What a wonderful evening we all had for the recent Capital City 5k Transplant Walk/Run. There were dozens of Restoring Hope Transplant House guests, friends and supporters at the event. It felt like our very own Family Reunion.
Something seriously needs to be said before it gets lost forever, though, about how you all helped to create one of the coolest moments I have ever witnessed that night.
As most of you know, Ben (first simultaneous heart and liver transplant recipient in UW history) and Liz (pancreas recipient) spent over 10 months at Restoring Hope Transplant House for various health related issues and are still back on a regular basis while trying to sort through it all. They have become some of my very best friends...we have been through a lot together.
At the end of the one mile mark, I pulled Liz aside and said “as your friend I really think you guys should stop here and take the bus back!”
Fast forward to the 2 mile cone where I told them both “I have NO problem finishing last and I would be happy to get you an Uber the rest of the way if you need it, but I really don’t want to finish dead last all by myself at this point...so let’s go!”
One last stop at the 3 mile marker to catch a breath and some water and we can hear the emcee yell out...”looks like we have a few more left...you can do it!”
With the finish line in sight, I could make out the silhouettes of several familiar Transplant House friends all waiting and cheering us on long after the other participants had taken off. I could hear Liz crying down the entire home stretch and I was even glad I was wearing sun glasses at the time. Then a big group of our friends started to walk back out through the finish line towards us to help guide Ben and the rest of us in triumphantly. Cheers, tears, loyal friends...we finished dead last in an event that had a gajillion participants and it was one of the proudest moments of our lives. Appreciate you all for making this such a special day!❤️
Something seriously needs to be said before it gets lost forever, though, about how you all helped to create one of the coolest moments I have ever witnessed that night.
As most of you know, Ben (first simultaneous heart and liver transplant recipient in UW history) and Liz (pancreas recipient) spent over 10 months at Restoring Hope Transplant House for various health related issues and are still back on a regular basis while trying to sort through it all. They have become some of my very best friends...we have been through a lot together.
At the end of the one mile mark, I pulled Liz aside and said “as your friend I really think you guys should stop here and take the bus back!”
Fast forward to the 2 mile cone where I told them both “I have NO problem finishing last and I would be happy to get you an Uber the rest of the way if you need it, but I really don’t want to finish dead last all by myself at this point...so let’s go!”
One last stop at the 3 mile marker to catch a breath and some water and we can hear the emcee yell out...”looks like we have a few more left...you can do it!”
With the finish line in sight, I could make out the silhouettes of several familiar Transplant House friends all waiting and cheering us on long after the other participants had taken off. I could hear Liz crying down the entire home stretch and I was even glad I was wearing sun glasses at the time. Then a big group of our friends started to walk back out through the finish line towards us to help guide Ben and the rest of us in triumphantly. Cheers, tears, loyal friends...we finished dead last in an event that had a gajillion participants and it was one of the proudest moments of our lives. Appreciate you all for making this such a special day!❤️
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