Days 17 & 18: Susan Weber and Sharon Leonard

Both of these days are in honor of Dean McLeod. He was the Dean of The School of Arts & Sciences at Washington University. He passed in September of 2011 after a tough battle with cancer. Day 19 - the day our team is running into STL - is dedicated solely to Dean McLeod and I will talk much more about him then.

Day 17 (7/2) and Day 18 (7/3)
These two days we ran from Kansas City, MO to Springfield, MO and then on to Jefferson City, MO. In case you don't know, Jefferson City is the Capitol of Missouri.
Day 17 I was partnered with Leya and Bethy.

4k Runners at Chipotle! 

We had a little trouble this morning finding our way out of Momma 4k's neighborhood. And we had forgotten a very important binder that we had to turn around for. Then we have a rough time finding a gas station... But once we got onto the route we were good to go! or so we thought.... the route ended up being pretty bad roads to run on. We have ran on road with little shoulder before and thought it would be ok today too.
Everyday prior to today, I felt Gabs there pushing me to keep going and encouraging me to keep up my good work. But not today. After 4 miles I decided that I should listen to my gut feeling and stop running for the day. I helped navigate the rest of the running route and promised to try and run my other miles once we got to Springfield...

Will, Molly and I

We are staying at First Baptist Church in Ozark, MO tonight. I looked for places to run but found nothing close by. So instead I went with some of my teammates to a local grocery store to use WiFi for blogging. Sam called a Chipotle and they agreed to feed us! It was so great of them!! We were allowed to order whatever we wanted :) YUM! 

Day 18 I was partnered with Lindsay.
We were in the first van. Again the route was a little tough with hilly roads and no shoulders in some spots but I felt much better about the running today. My bad gut feeling was gone and I was ready to crank out my 12 miles. I ended up doing 13!! Lindsay and I were a good match. Each of our segments went really well. Unfortunately coming up on mile 9, Lindsay rolled her ankle! She had to stop for the day. I joined Skyler and Hallie. Then to finish the three of us joined Erica and Sam to form a super group!!
We are staying in the Capitol of MO tonight. The town of Jefferson City celebrates the 4th of July on the 3rd and 4th. Once we got to the church we showered and were served dinner that some of the church members so graciously prepared for us and then we walked a block down to the festivities!

These two days were dedicated to Susan Weber and Sharon Leonard. I heard both of their stories two nights ago when we stayed with Jill Klein.

Jill Klein and I

Susan Weber is Jill's sister. Susan passed away on April 12th of this year. She was diagnosed on Jan 5th 2012 with Colon Cancer. At the time of her diagnosis, the cancer was stage 4 and had spread to her liver. Her surgeon said that after a round of chemo, if the tumor was small enough then he would take her into surgery. By April 12th, it had shrank and surgery to remove her entire colon and part of her liver was able to be preformed. At Susan's next check-up, the part of her liver that had grown back was full of malignant tumors. Jill told me that the cancer had like trifolded. It grew astronomically and the doctors didn't know what to say about it.
Jill said that Susan kept trying different drugs and her chemo treatments were scheduled back to back. Still no progress was made in getting rid of the cancer. Nothing ever seemed to work. There was one drug left and so they tried it. Still no progress. By this time the cancer had spread to Susan's brain and had caused the left side of her face to become paralyzed. That is when they knew the end of Susan's struggle was near.
Jill says that some of the hardest moments since Jill's passing is when she remembers the times they had together. Jill and Susan were only two years apart; so many of Jill's childhood memories include her sister. Jill said that it's almost like her memories are missing because Susan is no longer here. Susan and Jill used to joke about how they were going to be silly old women together. Susan would stand on her head on every birthday and Jill does a cartwheel every year. Jill said that her sister was an outstanding woman. She told our team that if Susan were still here she would be the one opening her house to us. Susan was a servant at hearts and she worked with underprivileged individuals.

Sharon Leonard is a friend of Jill's. Sharon is currently fighting against colon cancer. This summer will mark three years of her fight. Sharon had a colostomy. She has been taught how to care for her own colostomy pouch and she has to watch for infection. Sharon also has spots on her lungs. This spots have become stable due to routine chemotherapy treatments. Sharon has been told by her doctors that there is no cure for her disease. She will remain on what they call "maintenance chemo" and eventually her conditions will worsen.

Jill- Thank you for sharing these two stories. And for all of your support with our run this year! I will always be thinking of and praying for your family. It sounds like your sister was an amazing woman. I wish I could have met her. She stayed tough the whole time! And I know you said she was worried her two grandchildren may not remember her, but with the help of you and your other family members I am sure those two little girls will know how much Susan loved them and everyone else around her. I will also have Sharon on my mind. We will be running right be her in the upcoming days. Make sure to tell her the 4k team is running for her! You will always been a welcomed part of the 4k family. We love you "Momma 4k"!