I remember my sister, Loreen, sharing an amazing story of courage, teamwork and perseverance last year. Loreen is a breast cancer survivor who just got her 5 year checkup and is cancer-free! In fact, my two other sisters and I just returned from a trip to NYC as she went through two grueling days of tests, scans, and more tests at the amazing Memorial Sloan-Kettering complex of facilities. Loreen is a graduate of the General Seminary of the Episcopal Church and is now living in Tampa, FL about to work as a Chaplain at the Tampa VA hospital. Check out her website and blog at www.FromPaintoPeace.com.
Loreen is a true inspiration and has a powerful transformational story to share herself. She is focused on living in the moment, doing what she is passionate about and, as her doctor recently said, "Just live your life." She is my hero.
When she moved to Tampa, Loreen got involved with the Pink Dragon Ladies - a dragon boat paddling team consisting of breast cancer survivors, some of them still in active treatment . The team competes in dragon boat races all over the country and last year, Canada. In fact, the Windsor, Ontario competition and the amazing story behind it was the inspiration for the book "Paddling Against the Current: Chronicles of Cancer and Courage." The book chronicles the team's victory race in Windsor through individual stories by the team members and is "dedicated to Carol Lee Banks (1952-2008) - passionate paddler, fearless leader, dedicated friend."
From the epilogue:
"As their beloved Carol Lee left the race venue that fateful Saturday afternoon in Windsor, Ontario, too tired to stay and watch the last race, each Pink Dragon Lady made a commitment to win that race as a gift to her. What none of them realized, was that she was giving a gift to them. Carol Lee, and their love for her, gave each Pink Dragon Lady a reason to dig deep, find that fire that burned in her belly, harness its power, and win against all odds. It's a truth of dragon boating; it's a truth of cancer survivorship; it's a truth of life."
Visit the Pink Dragon Ladies blog to order this inspirational book.
Order online by making a $20 donation (free shipping and handling) per
book. List "Book" under Donation Designation. (You can uncheck the box
to make an additional donation to JustGive.org) Name, address, and
email is required for order fulfillment.
Here is an excerpt from the book...Loreen's contribution:
"As the team stood in line to board our boat for the final race in Windsor Canada, several ladies looked at me and said, “Can you say a prayer for all of us?” They knew I had recently graduated from seminary. I told them I was hesitant to pray with the whole team for I was not sure how that would be received, unsure of how people felt individually about prayer. However, I told these ladies that I had just prayed silently for all of us as we lined up. They were elated and a few of them with widened eyes and smiles on their faces said, “Me too. I just prayed.”
I shared with them the prayer that I had just prayed: “God, I ask you to be with all of us now. Please give us the strength, focus, and courage to give our all in this race. May we go beyond ourselves and our own limitations with your help. Amen.”
We looked at each other with contentment and a sense of focus. We won that race and our division final in record time! We went beyond what we thought we could do. We did it together. A flood of emotion and elation filled that boat as we crossed the finish line. We had certainly not been alone during that race. We did it with God’s help and in the spirit of those team members who were too sick to be there with us. As we got out of the boat, those same few ladies looked at me and said….”We did it. Oh, the power of prayer, right!?” Right. What a blessing to be with this team who has such a strength of heart."
Pink Dragon Ladies Trailer from Amber Barrera on Vimeo.
