Joanne Melear's Team In Training Page
Walking especially for Tommy Ryan
Welcome to my official "Team In Training" page! It is provided by The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society to all of us who have agreed to train for and complete a half or full marathon, in support of those who are stuggling with blood cancers, while raising funds for further research for a cure. Those funds will help stop Leukemia, Lymphoma, Hodgkin's Disease and Myeloma from taking more lives. Advances are happening, because of the research the LLS supports!
I am training to Walk 13.1 miles in the inaugural ING marathon, here in Atlanta, the end of this month. This is a first for me! The date is Sunday, March 25th. There will be 25,000 participants and 150 of those will be TNT people, like me.
Personally, I will complete this event in memory of my Mom, who died of cancer, and in tribute to Tommy Ryan, brother and business partner of my son-in-law, Danny Ryan. Thirteen years ago, Tommy had Hodgkin's Disease. Last Fall, he got it again. This time, it was in the lyumph nodes of his neck and spread to his hip bone too. He is 38 years old, a devoted husband and the father of 3 terrific middle-schoolers.
This is a picture of Tommy and me, on Dec. 10, 2006, after his first Chemo treatment, before he shaved his whole head.
Amy and Danny are also in training and they will RUN a FULL marathon the same day. (Amy is still nursing Kailey and is 2 months + pregnant.) This is what we have chosen to do, to actively support Tommy, as he goes through treatment Dec - Mar. Today, March 10, 2007 is the day he is COMING HOME, after getting his stem cell transplant at MD Anderson in Houston!! He was there 2 1/2 months, so he's really anxious to come home, and we're so anxious to see him. At the moment, the doctors are encouraging. We'll continue taking life "one day at a time".
27 friends and family helped me reach my fund raising goal and I am so very grateful to each of them for joining us! I'll pray for all of them AT THE FINISH LINE!
You are invited to visit http://www.threewill.com/Blogs/FriendsOfTommy/News.aspx to learn of the latest news. To read the messages from friends and family and perhaps leave one of your own, go to http://www.threewill.com/Blogs/FriendsOfTommy/Messages.aspx. Tommy and people like him are the real heroes on our team, and we fully expect to cross the ultimate finish line - a cure!
If you should feel so inclined, YOU CAN still make a donation to help in the fight against Leukemia and Lymphoma. You can securely do so right on this site or, if you prefer, you can mail a check, made out to "LLS", to my home at 1499 Heritage Glen Drive, Marietta, GA 30068. 75% of all money raised goes directly to research. All donations are TAX DEDUCTIBLE. Giving a donation gives YOU a chance to make a difference, to save a life, to be part of a great cause, to feel good and to "pay it forward."
The three of us have been joined by Tommy's parents, Frank and Llen and other brother, Bobby, plus Mark, who is Llen's best friend's husband. Consequently, we will be raising much more, in Tommy's honor. If you haven't already done so, you're invited to join us! It'll brighten your day, for sure!
If you have, THANK YOU SO MUCH!
With appreciation, trust in God's Plan for Tommy and great excitement, I am
Joanne
