I can vividly remember the doctor explaining the pro's and con's of whether to risk my son's life to spare my own or to take the chance and see what happened in order to buy him more precious time within the womb. The decision to deliver my son early was aided by the fact that he was born at T C Thompson Children's Hospital at Erlanger in Chattanooga, TN. This hospital is supported, in part, by The Childrens Miracle Network. This organization raises funds that enables the hospital to provide lifesaving medical care to patients like my son. Because of others generosity, my son not only survived his traumatic birth, he has thrived and grown into a strong, tall, handsome 18-yr old young man.
When I discovered the Run Geordie Run organization, the thing that pulled me in was the fact he is running to raise funds for The Childrens Foundation (Charity No. 1000013). They are England's version of The Childrens Miracle Network and once I figured that out, I was sold. This was my chance to “pay forward” the debt of gratitude I felt for my son's life being spared. I volunteered to assist Mark in his public relation efforts because I go to North Carolina State University and am majoring in PR. Mark gladly accepted my offer and an alliance was formed.
As the run was about to begin, I decided to fly out to California and meet Mark and the first members of the support team, make sure he had what he needed to get started and help him acclimate to the USA in general. The original plan was for me to be with him in CA from the time he got off the plane until the end of the first official day of the run. Then I was going to meet up with him in Las Vegas for some PR appearances, then again in Columbus, Ohio to attend my first NUFC match and finally, I would be at the finish line in NYC when he ran up the pier in Coney Island. This whole plan changed in the few days we spent in CA. He needed me to be a part of the support team until the end and I knew that was were I was supposed to be this summer, so I went home, took care of the things I needed to take care of and 3 weeks later, I rejoined the team permanently.
Not long after my return to the crew, Mark asked me if I wanted to do some miles with him. I was shocked and started laughing. You see, I am not a marathon runner. I tore the ACL in my right knee in November. I have arthritis in my knees and toes and a bone spur in my right heel. To say that I don't have the body of a gym rat is an understatement. When I politely refused his offer and reminded him I wasn't a runner, he reminded me I could walk and asked me to see how far I could walk with him. It gave him some company during his cooling down time and it would be great exercise for me. I agreed and off we went. The first day, we walked 2 miles and I was so tired afterward that I went right to sleep as soon as we got back to the RV.
That first time out was a little over a month ago. These days, weather and traffic permitting, I hit the road with him every day, sometimes twice a day. I have gone from collapsing in exhaustion after a 2 miles walk to putting in 9 miles with him yesterday and upon returning to the RV, I cooked dinner and did laundry with no thought of being tired, etc. I am losing weight, getting a tan and most importantly, I am forming a bond with a man that I now look upon as a brother. But somewhere along the way, I decided this needed to be more than about me. So I joined Team Run Geordie Run. This is a group of individuals that are doing various things to help Mark reach his fund raising goals. We each have our own justgiving page but all funds are counted towards Mark's target for the charities. My charity of choice is The Childrens Foundation because I want to do what I can to help other parents that are facing the same fear I did when my son's life was at risk.
So far, I have put in 34 miles with Mark and I am going to continue walking as many miles as possible until the end of the run. I hope to actually be running with him by the time he reaches NYC. It would be a great motivation if I could get my fund raising for The Childrens Foundation to take off. To date, I have only had one donation but I am sure there will be more. It is important to note that by giving through my justgiving page, it doesn't take away from Mark's fund raising efforts. It enhances them since all donations get funneled into the same account and sent straight to the the charity.
If you would like to support my walks with Mark and help us reach our goal of £25,000 (that's $39872.47 for us Americans) go to: http://www.justgiving.com/Shelli-Mayfield-2011
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