Why is Sara Going to Vermont?

My sponsor request letter:

On July 13, I fly to Vermont for a bike tour. At first, this doesn't make much sense. I just got off a cane two months ago, and started bicycling for the first time in over a year last week. It’s true I still have trouble with stairs and my balance is off, but of the survivors of sarcoma in the bones, I’m one of the lucky ones.

My left leg has been altered from limb-salvaging surgery that rid me of disease just a year and half ago. I was 28 and finishing up a yoga teacher training program when I was diagnosed with chondrosarcoma. Because I received an early and accurate diagnosis, and because my cancer was low-grade, I did not have chemotherapy. But most bone cancer survivors live with the effects of more intense chemotherapy than anyone could imagine, as well as surgeries that change their limbs forever.

I am participating in the Team Sarcoma bike tour to represent those rare individuals who have survived sarcoma. Their stories are incredible ones of strength, hope, resilience, and daily struggle long after treatment has ended. I represent survivors who are so much "bigger" than me, those who have taken difficult situations and turned them into good over and over again. Their battle is my battle - one for more support, more medical research, and better treatment options.

I will be bicycling for those who can no longer bike, bicycling for those who can no longer walk, and bicycling for those who are just getting through each day. This ride will be special on another level for me, as I will be bicycling alongside my mom. My mom is also a survivor — of breast cancer, diagnosed two months after my surgery for chondrosarcoma. This will be a ride celebrating not only our year-and-a-half anniversaries as survivors, but, as my cousin Sammie says, thrivers.

How can you help? I need sponsors - those who will make a donation in my name and support me in this effort. 98% of your donation will go to sarcoma research and patients. 98%! My goal is to make $2500, for the Liddy Shriver Sarcoma Initiative. I know it sounds like a lot. The average donation that I need is about $100, but every single donation will help. This money will reach those who face the most intense battles with cancer, and often do so at a young age, feeling very alone.

This is not something I normally do. In fact, I haven’t participated in a sponsored-fundraiser since the AIDS Walk in high school. But your donation to sarcoma research is what so many children and young adults desperately need.

THANK YOU!

Sara

Please click here to donate! To sponsor me, please enter my name, Sara Alan, in the top box. Thanks!

LiveStrong

Wow. I can’t believe it’s been a month since my last blog. It started out daily, moved to weekly, and now it looks like I’ve finally arrived at monthly blogging. I’m okay with that.

Lots to report.

Let’s start with the most recent:

Megan visited from NYC this weekend! It was so fun to see her. AND she was kind enough to indulge all my wedding-planning obsessions. Yay! What a good, patient friend.

We drove up to Dillon, and it was as if a mad-scientist was playing with the weather machine the whole time. In the one hour drive the weather changed dramatically about ten times; we saw sunshine, snow, slush, rain, and HAIL. Ridiculous. Welcome to Colorado!

Last night we drove to Megan’s other Colorado friend, and fellow blogger, Aubrey (of Let’s Make a Snack...). I was so delighted not only to finally see Aubrey, but also to partake in one of the exquisite meals I always see on her blog. Delicious! Before I left, Aubrey played her grand piano. A.M.A.Z.I.N.G. I’ve never seen fingers move like that before. Her music was moving and inspiring, although she CLAIMED she hadn’t practiced in a while and was impaired by long finger nails and two glasses of wine. (I wish MY impairments resulted in something so beautiful!)

What I’m saying is, I left feeling artistically and culinaryally deficient.

Also, I had to leave Megan with her, so I left feeling depressed too.

(Kidding!)

Okay…on to other fun news:

I GOT MY BIKE! I traded my tax refund in for it. WOO HOO! It’s a Trek hybrid and it’s SO cool. Now I can start getting in bicycling-shape for the Team Sarcoma ride that’s two months away. What’s also neat is the model came in a LiveStrong version, so my bike is black, with the LiveStrong message on it. I decided to go with this one not only because 10% of my purchase will go to the LiveStrong organization, but because it will be a constant reminder of how far I’ve come and how lucky I am to be able to get on a bike. Whenever I check in on ABC-Survivors I realize how not everyone has had such a full recovery. Most sarcoma survivors have chronic pain or physical challenges that will last the rest of their lives. I’m not saying my body isn’t different now and that I will ever be able to be where I was before (I probably won’t ever run or ski or scurry down stairs or anything like that again), but there’s no doubt I’m extremely lucky to be doing so well, and my bike will be a daily celebration of that. It’s also why I’m so excited for the Team Sarcoma bike tour—because I want to raise awareness (and funds) so that more people can get properly diagnosed and properly treated as early as possible, so they can be lucky and get on a bike again too.