Cathy's 3 Day Walk- continues...: A new teammate who comes with her own crew!

The walk of 2012 has officially begun with a Tennessee Valley "training" walk with the Purchase Family and Glenn.

Those of you who have been reading this journey have followed the challenges this incredible family has faced in the past few years. Leslie's Breast Cancer at the age of 32, one of the most daunting of of the Breast Cancers, triple negative was hard enough to weather I am sure. She got that diagnosis 6 months after the birth of their daughter Olivia. Olivia joined her brothers Joe and Jack to be children born in a world that unavoidably had been tainted by the trauma of Cancer.

Then this year as they began to look forward to a new life CANCER FREE in Marin, Olivia had a seizure, and was diagnosed with a rare brain cancer. She underwent surgery, chemo and stem cell transplant. Now on our walk we all were celebrating closing the book on the treatment and the beginning of living.

Throughout the trials Leslie and Rob have been blessed with the unending support of their parents. Rob's mother, also Olivia is often in town to lend a hand. Leslie's folks Arlene and Joe were here today for the walk, as they have been throughout these tough days. They come from Pennsylvania, and it says so much for the love in this family to see them drop everything to be close.

To listen to the conversation of this family as you walk is heart warming. There is so much support. Parents to children, grandparents to children. There is also a lot of kidding and learning and loving going on. It moved Glenn to remark to me it was like walking with a family from a Norman Rockwell painting. They are perfect... in that they are perfectly human.

Leslie has started her own blog http://www.lesliepurchase.com/

Here she will be blogging about one resolution she will be following for each 52 weeks of the year. She hopes to be come "a better wife, mother, daughter, survivor, citizen through 52 one week long resolutions."

So I am expecting this will be an interesting year of learning humility for me! She and they will be the source of much inspiration for me on this walk.

And on this walk I will be reminded of HOW IMPORTANT this walk is. Why do I walk? I won't have to look very far to be reminded. What a blessing that will be on those days when I don't feel like walking to have such a great reason to.

And as we walk... we will be getting closer to out goal. The goal of a world where Cancer doesn't define us as survivors. A world where the fear of Cancer will not stifle our ability to breath.