As a lot of you know I am the founder of Spirit Jump, a non profit organization with the mission to support those battling cancer. Spirit Jump was honored to be 1 of 4 charities involved in the #beatcancer mission to get the most shared messages on the internet. This attempt was successful and got in the Guinness Book Of World Records!! And ontop of that over $70,000.00 was raised to be shared between the 4 charities involved.
While this was only a 24 hour attempt the message continued on long after those 24 hours lapsed. In fact someone even jumped out of an airplane to support #beatcancer. DigiJeff, who works with Chamillionaire a multi platnium artist, had never jumped out of a plane before nor did he ever want to. But, he saw an opportunity to make a difference and took it.
Please take a moment to watch this video about DigiJeff's #beatcancer jump!
Vegas!
As many of you know Spirit Jump had the honor and privilege to attend both Blogworld and Sitscation in Las Vegas. It was an amazing experience and we met so many wonderful people, organizations and business.
Our founder, Meaghan Edelstein, was invited by Blogworld to be a speaker on the Kick Cancer's Ass Panel along with Jay Scott of Alex's Lemonade Stand, Drew Olanoff from Blame Drew's Cancer and Natalie Lent of Stand Up To Cancer. It was an amazing opportunity for Meaghan to meet some very influential, inspiring and brilliant people who fighting to bring cancer awareness to the forefront of peoples minds and hearts.
As many of you know Spirit Jump was also invited to Blogworld as 1 of 10 winners of the Name Your Cause contest held on Twitter. This gave us an opportunity to have a booth at the Expo on Friday 10-1:30 where we gave out "swag" bags and encourage everyone around to sign up and become a Spirit Jumper. All the items in our "swag" bags were donated by Spirit Jumpers like Live Life Solid, Do Life Now, Pinwheel Girls, Destiny, Amy B.- THANK YOU!
Spirit Jump was also involved in a charity contest called Charity Smackdown with the other winners of Name Your Cause. We were the heavy underdogs and won by only $30. We could not have done this without all our amazing supporters who made this win possible! As the winners of Charity Smackdown Paypal will donate $2,000.00 to Spirit Jump!
Spirit Jump knew right away that we had to donate some of our winnings back to the other charities. Each one of these charities raises money for important causes and were represented by amazing people who we fell in love with. So, when Spirit Jump receives its $2,000 prize from PayPal we will be donating some of that to the following charities:
Heifer Portland
3For5
Canine Companions for Independence
Best Friend Animal Society
Alex's Lemonade Stand
Stepwise Foundation
Surfrider Foundation
LA's Best
Mothers Fighting For Others
3For5
Canine Companions for Independence
Best Friend Animal Society
Alex's Lemonade Stand
Stepwise Foundation
Surfrider Foundation
LA's Best
Mothers Fighting For Others
Here are some photos of the Spirit Jump team with some of the above charities:
(Jay & Melissa of Alex's Lemonade Stand)
(Meaghan with Noland & Bryan of Heifer Portland)
(Rocky of Mothers Fighting For Others)
(Kerri with 3For5)
(Sally of Stepwise)
(Bryan with two representatives of LA's Best)
Spirit Jump was also very honored to be invited to SITSCATION and man did we have a blast with these ladies!
The amazing ladies at SITS threw a fabulous fundraiser party for us last Friday at the Venetian and it was so much fun! I (Meaghan) met many of the women I have been looking up to for the past year and a half I have been blogging, I danced my butt off AND SITS raised over $900.00 for us that night!!!! This was just more than we could have ever imagined and for that we will be eternally grateful!
To top it all off SITS also hosted an online auction that very day and will be hosting a second one this Friday. We have been in such desperate need for funding and these ladies really pulled through for us....THANK YOU!
Spirit Jump was part of a Historical moment
Some of you may have seen the #beatcancer over the past few days. This was an attempt by an organization called Everywhere to set a Guinness World Record for distribution of the largest mass message through social media. Four charities were chosen to be a part of this record setting attempt and Spirit Jump was one of the four which also included Stand Up To Cancer, Alex's Lemonade Stand and Bright Pink. Along with setting a record over $70,000 was raised to be shared between the four charities involved.
