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

Weekend Update

Well, I didn't get much done this weekend except some laundry and homework. I watched way too much TV. I decided to take my meds and not try to cut any plywood. I did manage a 3 mile walk which was so nice. I wanted to keep going once I got to the park, but since I forgot to put on chapstick and it was so windy out, my lips were already burning and I had a mile and a half back to the house. Plus I didn't bring any water with me, thank goodness there's a water fountain at the park. But it was sooo cold, it was hard to drink. I got to see the beginning of some kind of medieval sword or jousting group. I wanted to stick around and watch but they were still gathering and setting up. Their costumes were really neat, some more elaborate than others.

And I also made it to the 7pm service at Austin Stone to the excitement of Chris Tomlin leading worship. Man, that guy is full of the Spirit. Of course, if you didn't know who he was or what he looked like, you'd have no idea who he was other than a lead worshipper. And as usual, the message was good. I won't go into too much detail about the message since you can listen to it here, but I love that I learn many new things about the Bible and God's word every Sunday. And Matt, as usual, was funny. The surprising thing about service this Sunday was the church is now using the entire gym for all four services. It was weird when I first walked into the gym and the new set-up threw me off at first. Then I realized why, they were using the whole gym. Matt announced that he didn't want to have to go to five services on Sundays so to have enough room for everyone they pushed the stage back. Even though I don't particularly care for large or mega churches, I don't get that feeling once the worship and message starts. Another funny thing was during announcements, one of the elders was discussing some of the more interesting classes they are offering this semester and I thought about checking one out. It was called Transitions and it was geared toward senior college students or students who just graduated. So I grabbed a class schedule after service ended to read about it and quickly decided it was not for me. It kind of made me laugh. The description reads, "Graduation brings many changes in your life. This class will look at persevering in Christ and practically preparing for life after college. Topics include finding and investing in a healthy church, handling finances in a Godly way, redemptively engaging your work place." It sounds like a great class and I'm sure there a lot of "kids" who would benefit from it, but after being married for almost five years and in the workplace for fifteen, I don't think I need it anymore. We've experienced enough changes for a while.

So I completely forgot today was a holiday which means my doctor won't get my x-ray results until tomorrow. I hope there's something that can be done for my jaw. It's still hurting and the meds aren't really helping much. I stopped taking the Tylenol with codeine completely. All it did was upset my stomach and make me feel whoozy. The muscle relaxers aren't doing much either. I can't tell if my jaw ever stops hurting. But of course, you know I'm not missing any meals. Nothing will come between me and food. I'll puree it and suck it through a straw if I have to.

Free Breast Self-Exam Shower Card, A Video & Farewell

"As part of the three-step breast health approach, Susan G. Komen for the Cure recommends that beginning by age 20, women become familiar with the look and feel of their breasts through monthly breast self-examination (BSE). Komen for the Cure offers a variety of BSE cards in different languages and for specific populations. You can order a free BSE card."

Also, I came across this video online about a 60 mile 3 day walk for breast cancer: http://www.cnn.com/2007/HEALTH/conditions/10/22/cancer.walk/index.html. Makes 5K look like a walk in the park.

As for the farewell, I'm only saying good bye for one week. I'll return next Friday to post pics from the race and tell you how it went, after I turn in my 20 page research paper for my history class. 1.5 pages down, 18.5 to go! Pray for me!