The Seattle Brain Cancer Walk is this Saturday, Sept 24th at The Seattle Center! It’s not to late to participate. Join a team or start your own! For more information visit www.braincancerwalk.org
Also, we will be having a picnic after the walk!! So bring some goodies, a basket and a blanket and celebrate as we come closer to finding a cure for Brain Cancer! There is nothing better than sharing good food with good people.
Filed under Uncategorized
The Seattle Brain Cancer Walk is just two days away and there couldn’t be a better time to learn more about the people who are “walking so that others may live.” Since I’ve become familiar with Brain Cancer I’ve learned that it does not discriminate and affects people from all walks of life.
One person I’ve met is Kami Combes. Upon meeting Kami I noticed she comes in a petite package, but packs an impressive punch which is
evident from her motto, “Titanium makes you stronger.” Kami’s perspective is one that encompasses a woman who had just settled into family life. The following is her response from a mother’s perspective-
Q&A with Kami Combes
Kelly-How did being diagnosed with brain cancer affect your outlook on life?
Kami Combes -When I was first diagnosed I worried about not being able to watch the kids grow into adulthood and be there for all of their important milestones(graduations, weddings, etc.). It made me re-orient my priorities and outlook to do more in a shorter term – spend more time with my family doing all of the things we wanted to do. It did have the benefit of making me more aware of the larger picture so that I didn’t sweat the small stuff as much.
Kelly-How was it for your children and how are they coping? What message did you share with them?
Kami Combes- At the time our kids were 2 and 7 – they were both very accommodating. Although they didn’t appreciate the full significance of what had happened they were very kind and understanding when I was unable to play or spend much time with them. They have coped very well and are very proud of me – always excited to help with the Brain Cancer Walk and interested in the treatment and helping me through it.
“The message I share is that it’s always ok to ask for help and that it’s essential to assist others when they need help.”
Kelly-What do you think has allowed you to be so brave and strong in your battle?
Kami Combes- Having a surgeon that has answered all of our questions thoroughly and sincerely while still being very compassionate and supportive. Being able to support the effort to advance the treatment of brain cancer has also given me great strength through purpose. Additionally my husband and parents have been essential in supporting me with their knowledge and willingness to assist me no matter what I need.
Filed under Uncategorized
An ancient Japanese legend promises that anyone who folds a thousand origami cranes will be granted a wish by a crane, such as long life or recovery from illness or injury. The crane in Japan is one of the mystical or holy creatures (others include the dragon and the tortoise), and is said to live for a thousand years. In Japan, it is commonly said that folding 1000 paper origami cranes makes a person’s wish come true *
Recently, I had the pleasure of talking with Mark Gorow he is a member of the volunteer committee for The Seattle Brain Cancer Walk. During my conversation with him I learned that he lost his wife, Shwulih Tsai Gorow to brain cancer six years ago. At the time treatments were sparse and there was little that could be done. Mark expressed that it was difficult for him to attend a volunteer committee meeting, but this year he wanted to get involved. During one of the volunteer meetings the committee discussed the Tent of Honor. They wanted to include pictures, memories and add a three-dimensional feel to the tent. This is when the idea of the origami cranes was introduced.
Shwulih Tsai Gorow
The 2011 Seattle Brain Cancer Walk will be the second year the cranes will hang in the Tent of Honor— which commemorates those who are
survivors and remembers loved ones and friends. During a committee meeting the subject of making them came up, “without thinking [Mark] raised [his] hand and said I can get you 20,000 cranes folded!!” It’s his contagious enthusiasm that’s contributed to this year’s outstanding number of
cranes! Last year there were 400 cranes as of September 12 there are approximately 15,000 cranes folded!!
Mark Gorow holding the cranes from last year and standing next to just a few of the cranes from this year!
With such a monumental task and commitment on Mark’s part; I asked him what the cranes significance meant for him. Mark’s response was the cranes signified characteristics of Shwulih. “She was artsy craftsy, simple, yet complicated.” As Mark described Shwulih, he spoke with great affection and admiration. Shwulih was well liked and many of her friends and family contributed to making the cranes in her memory.
The Seattle Brain Cancer Walk is a few days away! Feel free to visit www.braincancerwalk.org and join us! Be sure to check out Mark’s cranes at the Tent of Honor!
Filed under Origami Cranes
Here is an exciting update I received from my friends at Swedish-
With less than nine days until the 4th Annual Seattle Brain Cancer
Walk…we are thrilled to announce an Anonymous $500,000 Challenge Gift
for this year’s Walk!
A current donor to The Ben & Catherine Ivy Center for Advanced Brain Tumor
Treatment at Swedish is making an anonymous gift to inspire additional gifts to
the Walk. Please urge your teammates, friends, family and colleagues to make a
“stretch” gift to help us earn the full $500,000 match! The Challenge Gift will
match all gifts made in support of the Seattle Brain Cancer Walk through
December 31, 2011. (All donations made up to this point will count towards the
Challenge Gift.)
Thank you for your support!
It’s not to late to register and join the walk please visit www.braincancerwalk.org to sign up.
Filed under The Challenge Gift
I don’t think there is one person I’ve met that could say—
they haven’t heard a song and thought of someone for one reason or another.
By now many of you know my father passed away from brain
cancer. He listened to various genre’s but was partial to country music.
Admittedly, when I was younger it wasn’t my favorite, but recently I
found myself listening to Tim McGraw’s hit Live like you were dying
I related to the song because many of the activities
mentioned were things my father had done and he very much lived his life to the
motto of “live like you were dying”.
Needless to say, I just thought I was taking the song and “making it my
own”. Little did I know its meaning went
much deeper!
Recently, I discovered Tim McGraw’s father, Tug McGraw had Glioblastoma,
brain cancer. Glioblastoma is an aggressive and fast moving form of brain cancer and was the same type my father
had. “The song is a personal one for McGraw, having lost his father Tug McGraw during the recording process.”
Tim McGraw later started the Tug McGraw Foundation which was established in 2003 to support
people with brain tumors and has continued to grow ever since.
Filed under Tim McGraw
Last year Sooz Main, a photojournalist from Chicago participated in the Seattle Brain Cancer Walk via the virtual walking option. She threw a walk party in honor of her cousin Lara who passed away in 2008 from brain cancer. Sooz served foods with lemon, such as lemon meringue pie and lemon bar cookies. Lara’s family affectionately named these goodies “Lara food.”
The gesture helped Team Lara reach 124 walking members—making them the biggest team at the Seattle Brain Cancer Walk. This year Sooz has certainly outdone herself with postcards for Lara. Her artistic work and gripping narratives reveal a powerful and eloquent glimpse of what it’s like to see through the lens of one who has lost a loved one, but not forgotten. Click here for postcards for Lara!
Filed under Postcards/Sooz Main
Hey everyone,
The Seattle Brain Cancer Walk is less than a month away and there is a lot to share in the next few weeks. Here’s a glimpse:
*Learn how country music superstar Tim McGraw is connected to brain cancer
*Why is brain cancer awareness important?— find out from Dr. Foltz and Nan Street on a special edition of Evening Magazine!
Nan Street eloquently tells her story and she’s raising awareness nationwide with last year’s team topping over 100 walkers.
Also catch Dr. Foltz’s story, pianist to brain surgeon he’s not your everyday doctor.
*A photojournalist from Chicago is pushing her creative threshold in memory of a cousin she lost to brain cancer. Find out what postcards for LARA is all about.
*20,000 cranes, it’s more than just folklore, meet the man who is making it happen!
Filed under Up and Coming