We at Spirit Jump would like to extend a huge thank you to MillerCoors, Ebay/PayPal and Everywhere for making this possible and for including us in this important record setting message #beatcancer.
Im Speaking At Blogworld!
Spirit Jump is extremely excited about our upcoming trip to Las Vegas where we will attend Blog World and SITSCATION .
Thursday 10/15, SJ founder Meaghan Edelstein will be a panelist on the Kick Cancer’s Ass panel at the Blog World conference along with other fellow cancer ass kickers like Drew Olanoff of Blame Drew’s Cancer, Stand Up To Cancer & Alex's Lemonade Stand
Friday night, SITS will be throwing a fantastic party for Spirit Jump with a raffle and online auction. SITS is generously donating 100% of the proceeds generated from the raffle and online auction to Spirit Jump! You can participate in the online auction by clicking here starting this Friday morning.
Spirit Jump is about to get seriously SMACKED DOWN. Here's why. As many of you know Spirit Jump is a small grassroots organization that operates with virtually NO budget. We will be going up against some VERY LARGE, well organized organizations with MUCH LARGER budgets in what's called the Charity Smackdown. So it looks like we are about to get SMACKED DOWN BIG TIME...UNLESS... YOU HELP THE UNDERDOG WIN!
Spirit Jump will be competing against 8 other charities who all won spots to Blogworld through the Name Your Cause contest (you can see the other causes by clicking the link).
The contest begins on Thursday October 15 @ 1pm EST and runs through Saturday October 17 @ 12pm EST. Whichever charity receives the most donations through Paypal wins! The first prize winner receives $2,000 from Paypal, second place $1,000 and third $500.
HOW YOU CAN HELP SPIRIT JUMP WIN
Make a donation to Spirit Jump on any one of the following sites through Paypal. Any amount will help $1,$5, $10, $20 whatever. Also if you know any BIG HITTERS who would like to donate to a great cause this would be the time to call them. (You do not need to have a Paypal account to do this you can use a credit card):
Only donations made through the PayPal widgets via the sites listed above count towards the contest!
The charity with the most donations WINS! You can see a who is winning by visiting the Charity Smackdown website.
Whether you are able to donate or not here is how you can also help us win:
We are HUGE underdogs and the only way we stand a chance at winning is with your help!
1) If you use Twitter follow @BWsmackdown to watch the smack talk and keep track of who is winning. When Tweeting use the hashtag #BWsmackdown.
2) Post and alert all of your friends on Facebook
3) If you Blog then Blog about it
4) Call your friends, email your contacts, knock on your neighbors doors whatever you can think of to help get the word out
Thanks so much for your support! Now let's not let those BIG BULLY'S PUSH LIL OL' SPIRIT JUMP AROUND! NOW GO GET EM!
A couple firsts for this Cancer Ass Kicking Gal
Wow I have been neglecting this amazing blog and that is bad, bad, bad! Don't worry I am not going to abandon it so please stick with me! So much has been going on and there have been so many firsts for me these days. Therefore, this blog is dedicated to FIRST:
I ran a 5k in honor of those who lost their lives and are currently battling Breast Cancer. It is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and we should all be doing our part in raising awareness. Most people reading this blog know that I do not nor did I ever have breast cancer but instead had 3b cervical cancer. However, many of you do not know that my mother and aunt both battled breast cancer. This is a serious disease and we all need to show support for those who have and are facing it.
This run was also about me though. Since my battle with cancer I have lost all my muscle and a lot of my courage to run. Thanks to my amazing boyfriend, Bryan, I have been running every day. Bryan encourage me to to do this run and while it was difficult I felt so amazing when I crossed that finish line. I did something I thought I could never do after cancer and man does that feel great - IN YOUR FACE CANCER!
I RAN A 5K
This run was also about me though. Since my battle with cancer I have lost all my muscle and a lot of my courage to run. Thanks to my amazing boyfriend, Bryan, I have been running every day. Bryan encourage me to to do this run and while it was difficult I felt so amazing when I crossed that finish line. I did something I thought I could never do after cancer and man does that feel great - IN YOUR FACE CANCER!
