The Big Day

Walk day 2009 has come and gone! It was an amazing day, at once uplifting and heartwarming, seeing thousands of people gathered for a cause that means so much to us. The Phoenix Walk to Cure Diabetes is the largest event of its kind in the world. Last year, JDRF told us that roughly 27,000 people participated in the Phoenix Walk. We don't know this year's figure, but it seemed to us that a similar number of supporters showed on Saturday. Jack's Pack boasted 160 walkers. Collectively, thus far, we have raised over $17,000. We are so very proud and grateful! We arrived around 7:30 a.m. and for the next 90 minutes, there was a continuous influx of Jack's Pack walkers. What a sight to see so many blue shirts emblazoned with our team logo! We gathered for a team photo before the Walk, but our photographer hasn't given us the photos yet. We promise to post pics as soon as we can. 9 a.m. rolled around and we began our three-mile trek. It seemed much easier this year than last year, as at any given point in the route, we knew where we were. We weren't wondering, "how much further?" as we were last year. Our little Max suprised us all. He spent about 5 minutes in our wagon, and the rest of the time, he was either walking or running. Jack also did a fine job, walking for the majority of the miles, spending time in our wagon only when his blood sugar level dropped too low. (Yes, it was a great day, but it was still a day with diabetes.) For Madeline, the event wasn't so much a "walk," but rather a "sit." ;-) Most of the time, she sat in either our stroller or wagon. She figured, "why walk when someone will pull or push me?" Maybe she's onto something! ;-) She certainly enjoyed the ride! What was neat was that walkers strolled at different paces. So along the route, we encountered and were able to walk side-by-side with many of our Jack's Pack team members. By the time we reached the finish line, we were all ready to sit down and relax...except Madeline, who was ready to run around and play. ;-) Back at our starting point on the park grounds, we enjoyed eating lunch with our friends and family. Endorphins had kicked in, and everyone was happy. A group of Tempe police men moseyed on over and struck up conversations with the kids. One of them revealed to Jack that he, too, has type 1 diabetes. He was diagnosed at age 8 and is now 30. He pulled his D kit out of his pocket, showing Jack his insulin pens and blood sugar meter. To us adults, it was funny to see this D kit stored next to a taser and a pair of handcuffs. He gave Jack a little inspirational talk, reminding him that he should not let diabetes stand in the way of his dreams. He said that when he was little, he wanted to grow up to be a police man, and there he was, an officer living his dream with T1D. One of his fellow officers let the kids play with his handcuffs. Their wrists and hands are so small that they slipped right out, but it was a big deal to these kiddos to be able to play with the real thing. Thank you, Tempe P.D., for adding some unexpected fun and inspiration to our day! An added bonus was running into a number of our D friends. While they all assembled their own Walk teams and organized their own fundraising efforts, they're really all on the same team as we are, working so very hard for the same cause. Because of our shared hopes and dreams, it felt special to see them at the Walk. The Walk was a ton of effort, a mix of emotions and a lot of fun. We are completely fatigued at the moment, but we don't care. The Walk was worth it. Jack is worth it. We'll continue to campaign and commit ourselves, mind, body and soul, until a cure is found. Although the Walk is over, our blogging is not. We will continue to write and update this site. Yep, that's right. We're hooked on blogging. Thus, until next time, take care our dear readers. :-)