Steven Bidwell's Fundraising Page
Racing to Save Lives in memory of Jill Sullivan
On September 16, 2007 I ran my first marathon - the Maui Marathon as a member of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's Team In Training.
There were 23 of us from Vancouver, and 182 participants from around North America all involved with Team in Training. In total we raised $750,000 to help stop leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin lymphoma and myeloma from taking more lives.
I ran to honor the memory of my mother, Jill Sullivan, who died from leukemia in August 1995, as well as four other amazing individuals (see below) who inspired me to complete the run even when my legs felt as though they couldn't carry me any more! I finished the 26.2 miles (42km) in 5:39:09. In fact, I am just happy that I finished at all! The pain I felt from that day has already faded. Those who are continuing treatments must endure more that I had to during that short time.
Thank you to all of those who made donations for my efforts. Your donations resulted in almost $10,000 which is outstanding! The support was overwhelming, inspiring, and humbling.
Please e-mail me if you have any questions by clicking the button below.
If you would like to learn more about my training, and to see a video of the final run check out my BLOG (online diary) which has video and images of my training and other related information.
Thanks for your support!
Click below to watch a video of my Mum
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Below are the names of those individuals for whom I also dedicated my run, and whose names I wore with pride on my jersey:
Gregory Austin Whyte (died from leukemia 1972, age 8)
Cody Belliveau (currently battling leukemia, age 12)
Derek 'Lek' Leckenby (died of Non Hodgkins Lymphoma 1994 - age 51)
Bob Smidt (currently battling leukemia - age 42)
JILL SULLIVAN 1944-1995
As a graduate of the school of nursing in Kamloops, BC until her death 30 years later in Ottawa, Ontario, Jill looked for ways to make a difference. She strove to better the quality of life for her patients, from hospital ward to Ontario's Victorian Order of Nurses, from oncology/palliative care to care of persons with AIDS.
In her final years, Jill taught palliative care to nursing students at Algonquin College in Ottawa, focusing on what patients and caregivers needed to know to be more effective partners in caring. She also taught caregivers how to cope with the toll caring for a dying patient would inevitably take on their lives.
Jill's biggest challenge came with her first AIDS patient, which occurred at a time when AIDS filled everyone with unanswerable fears. Refusing to turn a blind eye to the issues, Jill educated herself about AIDS by attending courses, lectures, and talking to experts, then sharing what she had learned.
Jill developed the first AIDS awareness program for nursing students and lectured at health conferences, nationally and internationally. A highly successful and popular educator and public speaker, in 1994 she spent four months teaching and lecturing on AIDS awareness in India. After returning to Canada, an offer to establish and AIDS awareness program in and for India followed. A few months later she was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia.
Jill's personal courage in her fight against leukemia extended to her teaching; students were allowed to ask how it felt to be dying. She produced a moving, rich video in which she compared her nursing knowledge with that gained in her battle as an oncology patient. Shortly before her death in August of 1995, Jill received the VON's silver cross for excellence in clinical practice.
Jill dreamt about making a difference. In her all too short life, she instigated change, mitigated pain and grief for families of dying patients, and nursed with compassion and a deep belief in people. In the final analysis, however, above all the acclaim, her two greatest rewards came from being simply 'Mum' and 'Nurse'.
