Sydney's Fundraising for Chicago Marathon 2024!
I have always said I wouldn't do a marathon. I had no desire to do one and didn't really want to! Plot twist alert: here we are!
In April 2020, I caught COVID and laid around for a couple of weeks, watching Tiger King and wondering why I couldn't smell my coffee. It was so early in the pandemic that loss of taste and smell hadn't been recognized as official symptoms yet.
!! Spoiler alert: the symptoms didn't go away for a long time. I struggled with long COVID significantly for ~ 2 years.
The most painful time I remember is that when I was really in the thick of it, I was laying in bed and wondering if I would ever *truly* get better. Daniel and I had moved in together a couple months after I had gotten Covid. Neither of us knew what would transpire. (Another spoiler: he’s the best and I couldn’t ask for a more supportive partner). I stared and stared at my ceiling fan, watched it going in circles for hours. I cried and prayed and hoped. I was so sick that I could not pick up dog poop in the backyard without needing to sleep for 12+ hours afterward. I wish I was exaggerating.
As time went on, I slowly healed. I had quite a few big relapses, setting me back and leaving me again to wonder if I just wasn’t going to ever come back from it. And then slowly but surely, I did.
So, here I am: one of the lucky ones from whom long COVID mostly released its grasp.
I wanted to give back to a charity that helps other sick people - and there are a lot of them. One that I especially love, while not directly covid related, is Ronald McDonald House Charities.
RMHC Kansas City has a team of runners they take to Chicago every year. Friends in the past have had a blast with them, so it was natural that I signed up to be on the squad!! I’m thankful to run and thankful to be raising money that goes directly toward the housing and meals of sick children and their families.
SO! If you made it this far in reading, THANK YOU! Any shares, donations, or support is welcome.
A little bit about RMHC:
RMHC helps millions of families each year cope better and focus on the needs of their sick child, allowing them the ability to spend more time with their child, to interact with their doctors, and to make important decisions about their child’s care.
It costs approximately $100 to give a family one night of comfort and support. Your donation, of any amount, will not only help me achieve my goal, but will help children stay close to their families when they need it most!
Thank you again for reading, and I can't wait for October 2024!