I put the FUN in fundraising

Team HYDOOO did an amazing job with the Susan G Komen race for the cure! We ended up in 4th place (so far... they're accepting donations through the end of February) and raised $15,500. That's a whole lot of mammograms! The race was an incredible time. I got to ride in the pace car for the walk in the back of the Ford Mustang. They dropped me off a block up so I was able to rejoin the massive crowd for the walk. Thanks to Tim and the boys holding up pink foam fingers I was able to find them in the stream of people.

The local (channel 5) news interviewed me the day before the race. Tania Rogers was a sweetheart (her husband works with me at Siemens too) and did a great job with the segment. I had a bunch of strangers come up to me the day of the race and say "I saw you on the news!!". Here's the link:
http://www.wptv.com/content/news/topstories/story/Race-for-the-Cure-breast-cancer-Cristal-Hydo-Te/YdqVSht2-E6-rBE006eLJw.cspx

After I finished the race there was a survivior ceremony. It was really nice. They gave us a pink carnation and brought us on stage for a few songs. Palm Beach Post's video of the survivor ceremony (look for yours truly a few minutes in):

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/race-for-the-cure-2010-203874.html

So... now what do I do to save the world? ;)

Cashing in on Karma

It's amazing the outpouring of support I have received through my treatments thus far: cards, gifts, donations on my Race for the Cure team, well wishes by the heap, whole churches praying for me, animals sacrificed (ok, maybe not that last one). It's been incredible being able to see just how many lives I have touched in my 28 years causing trouble on this earth. I feel as if I'm cashing in on all the good karma that I have been building up. I've been a friend, volunteered for charities, gone out of my way to do nice things for other people and it's all coming back to me tenfold.

I started a team for the South Florida Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure a few days after my diagnosis. I used the race as an upbeat way to break my diagnosis to most of my friends and family. It's funny when I think about it now, but at the time I wasn't even sure I could get 10 people to sign up. My friends just took off with it and I've gotten 101 people on my team (and there are people who missed the deadline and wished they could join). We've been at third place overall for amount of money raised for the cure... currently we have close to $13,000! The two teams ahead of us are big companies (FPL and South Florida Waste Management), and I think it's incredible that we've gone toe-to-toe with them.

All this fundraising has not gone unnoticed. The Susan G. Komen Race Committee read about me on my team page (http://www.komensouthflorida.org/2010rftc/hydooo) and were tracking my progress. I had the fortune to meet them at a survivor celebration, and I was not prepared for all the fuss that they made over me! Since then they have joined my army of supporters, and have opened up incredible doors for me.

When our local newspaper, the Palm Beach Post, wanted to interview someone connected to the race that had done a lot for the community, the ladies at Susan G. Komen immediately sent them in my direction. The article can be found here:
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/health/cancer-victim-s-race-team-of-100-has-193571.html

I don't like that he refers to me as a cancer victim because, as anyone who knows me can testify, it's cancer that is the victim of me in this situation. Cancer really didn't stand a chance. Also I don't like that he wrote I have sad times and wonder "why me?" because it really isn't true. Well, it's true that I have sad times. I'm like everyone else; I have good days and bad ones. But never - not once - have I wondered "why me?". Overall, though, it's a nice article. I've gotten a lot of recognition for it from friends and even from strangers. I'm famous! I wonder if I'll get a stalker? ;)

There are more good news to come... stay tuned...