I WENT TO A CANCER WORKSHOP
I know it sounds strange but since my diagnosis in February 2007 I have NEVER participated in any type of therapy (individual or group). Yesterday I did participate in a workshop for woman who have battled cancer. All I can say was this experience was amazing and showed me how much I need to work through. After this experience I would highly suggest workshops for those who are not so interested in private therapy sessions. I met some wonderful men and women and was able to share my experience and hear that I am not alone in the feelings I felt were so strange and hard to express.
I WAS INVITED TO SPEAK AT TWO CONFERENCES
I never thought anyone would want me to speak at a conference so man was I surprised when I was asked to participate in two very impressive conferences. The first is SITSCATION an amazing two day conference put on by the lovely SITS Girls Next Friday night they are hosting a party/raffle where all proceeds will go to my charity, Spirit Jump. I am also going to attend the entire conference, learn tons and meet some amazing people.
The second conference I was invited to speak at is Blog World Yes you heard me right Blog World! In 2007 they had 98 Million viewers (attendees + online viewers) and MEAGHAN EDELSTEIN is going to be on a panel. I am so excited about this. I will be on the panel with Drew from I Blame Drew's Cancer, Stand Up To Cancer and Alex's Lemonade Stand. The panel is set for Thursday 10:00-11:15.
AND....Spirit Jump won 1 of 10 spots for NPO's to participate in Blog World. This means Spirit Jump will be a part of the Expo and have an opportunity to share our mission with over 40,000 attendee's. We are just beyond excited!
So things have been crazy but with GREAT things! I can't thank you all for the support you have given me and the guidance as well. Don't give up on this blog I promise to post more often and share all the things that I can do and be after Kicking Cancer's Ass!
The Begining
December 2006 is when it all began. I went to an OBGYN in
Dr.- “Things look pretty bad”
Dr- “I think you have pretty advanced cervical cancer”
Dr-“If you hear hooves, its probably horses not zebras”
Dr- “Have a good holiday I’ll call you after the holidays”
Needles to say I was SHOCKED! I mean I never imagined I had cancer and if I did this was not how I expected to be told. For the next half hour I sat in my car, alone, confused and scared. There was no way this could be happening to me. So, I started calling family and friends and everyone said, “No way, that can’t be the case”. What was I suppose to do, think or say. What I did was make an appointment with another OBGYN for a second opinion.
After the first doctors visit I started bleeding heavily and experiencing terrible pain. I had to wait two weeks before I could be seen by the new OBGYN. When I finally got to see the new doctor things had gotten pretty bad. I was passing tennis ball sized blood clots, bleeding through my clothes and sleeping maybe 4 hours a night. They conducted all sorts of tests on me. When they attempted to do a PAP I screamed in pain. The Nurse Practitioner tried three times but the pain was too much. She decided to get one of the doctors but he was “too busy” to see me. They scheduled an appointment for an ultra sound and sent me on my way.
The next month is a bit of a blur for me but basically this is how it went. After the first visit the pain and blood increased significantly. I called the doctor’s office the next day and the day after that. “There’s nothing we can do for you” is basically the answer I got. When I got the ultra sound it was horribly painful (it shouldn’t have been under normal circumstances). All the tests showed no STDS or PID and the ultra sound showed no cysts. But the pain was getting worse and the bleeding too. Law school had started up again, my second semester of my second year. I had to go to school. The drive was an hour each way and I couldn’t make it the entire way without stopping because I was in so much pain. Each day the pain and blood increased. I called the doctor everyday and went into the office several times a day but nothing. I asked if I could have a CT scan but they didn’t want to do that. On several occasions I brought someone with me to my visit because I felt like I was going crazy! How could these doctors not be helping me? How could they let me go home when I was bleeding so badly? How can I keep living like this? But even with others in the examining room with me the answers were the same: “There’s too much blood I can’t see anything”. WHAT!?! And if you are saying to yourself, “no way that can’t be true” just ask my friend who was sitting by my side holding my hand and she will tell you, “yup that’s exactly what they said”.
