This summer marks the five year anniversary of Roger Miller's lymphoma diagnosis. A few short months later, he passed away. As the leader of our congregation, his absence was felt on so many levels. It had only been two months since he had given me some of the best advice I had ever heard, "Anywhere worth going is always uphill" and there we all were, struggling uphill through grief toward understanding.
I stumbled upon LLS and TNT quite by accident a few months later and it all seemed so clear. I was going to complete a triathlon and I was going to do it in memory and honor of a man who I knew would always inspire me to keep going uphill. I joined the Team and became a part of a family of amazing athletes who strive for cures, one mile at a time. I was nervous and overwhelmed and so often afraid of failure but the coaches and the staff were always there to encourage me in my uphill battle and help me toward my personal finish line. Less than a year later, I found myself crossing the actual finish line of the Disney World Triathlon, having a new sense of self awareness and more confidence than I had ever felt.It is one of my greatest blessings to spend my time and energy with such an amazing group of talented professionals, volunteers and advocates as we all work together to cure cancer, improve the lives of patients and their families and help as many as will break through the tape at the end of their own uphill climbs.
GO TEAM!!
