I'm walking in a 5k, and I can't walk very well or far...

Dear Friends,

I am participating in an upcoming event that is both very important and very exciting to me.  NAMIWalks, the signature walkathon event of the National Alliance on Mental Illness, is being held in Austin, TX at W. Riverside Drive at S. 1st Street on October 8, 2011.

Why am I walking? First of all, as you know, I recently had brain surgery for the second time to remove a brain tumor. The second surgery left my right leg much weaker than expected and walking can be a chore at times. I have been going to physical therapy weekly since the surgery and am getting stronger day by day. I feel that I need a goal to reach for and I have decided that exercising to prepare for a 5k walk is just what I need right now. I don’t know if I’ll be able to finish the walk, but I am going to try. I am walking with my coworkers (who are mental health professionals) and my friends, and I know they will help me get through it.

I would like to ask you to come and walk with me or to donate to support my participation in this great event. Visit my personal walker page to sign up: http://www.nami.org/namiwalks11/TEX/rmommaerts. It features a link to my team's page where you can see who else is walking with me. There is also a link so you can donate directly to me online. Donating online is fast and secure, and I'll get immediate notification via e-mail of your donation.

NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, is the largest education, support and advocacy organization that serves the needs of all whose lives are touched by these illnesses.  This includes persons with mental illness, their families, friends, employers, the law enforcement community and policy makers.  The NAMI organization is composed of approximately 1100 local affiliates, 50 state offices and a national office.

The goals of the NAMIWalks program are: to fight the stigma that surrounds mental illness, to build awareness of the fact that the mental health system in this country needs to be improved, and to raise funds for NAMI so that they can continue their mission.

NAMI is a 501(c)3 charity and any donation you make to support my participation in this event is tax deductible.  NAMI has been rated by Worth magazine as among the top 100 charities "most likely to save the world" and has been given an "A" rating by The American Institute of Philanthropy for efficient and effective use of charitable dollars.

Thank you in advance for your support.

Sincerely,

Roger Mommaerts

Blah.

Blah, blah, blah. That's pretty much how I am feeling about all this fertility stuff. I think the hardest part of infertility are the ups and downs. It's one thing to not know what to expect when it comes to trying to get pregnant with issues, but I am so tired of the emotional ups and downs. It sucks. I can go from being happy and content to no joy and wanting to quit it all the very next minute. I want to be excited about trying to get pregnant but knowing how much it sucks when you find out each month you are not makes you not want to invest emotionally to save yourself from the pain. But dog gone it, I want to be excited. I don't want to get so emotionally drained that I quit or lose joy for this. It's this back and forth and up and down that really, really sucks. I'm sure it's the same for everyone struggling with fertility, adoption, you name it. As our pastor's wife Jen said in her blog this week about her son coming home finally from Ethiopia, "If you are confused right now, if your story isn't going the way you thought, or if you're tangled up in the messy middle where hope is deferred, dear reader, it could just be that God isn't done yet. Your story is not finished." I know God has a plan for us and he will see it through. During this funk I need to do the one thing I should never cease doing, pray. To borrow scripture from a friend's journal:

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13

But those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. Isaiah 40:31

Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. Hebrews 4:16