This continued for a month. Eventually I stopped sleeping entirely. I would lay in my bed in horrific pain. So many thoughts went through my head, am I dying, should I call the doctor, should I call my parents, what can I do….The only time I felt any kind of relief was when I was in the bathtub so I took, and I am not exaggerating, between 20-30 baths throughout the night. I would wait till 7 or 8 in the morning and then call the emergency line at my doctors. Why you ask, because I didn’t want to bother them, I didn’t want them to be annoyed with me, I needed them!! The answers I got were never helpful; “maybe you’re constipated” was one of my favorites. What’s even funnier is I believed them!!! Now you may be asking yourself, what about the first doctor who told you the hooves bit? Well I just thought he was crazy. What a crazy way to tell someone they might be dying of cancer. Insensitive, dangerous and cold are only three of the many ways I could describe that guy. I believed these doctors. I trusted them! Aren’t we always told to get a second opinion, well that’s what I did and I believed them. I told my new OBGYN about the first doctor and his diagnosis but they said, and I quote “If you were 60 years old I would tell you, you advanced cervical cancer, but you are too young and there is no way-YOU DO NOT HAVE CANCER I CAN ASSURE YOU OF THAT”. Thankfully my friend was with me during this visit so she can tell you that yes that is what the doctor said right after he said there was too much blood to see anything.
One day my OBGYN returned one of my many calls and left a message, I was in class when he called. That’s right folks I was going to ALL my classes, taking notes, getting called on etc….I checked the message and started crying as I listened. He was dropping me as a patient; actually his secretary was doing it!! “The doctor wanted me to tell you there’s nothing more we can do for you” How could this be happening? What was I suppose to do now? I’ll tell you what I did, I called a new doctor. I also called the OBGYN that was trying to drop me back. What did they say you ask: “No, no, no we aren’t dropping you we are just telling you there’s nothing more we can do” So I was annoying them, I was “putting them out”. Well excuse me I thought you were suppose to call your doctor when you were bleeding, in pain, losing weight. I forgot to tell you, one of the many visit they weighed me and I had lost 10 pounds in less than a week. If you want my opinion I think they thought I was crazy but crazy people don’t bleed excessively so how do they explain that??
I went to a GP who told me he thought I was just suffering from shocked. I had told him my entire story and this doctor believed that I was shocked and stressed from the original doctor telling me I might have cancer. I told this doctor that it had been at least a week and a half since I last slept. Not one minute, thirty seconds, nothing. NO SLEEP! He gave me Lunesta and said that I should take two and if I didn’t sleep to call him at home the next morning. No sleep! I even took 3 and still didn’t sleep one minute. PAIN, PAIN, PAIN that’s all I had. I called the next morning, a Saturday, and the Dr. told me to come to his office immediately. He wasn’t working but would meet me there. This time the doctor gave me Seroquel. This is a medication that is giving to people with chemical imbalances. It worked the first night. But the second night it did not and I was back to no sleep.
Finally one day I could take no more. I was still with my OBGYN, even though he tried to drop me. Even though my OBGYN told me not to go to the hospital I did. I drove myself to the hospital. That’s right I went alone. I was alone through all of this. Besides my friend going to the doctor with me that one day and one of my sisters friends going to the doctor with me I was all alone. That was the worst time of my life. Worse than Chemo, Radiation, Surgery etc…Even thinking about it brings me to a dark place.
That’s all I can write for now.
CranioSacral Therapy & My Guest This Tuesday On The Spirit Jump Podcast Show
This week I was lucky enough to try CranioSacral Therapy and I LOVED it! So I decided to invite Kimberly LaRue to be this Tuesdays guest on The Spirit Jump Podcast Show (Tuesday 7-9EST www.wafs.tv).
Kimberly is a licensed Massage Therapist, CranioSacral Therapist, Yoga and Meditation Instructor, Holistic Cancer Therapist and Lecturer. Kimberly strives to encourage and support people in their discovery of their own natural healing ability, leading to a greater sense (awareness) of well-being and overall health.
I had the pleasure to meet Kimberly and benefit from a CranioSacral Therapy session. It was amazing and I am shocked I had never heard of it before. After my session I felt lighter, less stressed and just plain better. My first thought as I was walking out of the center was "I wish I had taken advantage of CranioSacral Therapy earlier".
As a cancer fighter I have endured many types and levels of pain. For the past two years I have tried almost everything including more pain medications than I care to mention (Fontanel patches, lolli pops, diloted, hydrocodone, oxycodone, oxycoton etc...) All these pain meds did was numb me. I still had pain but I cared less about the pain.
