Relay for Life of Burleson, Texas - My First Event for the American Cancer Society, by femmeflashpoint

Friday evening, April 15, 2011, a few colleagues and I participated, for our first time, in the Relay for Life in Burleson, Texas. The event is to raise awareness of cancer, and the catastrophic effects it has on victims and their loved ones. It’s also a chance to celebrate the victories of those who have survived the fight, and to honor the battle of those who didn’t.

Earlier in the day, harsh winds whipped through Tarrant County. The air was scratchy with sand, and yellowed with smoke from wild-fires blazing in nearly 400,000 acres to the west. It didn’t look like it would be a promising evening for the Relay event.

When I left work and made my way from the south side of Fort Worth to the north side, the interstate was at a standstill from a car accident. I exited, and discovered trying to make better time on the side streets was just as impossible. The winds had caused damage to every single traffic light on my route home.

I work in funeral service, and the entire two weeks prior to the event, our schedule had been loaded and hectic. My team mates and I were feeling worn and strained for days before the relay. The weather wasn’t helping to improve our mood or energy levels, but, thankfully, a few of us persevered and made it to Burleson in time for the event.

After many delays, I arrived in Burleson, and drove into the neighborhood near the school hosting the event. The first thing I noticed was the massive amount of parked vehicles in the area. The parking lots were full, and the streets were lined with cars, trucks and SUVs for blocks in every direction. Local police stopped traffic and tried as best they could to help the drivers find a vacancy to park in. I found one three blocks away and considered myself lucky.

When I made it into the fenced track enclosure behind the school, I was amazed at the crowd. The temperature was dropping, the wind was still spinning sand in the air, and still, a few hundred people had gathered.

Our general manager, Jenny Barnett, was already in our designated ‘campsite’ when I arrived. Our administration manager, Glenda Rader, arrived not long afterwards. We exchanged tired greetings, and then I dumped my stuff, put on my headphones, and started the laps. Many of the people I walked by made their way easily around the track. Many others didn’t have it easy at all. Some had to walk very slowly. Some even had to have assistance, or be pushed in wheel chairs. One participant that stands out in my mind was a woman who looked to be in her late sixties, with an aide supporting her at each elbow. She moved slowly, and had to stop and rest frequently. She had oxygen tubing running from her nose, over her ears, and down her back where the tubes attached to a portable oxygen tank on wheels the aides pulled along behind them. It was obvious that it was a struggle for her, but, one slow step after the other, she kept on walking.

That lady impressed me more than I can say.

Before evening settled, the relay participants cleared to make way for the tribute lap, which is walked by cancer survivors and their care givers. Marching drummers lined the way in front of them as they took their place on the track. There were many, and I think they more than earned the recognition for their struggle to survive. In the lives of those fighting cancer, each day brings the possibility of a new discovery, a new treatment, and a possible cure. Each moment provides a new opportunity for a fresh prayer to be launched toward Heaven in their behalf. Those who had the honor of participating in the survivors’ lap represented hope, to not give up, and to keep on fighting.

Thankfully, as the sun was setting the wind let up. As twilight blanketed us, the luminaries began to light up along the track. Luminaries are memorial bags bearing the names of those who died in their fight against cancer. Walking the track in the dark with the luminaries lighting my way was a sobering experience. I started recognizing some of the names on the decorated bags, and remembering the faces of the ones they were lit for, as well as some of their families. Three of them were children our funeral home had hosted services for, and a few were adults. One of them was in honor of our own dear friend and fellow funeral director, one of two colleagues and good friends we lost to cancer in 2010. I remember one bag, thoroughly decorated, scrawled with a child’s handwriting in crayon stating,“In memory of my Mommy. I miss you very much.”

Later that night, my manger and I stood on the dark lawn watching a video on a big screen situated near the field. As the names and pictures of loved ones lost, and those still in the fight, scrolled across the screen, we stood side by side in silence. The magnitude of the amount of people appearing in the video would have been crushing had it not been for the interspersing of the names with the word ‘survivor’ scripted below them. That term, survivor, means a whole lot to victims and their loved ones in a battle with cancer.

I saw many smiles on the faces of those I passed on the track that night. I heard laughter in the air and discovered so many people to be in admiration of. I was also reminded of many things to be thankful for. Those things were primarily my health, my relationship with Christ, the privilege of prayer and the belief that God can step in and fill the gap when medicine isn’t enough. And, I was reminded to be thankful for the instances when medicine does its job and a life is saved.

When I left the track I understood why the participants return year after year, striving to involve more people. It’s an event where friendships are deepened, appreciation is kindled from a flicker to a blaze, and where you will get up close and personal with courage and hope in every lap.

I offer my thanks and appreciation to Stewart Enterprises for sponsoring our team. And, to Jenny Barnett, Glenda Rader, Tracy, Amy and Joey Fulp for being my teammates, for braving the weather, for the smiles on your faces and for walking through the fatigue we were all feeling. And to you, my reader, should you have the opportunity to participate in a Relay for Life event, I strongly encourage you to do so. You will, without doubt, come away like we did, blessed and far richer than you were when you arrived.