#5204 03-23-2005 05:35 PM | Joined: Aug 2003 Posts: 1,627 Patient Advocate (1000+ posts) | OP  Patient Advocate (1000+ posts)
Joined: Aug 2003 Posts: 1,627 | minniea
Patient Advocate (300+ posts)
Member # 874
posted March 23, 2005 11:29 PM
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It's getting close to the big day so I wanted to give everyone an update. I know many of you can't make it but you will be there in our minds and in our hearts.
The Walk is on April 9th and will take place at Chesapeake City Park. Registration begins at 8am and walk starts at 9am, ending sometime around 3pm.
We are close to hitting the $10,000 mark if all promises of sponsorship are followed through with and that's not including any money from walkers or product sales the day of the event. Danny, Carol and Bobbi have gotten ALOT of money for our foundation and Brian and I were able to get some of the companies to donate also. Remember that all of you can ask for donations to give to the walk even though you cannot be here.
During the day we will have professors and students from the Virginia Dental School and also the Department Heads of the Eastern Virginia Medical Schools Otolaryngology department doing free Oral Screenings from 9am -3pm.
We will have three cheerleading organizations doing performances throughout the day and also joining in the walk.
We will have Fest Events there to provide food and other good stuff to eat.
We will have speakers that include our own Rosie and the doctor that did my surgery and still manages my care.
We have hired a photographer to do the story in pictures and I meet with him for the first time tomorrow night. He will be there the day of the event to get pics of all of us. We also have a writer from California, April, that is writing the story that will go with the pictures. Brian is going to work his usual magic and try to get some media attention for our efforts.
Danny is our OCF team captain and he and I will be setting a meeting time for Friday within the next few days. I have staff ID and staff Tshirts for all of us that Brian has worked hard getting for us.
I am still working on the radio and news crews. They have this horrible habit of not being dependable and it's been a major effort to get a simple call back. I have faith though that they will come through for us.
We have banners and table banners for the day of the walk, it will be set up very professionaly. We also have specific Tshirts.
I will say that the response from the dental community has been shameful. I sent out hundreds of postcards with all the walk information and I got a total of three phone calls.....it shocked me. I bought a answering machine to handle all the TONS of calls from dental offices that I expected to get. Didn't happen. That has been my biggest dissapointment as I counted on that to be the majority of our walkers.
I am also working on a tribute to our lost members. I contacted as many family members as I could and they have sent me pictures, stories, interesting thing concerning their family member. This will be an uplifting tribute, not something that will be depressing. After all, they are part of the reason we are all doing this walk.
This has been a learning experience but a rewarding one. More then I had anticipated but nothing is worth doing that doesn't challenge us.
I hope all of you can find a way to support the walk.
Minnie
SCC Left Mandible. Jaw replaced with bone from leg. Neck disection, 37 radiation treatments. Recurrence 8-28-07, stage 2, tongue. One third of tongue removed 10-4-07. 5-23-08 chemo started for tumor behind swallowing passage, Our good friend and much loved OCF member Minnie has been lost to the disease (RIP 10-29-08). We will all miss her greatly.
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#5205 03-23-2005 06:42 PM | Joined: Mar 2003 Posts: 1,384 Likes: 1 Patient Advocate (1000+ posts) | | Patient Advocate (1000+ posts)
Joined: Mar 2003 Posts: 1,384 Likes: 1 | It sounds truly awesome Minnie!
Have a really great time everyone!
Mark, 21 Year survivor, SCC right tonsil, 3 nodes positive, one with extra-capsular spread. I never asked what stage (would have scared me anyway) Right side tonsillectomy, radical neck dissection right side, maximum radiation to both sides, no chemo, no PEG, age 40 when diagnosed.
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#5206 03-24-2005 02:50 AM | Joined: Jan 2004 Posts: 1,116 Patient Advocate (1000+ posts) | | Patient Advocate (1000+ posts)
Joined: Jan 2004 Posts: 1,116 | Minnie, thank you so very much for all your hard work. It truly does sound awesome! God Bless and I cannot wait to meet you altho I feel I know you already! Love, Carol
Diagnosed May 2002 with Stage IV tongue cancer, two lymph nodes positive. Surgery to remove 1/2 tongue, neck dissection, 35 radiation treatments. 11/2007, diagnosed with cancer of soft palate, surgery 12/14/07, jaw split. 3/24/10, cancer on tongue behind flap, need petscan, surgery scheduled 4/16/10
---update passed away 8-27-11---
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#5207 03-25-2005 06:03 AM | Joined: Mar 2003 Posts: 64 Supporting Member (50+ posts) | | Supporting Member (50+ posts)
Joined: Mar 2003 Posts: 64 | Minnie
I love the ad for the event with the shoe sole. It is very clever. If anyone else hasn't seen it, I found it in the "What's New" on the Home Page in the section about walks. The accompany article shows how much time went into the planning of this event. I hope it is a big success. Jack's health is not good enough for us to travel, but we will be with you in thoughts and with a contribution.
Thanks for all the time and effort that you spent to make this a success.
Lowanne | | |
#5208 03-25-2005 07:36 AM | Joined: Oct 2002 Posts: 546 "Above & Beyond" Member (500+ posts) | | "Above & Beyond" Member (500+ posts)
Joined: Oct 2002 Posts: 546 | Hi all, I posted this on the Activism board. Thought I would also post it here in case anyone interested missed it there. I assume that most of those attending this event have already booked their hotel rooms, but in case any of you are even worse procrastinators than me  , I have found a great website. www.tripadvisor.com has reviews of hotels written by actual travelers. I searched under Virginia Beach and Chesapeake and was very pleased with all the informative reviews. It definitely helped me to decide which hotel to stay at. Rosie P.S. We booked a room at The Viking, just in case anyone cares! 
Was primary caregiver to my daughter Heather who had stage IV base of tongue SCC w/ primary recurrence. Original diagnosis August 21st, 2002. Primary recurrence March 18th, 2003. Died October 6th, 2003.
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