Aloha!

Aloha! As many of you know, at Ironman Arizona 2009, I qualified for the Ironman World Championship. In Arizona, I carried 140 LIVESTRONG bracelets with me throughout the 140.6 mile race. On each bracelet was the name of one of our cancer patients or someone who has battled cancer. It was their gracious sharing of energy, love, and guidance that inspired my performance and I was able to place second in my age group and qualify for Kona! It was only with the support of so many truly courageous individuals who have battled cancer that I’m on my way to the Ironman World Championship in Hawaii on October 9, 2010. It would not have been possible without their inspiration.

I would like to invite everyone who has battled cancer to come with me in spirit to Kona where the motto of the day is “Anything is Possible”. As an oncology nurse at University of Maryland Greenebaum Cancer Center, I have come to understand that we are not meant to face challenges alone, especially one as daunting as cancer. My hope is that as we support one another... caregivers, patients, and families... we will have the strength and resources to believe that "Anything is Possible" and we will one day soon be victorious in our collective battle against cancer.

In the Hawaiian language, ALOHA means much more than hello or goodbye or love. It’s deeper meaning is the "joyful (oha) sharing (alo) of life energy (ha) in the present (aio)". The Hawaiian lei is the symbol of the "Aloha Spirit" as well as the Ironman World Championship. My intention is to put the name of individuals who have faced cancer on the leaf or flower pedal of leis and take them with me to Hawaii where they will be placed on Alii Drive to greet and inspire all of those participating in this challenging event. I am working on a way to do this through our website that will allow individuals to put the name and message of hope or remembrance of the person I will take with me in spirit to Kona and also allow them to print out the leaf or flower pedal to hold on to or give to the individual. Stay tuned here for more details as we finalize the process. Thank you everyone for your love and support! ALOHA!