Titanium Ted

Today we participated in the Greater Hartford Arthritis Walk. My friend's son is this year's ambassador. He's 9 and has been suffering from an acute case of Juvenile Arthritis (JA) since he was 4, I believe. You'd never know it. He's an amazing athlete, and has been playing Travel Soccer (very competitive) since he was 7. The only way you'd know that something might be wrong is that the medicine he takes gives him terrible psoriasis and he breaks bones very easily so he's frequently in a cast. He misses quite a bit of school, but more often than not, he's there, even if he's had a treatment. Now the arthritis is in his eyes and he had to have eye surgery and have special drops put in his eyes 3 or 4 times a day. We've never done a "walk" before. But I was inspired by Ted's story and signed us up. I'm hooked. I'm easily moved. The letter they sent out made me sob. Watching my husband complete a 5K (no big deal for him) has me welling up. Not just the finish line, just watching him run. I follow several blogs and one of them is written by the wife of our school's 5th grade teacher. She's 30 and beautiful and fighting an uphill battle with Leukemia. And she was out there. Every time I looked at her, I was so moved to where I couldn't speak. Because if I did, I openly cried. Here's someone out there, fighting the battle of her life, supporting another cause. I'm moved. I'm impressed. I'm embarrassed that I don't do more. I have no excuses, I'm healthy and strong. Move it or lose it, right?

My sweet healthy strong lucky kids and their friends walking for a good cause.