he talked in short sentences. Brent tried very fast to do damage control, reassuring Payton that doctors always say that with cancer, but she knew what the doctor meant. We all did.
That is also similar to what happened to Nancy Lindholm, a metastatic carcinoid patient and founder of the Caring for Carcinoid Foundation. She was told she only had a few months to live. She was 29.
Currently, between 11,000 and 12,000 carcinoid tumors are diagnosed each year in the United States. Nancy Lindholm founded the Caring for Carcinoid Foundation as the only carcinoid and related neuroendocrine tumor focused foundation with the mission of discovering a cure, with a formal Board of Directors, a Board of Scientific Advisors, and a structured research road map used to achieve its mission. CFCF achieves its goals by directing 100% of all individual donations to cutting-edge scientific research. In addition to research, CFCF provides support to patients and their loved ones through its award-winning website (www.caringforcarcinoid.org).
Some of CFCF funded studies include the following:
The Mouse Model Project; the Pancreatic Neuroendocrine Tumor Genome Project; the Carcinoid Cancer Genome Study; the Mary Therese Hartzheim Award for Neuroendocrine Tumor Research; the Caring for Carcinoid Foundation Neuroendocrine Tumor Bioconsortium; and the Origin and Differentiation of a new class of serotonin-expressing enteroendocrine cells.
I urge you to visit the website to gain a better understanding of all the exciting research that is being done.
So that brings me back full circle to one of the happiest memory I have of this long journey. It was during the first Country Music Marathon and Half-Marathon we had organized after losing Payton. Everyone had finished walking/running and we were just standing around, taking pictures, talking. Sarah looked over at Sam and me and said, “I think this is the first time since Payton passed that I have seen you and Dad actually look happy.” And she was right. I am happy that I can be a part of something that will one day spare families from going through what we have. And we could never have done that without all of you. Thanks from the bottom of my heart.
-Penny Farnell (mom)
That is also similar to what happened to Nancy Lindholm, a metastatic carcinoid patient and founder of the Caring for Carcinoid Foundation. She was told she only had a few months to live. She was 29.
Currently, between 11,000 and 12,000 carcinoid tumors are diagnosed each year in the United States. Nancy Lindholm founded the Caring for Carcinoid Foundation as the only carcinoid and related neuroendocrine tumor focused foundation with the mission of discovering a cure, with a formal Board of Directors, a Board of Scientific Advisors, and a structured research road map used to achieve its mission. CFCF achieves its goals by directing 100% of all individual donations to cutting-edge scientific research. In addition to research, CFCF provides support to patients and their loved ones through its award-winning website (www.caringforcarcinoid.org).
Some of CFCF funded studies include the following:
The Mouse Model Project; the Pancreatic Neuroendocrine Tumor Genome Project; the Carcinoid Cancer Genome Study; the Mary Therese Hartzheim Award for Neuroendocrine Tumor Research; the Caring for Carcinoid Foundation Neuroendocrine Tumor Bioconsortium; and the Origin and Differentiation of a new class of serotonin-expressing enteroendocrine cells.
I urge you to visit the website to gain a better understanding of all the exciting research that is being done.
So that brings me back full circle to one of the happiest memory I have of this long journey. It was during the first Country Music Marathon and Half-Marathon we had organized after losing Payton. Everyone had finished walking/running and we were just standing around, taking pictures, talking. Sarah looked over at Sam and me and said, “I think this is the first time since Payton passed that I have seen you and Dad actually look happy.” And she was right. I am happy that I can be a part of something that will one day spare families from going through what we have. And we could never have done that without all of you. Thanks from the bottom of my heart.
-Penny Farnell (mom)
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