On the Line

INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA - Apparently in football they have this thing called the ’50 yard line’. It seems to be an important marker for aficionados – they want their team to cross said line with great regularity, they want the opposing team NOT to cross, they want to make sure their seats are as close to it as one can possibly come, that kind of thing. As a hockey girl, I was only vaguely familiar with said line. Until the day that I put my foot on it at the Indianapolis Colts game (the Sunday, October 4th game). Then I got the whole picture; I was standing in the middle of the field when the soldiers brought in the flags, the national anthem was being sung and the Blue Angels flew over the open stadium. All this before the team even came in! When the Colts ran in, the crowd erupted and a few of the guys came over to us and gave hi-fives and hugs. Some were wearing pink tape and others pink shoes (no one had mentioned how fun the footwear was at these events, I might have attended earlier had I known!). Why on earth was I there, how on earth did this come to pass? The Indianapolis Colts decided to honor breast cancer survivors and one fabulous surgeon from the IU Simon Cancer Center (my own wonderful Dr. Bob Goulet) and I was selected to be one of the survivors on the field. Thank you, Colts, for making such a day for so many important women. And their friends. And their families. We all go through it together. GO TEAM!!!

Seeking Your Frill

Me, Heidi and friends at the Frill Seekers Party, October 8

SANDESTIN, FLORIDA - Yes, I know I look a fright. It’s hot down there in the panhandle of Florida, give me a break. :) But look how cute everyone else is in that picture, can you even stand it? Heidi (no, not me, the one next to me with the great hat) just lost her mother-in-law to breast cancer in the middle of planning this event for the Foundation. It was so poignant to hear her give a tribute to the lady who had just lost her battle. It was a fun auction and a great lunch, really rather impressive for a new Vera Bradley retailer to jump in so passionately for the cause with so much on her pretty pink plate. But she did and I love her for it! Thank you, Heidi and Peyton, for such a wonderful day. I hope yours is the last and only event in which someone faints while I am speaking. Yikes!!!

In Her Shoes

FORT WAYNE, INDIANA - This pic is a little blurry, but isn’t that just like life sometimes, anyway? So awhile ago I introduced you to Jen. She went for her first mammogram, to get a baseline. Good move, smart decision, you should all do likewise. :) Jen gets a call "Can you please come in? We found...an...anomaly." No one wants that call, no one wants that sinking-to-the-pit-of-your-stomach feeling, but she got it. She texted me right away and I said "Ok, when and where is the next appointment? I'm coming with you." We went, and she's fine (thank you, God). But really, just going and hanging out with someone at a scary part of their lives is sometimes just enough to help. In the end, as always, Jen ended up giving me more comfort than I was giving to her! I love that sometimes when you go to help someone, you get helped right back in return.

In Service

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA – By now, you’ve all see those websites you click to give free mammograms to women in need, right? Then you click like mad just hooooooping it might make a difference and not be a sham? I was talking to a woman who asked me “well, what do we do if they get bad news? They couldn’t afford the test, how can they handle the treatment?“ Exactly. There are service groups popping up all over the country, and I encourage you to take a look at what they do. Some offer gas cards to get back and forth to treatment, some offer gift certificates for food, the lists go on. Here in Indiana there is a group called IWIN who helps reach out with such things, and I hope every state can do the same. It is important that people know that this disease is financially devastating – even to those of us who have great jobs with wonderful insurance! The total costs of things not covered or even anticipated are staggering. I am writing this today because I spent quite a bit of time this past week with a woman battling breast cancer. She has an incredible job, prominent position, good benefits. The things she has had to do to try to make it financially was a reminder to me to ask you all to be sure to donate for services as well as research. She said to me “Heidi, I had to go in for another biopsy today. I’m terrified they will tell me my cancer has returned - not because I am afraid to die, but because I know we can’t afford to go through this again." Please support research as always, but don’t forget the immediate needs of patients as well.

UPDATE:
This story that was recently in the news illustrates just this point.

In Her Shoes

FORT WAYNE, INDIANA - She’s a sassy little thing, my friend Jen. She’s a great mommy, a wonderful friend, a hard worker and thinks her boss walks on water. Great qualities, huh? All of those things, those uniquely Jen things that make her so special to me are the reasons that she did what she did today. She knows that her daughters need her around for many many many years, and that her friends need her the same amount of time. So today, she took off her shoes and did what we need to remind all of our friends to do – got a mammogram. Go. Now. Do. It.

Eda and Ralph

BURLINGTON, NORTH CAROLINA - I work with people every day who are planning fundraisers to benefit the Vera Bradley Foundation for Breast Cancer. I’m not exaggerating, you can check with my husband; I get calls on weekends about these things. I do so happily, for the record. I know that every dollar we raise will be another step to a cure. Back to the story!!! So the people I chat with typically do one event annually – things like luncheons, tennis tournaments, dinners, etc. Take a look at Eda and Ralph up there. They decided that one event just simply wouldn’t do. They planned a full week's worth of events, each one would knock the wind out of lesser mortals. They enlisted family and friends to be volunteers and have pulled off the biggest grouping of events the VB Foundation has ever seen (including the transformation of a hospital dining room into a 5-star restaurant). Eda and Ralph, I love you. I salute you. I thank you. Most of all, I envy your energy. You make me tired just lookin’ at you. :)

Firm League of Friendship

YORK, PENNSYLVANIA …“enter into a firm league of friendship with each other” is, as I am sure you all remember, from the third Article of the Articles of Confederation of the United States of America. Wait, what? You don’t have ushistory.org as a bookmark or desktop shortcut? Geesh. Well, I will remember all those kinds of things for you. When Vera Bradley retailer Caroline Kimman’s in York, Pennsylvania, called to tell me she was doing an event for breast cancer research and would I be the speaker my heart was screaming "WOULD I ???!!!” Of course I would! As you all know, the redcoats chased the Continental Congress to York in September of 1777 where they spent a full 9 months working on the Articles of Confederation. Fast forward 232 years (almost to the day, I know, cool, right?) to Caroline’s breast cancer fundraiser. There was a wonderful doctor who spoke before I did – she, too, is a breast cancer survivor. She made the observation that while none of us ask to join this group called survivors, we nonetheless are joined as one. There were 2 women who were diagnosed just a few weeks ago, some were survivors for almost 20 years. I thought immediately of the ‘firm league of friendship’ line and how poignant that I was standing here, in this place with these great people. Steeped in history with a future full of hope. God Bless America! (seriously, go re-read our founding documents. Totally worth the time.)

Photo courtesy of susquehannaphoto.com.