I started training for the Charlevoix Marathon today. I'm at the Jackson YMCA on the treadmill, feeling pretty good, and it hit me: I could run for my five year old daughter, Lily.
Lily is a Type 1 Diabetic. She gets 4-6 shots a day, and 6-8 finger pokes a day. For you math wizards out there, that equates to about 1800 shots and 2500 finger pokes a year. She has to watch everything she eats and drinks. From fruits and veggies, to milk and juice. And everything in between. She gets stomach aches and turns pale when she is low. She gets emotional and snotty when she is high. She's an awesome kid when her blood sugars are in the right range.
Oh yeah, Lily is only five years old.
She was diagnosed July 21, 2010 at four years old. Since then, her whole perception of a normal life has changed. For her, counting carbs and not eating a lot of candy is normal.
Fast forward a year and a half. We have done two "Walks to Cure Diabetes" in Jackson, raising over $7,000 total to find a cure. Last year we hosted our first All Nighter Softball Tournament to raise money. This year I want to BREEZE by $10,000.
I need your help.
I am using Lily as my reason to run. I've wanted to run a marathon since I was 17 years old, but I'm a quitter. For Lily, I would run to the moon and back, if it meant she wouldn't have diabetes anymore. During my training I will be running over 600 miles in the next four months. I am looking for pledges, a nickel a mile, a dime, a set amount. Anything. Hell, a penny a mile still puts us closer to a cure.
You can follow my progress here:
http://runkeeper.com/user/mikexcrun/profile
See you tomorrow!
Mike
Good luck!
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