Day 5: Luann Keyes

Today we ran from Cedar City, UT to Bicknell, UT. The cliffs/rock formations in Utah are amazing! Like every other day thus far I felt truly blessed to be capable of running through the beautiful scenes. We saw cows standing on the side of the road and running along side our van! Here's some of the pictures from my run today:

Beautiful :) 

So many beautiful cliffs

A cow keeping an eye out for us as we ran around a bend

Me and my running partner, Elizabeth

Today I was in Van #2. We each ran 12 miles; that makes my total 77 miles in 5 days. After running today I still felt like I had more in me! But for a few days we are going to be running 12 miles each so we see if everyone feels more comfortable running that instead of 16 a day. Our bodies will enjoy the little bit of a break as we try and become more conditioned. The weather today was really dry. I was told that it wont change for a while and since we have a while left in this dry heat I got myself some really good moisturizer tonight at the supermarket. The family that cooked us dinner said that their supermarket closes at 8! The mom was so nice and took me, Susan, and Elizabeth to get some items so we would make it there. If we had walked from the Middle School we are staying at then we wouldn't have made it in time! 
The Crane family is a part of the local cross country team. They got donations from other teammates and came up to the school and cooked us spaghetti. It was amazing! As all the food is during this trip :) 
They also brought us milk and breakfast items, water bottles, and some sunscreen! We are so blessed to have supporters wherever we go. The Mom said that their family is heavily affected by cancer and they are also very involved with running. She was glad that they got the chance to come meet our team and help out. Tomorrow morning her and the older daughter are meeting us at 530 and they are going to run some of the first half with us!! 

Today was dedicated to Luann Keyes.
Luann and her husband Terry hosted me and Susan last night. I mentioned them in yesterday's blog but didn't yet tell you part of their story. Luann is a two time breast cancer survivor. She was diagnosed first in 2008. She had gone in for her normal annual check up and they had discovered a lump in her left breast. She said that her doctor had asked to do follow up examinations and she thought nothing of it at the time. Even up to the day she walked in and was told she had breast cancer she was not in the slightest bit concerned. Cancer hadn't even crossed her mind. Luann then scheduled a lumpectomy and began chemo treatment. She said that the first treatment went well and she had thought to herself that it was easy! Not a problem... However, after the fourth treatment of "Devil's Blood"(she says it's called that because its a red liquid) she got deathly ill. The night after the treatment, her temperature spiked and wouldn't come back down. She went to the ER around 10pm with a temperature of 103 and wasn't admitted into a room until almost 2am! Luann said that everyone who came to visit had to be completely covered. Her blood cell count was so low - zero white blood cells and very little red ones. 
Sitting there at their counter listening to her story brought tears to my eyes. Luann told Susan and I how she felt when she was laying there in the hospital. She said she felt so awful that at that point she didn't care if she lived or died. She was done fighting and just wanted everything to end. Her health improved and she went home Sunday evening. Her treatments were all pushed back due to the hospital incident. Luann said that in the summer of 2009 she was finished and felt well. 
At a 6 month check up her doctor called with a concern again. The cancer was back. Same breast. Luann said she had enough the first time around and was not going to go through it again. She told us that she would never wish chemo even on her worst enemy. She decided to have a double mastectomy and reconstructive surgery. It has now been 5 years since treatment began for Luann and the Keyes family. 

Susan and I both ran for Mrs. Keyes today. We had invited her and Mr. Keyes both to the dedication circle but Mrs. Keyes couldnt make it because it was so early in the morning. They told us that the one thing cancer leaves behind forever is the feeling of being lethargic. And Susan and I kept her up very late talking. This morning Terry said that he was impressed his wife stayed up so late. 
Thank you to the Keyes family for welcoming us into your home. We run for people like you. I do hope to stay in touch. I will be praying for your family. Thanks for the support and well wishes for our trip!