"Give this Christmas away!"

"You have the power to give someone hope far beyond their wildest dreams [...] If there’s love in your heart don’t let it stay there [...] your life will be changed by the gifts you receive when you give this Christmas away![...]It’s doing what love does even when no one’s watching you."

This Christmas I was fortunate enough to experience this first hand with the help of four of my lovely Twisters... it made my holidays a Christmas to remember & cherish! Thanks to Marie for sharing this video!

Merry Christmas!!

Ride with Larry "If you love life - you'll fight for it"

Sometimes I have a hard time getting motivated to head out for a bike ride... it's never because of bad weather (let's face it: if you're living in the northwestern part of Germany, you learn early on in life that there's no bad weather, there's only wrong clothing), but sometimes my shoulder problems and/or spine injury make it difficult to ride.

Today, I stumbled upon a short video that promotes a feature length documentation about Larry Smith from Vermillion, South Dakota. Here's what the website says about Larry:

"Larry, an avid cyclist and beloved small-town baker will bike across South Dakota with the support of his family and community to show the power of keeping your body active and mind positive, proving that the best cure is living life to its fullest."

"The film follows Larry during his quest to bike across his state, pushing his limits and expanding the boundary of possibilities for those with Parkinson's. With this bike ride and documentary film, we hope to raise awareness and de-stigmatize Parkinson's disease while inspiring all those diagnosed, their family, friends, and caretakers." (from: http://vimeo.com/15533022)

He certainly managed to inspire me and thinking about Larry will help me the next time I'm getting on my bike... despite the challenges and pain!

Ride with Larry (trailer) from Ride with Larry on Vimeo.

Cancer doesn't discriminate...

Cancer doesn't discriminate:

• it attacked the body of a young woman in highschool, who had to fight for her life and worry about insurance, instead of worrying about "teen" issues,
• it killed a two-year-old boy, who'll never get the chance to experience all that life has to offer,
• it attacked the body of a young mom, who, instead of enjoying the first months with her newborn baby, had to go through chemo and radiation, worrying about work, financial challenges, and whether or not she'd be there long enough to take care of her baby girl,
• it killed a beautiful socialite & charity lady who was battling skin cancer for a 2nd time,
• it continues to attack friends who are facing ongoing cancer scares, biopsies, excisional surgery & cancer treatments,
  
• it killed several relatives and loved ones,
• it made my Soul Sister an extremely competent and caring co-survivor by attacking and killing her loved ones,
  
• it attacked a young man who should be able to concentrate on getting his doctorate degree, instead of spending weeks on end at the hospital and getting way too educated in everything cancer-related,
• it tries (and continuously fails) to get the best of a friend who's one of the bravest person I've ever met, and who deserves to concentrate on her recovery and education without having to worry about any more cancer scares,
• cancer attacked 2 year old Finn, who, despite going through radiation, surgery & chemo and losing one of his kidneys in the process, is still alive and thriving,
  
• it will kill two good friends in the next weeks or months, it will leave children without their fathers/mothers. It will leave loving partners without their soul mates,
• it might attack/kill a friend of yours, a colleague, a relative, a role-model.
  

Cancer doesn't care about your sex, race, religion, age or sexual orientation!
Cancer doesn't care if you're in school, unemployed, earn minimum wage or have a well-paid job!
Cancer doesn't care if you're suffering from a "good" cancer ("just" skin cancer or "just" thyroid cancer) or a cancer type that is difficult to treat. It will prove to you that there's nothing "just" about any type of cancer!

If that's not reason enough to get you involved in the fight against cancer, I assume nothing will. Everyone can make a difference and spread hope to the 28 Million around the globe who are living with cancer right now. If you'd like to support my LIVESTRONG fundraising, please message me, and I'll let you know how you can donate (every cent adds up, so don't be shy to donate a smaller amount).