Why I’m doing this

I’ve been telling many people recently about this blog.  I mostly describe it as a training blog, something so that the people who are supporting us can read and follow our progress.  Most of my family and many of my friends know the reasons why I’m doing this insane challenge; the purpose of this post is to be an explanation for everyone else.

Salvatore (Sam) Alea was my mother’s father, but I knew him as Pop-pop.  My mother named me after him and I was also given his nickname.  That nickname has been the source of much confusion in my life as I can’t explain its origins beyond that it was my grandfather’s nickname and I was named after him.

Pop-pop was a one-of-a-kind guy - very friendly, entertaining, kind and generous.  He was once on the cover of Life magazine because of his involvement with the Knights of Columbus.  We had a very special bond and I was very close to him even though I was only 16 when he passed away.  I didn’t know this at the time (in fact most people outside of the family didn’t know) but he struggled with leukemia for about 5 years before finally losing his battle.  The sad irony of him dying from a blood cancer is that he was a prolific blood donor during his lifetime, at one point someone estimated that he donated upwards of 5 gallons of his blood to help others in need.  He was the first person that I was close to that died and I still miss him terribly and wish he was around so that I could share my accomplishments with him.

Aunt Sandra was Pop-pop’s oldest daughter and my mother’s big sister.  Our families have always been close as there were many holidays and picnics celebrated together.  I owe much of my love of travel to Aunt Sandra, as my parent’s sent me off to Aruba with her for the first time when I was only 13.  I was able to return the favor later as she came with my mother and grandmother to visit me while I was studying abroad in France.  Aunt Sandra had suffered from lymphoma and through radiation actually put the cancer in remission.  However, after several months of being in remission she too lost her battle.

Mr. Papa was my eighth grade teacher.  I intend this statement as a compliment, but Mr. Papa was one of the teachers that as a seventh grader you would hope you didn’t get.  In Mr. Papa’s class you put in hard work and you learned science.  The fear that seventh graders had was due simply to the amount of work that Mr. Papa required.  I didn’t put much stock into what I had “heard” about him and he became one of my favorite teachers.  He taught us a lot about science, but also organization and hard work.  I vividly remember one experiment we conducted where we swabbed cells from our mouths and looked at them under a microscope.  It was a few years later when he took ill and ultimately lost his battle with leukemia.

Going back a few years, I have participated in the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s Light the Night walk for a cure.  In New York City this fundraiser is a walk across the Brooklyn Bridge.  I was a participant on the Clifford Chance team my first year and the team captain my second year.  As a team captain I was able to raise over $7000 in donations for the LLS!  I no longer work at Clifford Chance, but I still wanted to support the LLS and TNT was my chance. 

I’ve never been a runner.  Prior to January 2009, I ran 3 miles once in my life (in 1997) and it was a terrible, traumatic experience.  I felt stabbing pains in my lungs and nearly lost control of my bowels (it was bad).  This January, along with Henry, I decided to run the San Diego Marathon.  It has been an amazing journey so far.  By adding one or two miles a week, I have worked up to the point where I ran more than 21 miles yesterday!  I still have some more work to do, but I am impressed with my progress so far. 

All of the time that I have put in, all of the hard work, all of the early Saturday mornings have been for a cause much greater than myself.  I signed up for this to help others, raise money and raise awareness.  I am working towards helping LLS raise money to find cures to these cancers so that others don’t have to suffer the losses that I have. 

If you haven’t donated anything yet, I encourage you to do so.  Also, please consider attending our fundraiser at Connie’s Restaurant in Derby, CT on Friday May 8, 2009.