Just a quick little story...
As you know, I'm running with Shaken, Not Stirred to raise money and awareness for the Epilepsy Therapy Project. Throughout this process, Gatewood has repeatedly told the team that there are many, many people suffering from epilepsy in silence - something I couldn't really wrap my mind around. But yesterday my eyes were opened a bit.
I posted a link to my ETP fundraising page on Facebook to let folks know that while Shaken, Not Stirred is about 1/3 of the way to our goal, we have a long way to go and need help getting there. A few minutes later, I received an email telling me that I'd received a sponsorship. Yay! I opened the email and looked at the name associated with the sponsorship and it took me a few minutes to figure out who it was.
And then it hit me.
Her name is Wendy - I'll leave you with only her first name for the sake of privacy. She was a year ahead of me in high school and we played rec basketball together a gazillion years ago. The notification I received used her married name which also threw me off. Wendy attached a note to her donation that said, "As a teen I had epilepsy, I hope everyday that I've grown out of it! Thank you!" I sat and stared at my computer screen in shock. I knew Wendy. I played ball with Wendy. I went to school with Wendy. I had no idea she suffered from epilepsy. Gatewood was right. People suffer silently. You just never know...
I haven't been able to get Wendy and others like her off my mind. I've been pretty fired up about this run and raising awareness. Wendy stoked the fire. I thought Gatewood was the only person I know who is living with (or lived with) epilepsy. Tomorrow morning, when I go out for my weekly long run (at the ungodly time of 5:30 a.m....OMG!), it will be with the Wendys of the world in my mind.
Wendy: Thank you for your donation, thank you for your support and thank you for sharing. You'll be on my mind when I cross the finish line in November!
Giggles for us all: I've included a most embarrassing photo of our rec basketball team. I won't put Wendy on blast by pointing her out. And if you can't figure out which one is me, all the better. But in a world of serious topics and causes, a laugh never hurt anyone, right? Lord help '80s middle school awkwardness. And it's worth noting that I was a metal mouth then...just as I am now! Ha!
More to come...
Running TALL,
Julia