Yoga, Meditation and CranioSacral Therapy are wonderful ways for people with cancer to heal both emotionally and physically. I encourage you all to stop by, watch, listen and call in this Tuesday to learn more about the healing power of a gentle touch!
You can read more about Kimberly and her amazing work by visiting Shade Tree Yoga and Wellness
Kimberly is a licensed Massage Therapist, CranioSacral Therapist, Yoga and Meditation Instructor, Holistic Cancer Therapist and Lecturer. Kimberly strives to encourage and support people in their discovery of their own natural healing ability, leading to a greater sense (awareness) of well-being and overall health.
I had the pleasure to meet Kimberly and benefit from a CranioSacral Therapy session. It was amazing and I am shocked I had never heard of it before. After my session I felt lighter, less stressed and just plain better. My first thought as I was walking out of the center was "I wish I had taken advantage of CranioSacral Therapy earlier".
As a cancer fighter I have endured many types and levels of pain. For the past two years I have tried almost everything including more pain medications than I care to mention (Fontanel patches, lolli pops, diloted, hydrocodone, oxycodone, oxycoton etc...) All these pain meds did was numb me. I still had pain but I cared less about the pain.
Yoga, Meditation and CranioSacral Therapy are wonderful ways for people with cancer to heal both emotionally and physically. I encourage you all to stop by, watch, listen and call in this Tuesday to learn more about the healing power of a gentle touch!
You can read more about Kimberly and her amazing work by visiting Shade Tree Yoga and Wellness
Fellow Fighter Art
When I had Hodgkin lymphoma in 2002, I promised myself that when I was healthy again, I would do something to make a difference for those suffering from cancers. One thing I have done, starting in 2005, was to raise money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society as a marathoner with their Team in Training Program. Having never even run a 5K before cancer, I have completed three marathons and one half-marathon since then, while raising over $40,000 for LLS. I plan on doing another event next year.
Even as a survivor, it doesn’t always come home every second of why I put myself through this. Memories of what it was like to have cancer can fade a bit over time. But then, while in Nashville this past April for the Country Music Half Marathon, I had this brief magical moment that immediately reminded me of why this is so important. It was the kind of instant that makes you want to smile and cry all at the same time. I cannot get this out of my mind, and decided to share it with the world.
I went to take a walk that afternoon from the team’s hotel down to the Cumberland River, get a bit more of the lay of the land in downtown Nashville. I was wearing a Team in Training shirt. As I rounded the corner by the convention center, two young women and two young girls passed me walking the other way. The girls were about six to eight, I would guess. I barely noticed any of them, given that I didn’t see them until I rounded the corner, and as quick as I walk we passed each other in less than 2 seconds. But then I heard one of the women speak to one of the girls: “Look! There’s one of the Leukemia Society people!” I turned my head – they were now about 25 feet behind me – and looked at them. She was talking to one of the little girls, who happened to be bald with just a hint of hair growing back. And in an instant it hit me – “My God! This young girl has leukemia!” I smiled at her and waved, and she gave me a shy, sweet smile back. Then we went on our separate ways.
For a second I thought that I would go back and chat with them, tell them that I am also a survivor and assure her that she will be, too. Then I felt like I might be intruding, and decided to keep on going. But as I walked along, choking back tears for a short time, I thought of her. I thought about her as I sat by the Cumberland River a little later. I thought of her during the Inspiration Dinner the next night, and again during the race the day after that. And at the Victory Party the night after the race. And of course since then, which is why I am writing this now. I know I will wonder about her for a long time. Will she ultimately survive? Will she graduate from high school and college? Fall in love? Get married? Have her own children and maybe grandchildren someday? Maybe do a marathon herself with Team in Training for LLS? Discover a cure for cancer someday or invent something that helps the world?
And I thought “This is why I do this.” Why I get up at 4AM and 4:30AM to run and walk miles alone in the dark before work. Why I give up Saturday mornings when sleeping in and then relaxing with a cup of tea might sometimes be easier. Why I train so long at times that I have to soak in a tub of ice water from the waist down. Why I am willing to run and walk 13.1 miles two days later in the heat, and 26.2 miles three times before. Why blisters and blackened and lost toenails are tolerable. Why I am willing to ask people, many whom I barely know, for donations over and over and over, until now and then one of them will email back and say “Take me off your mailing list.” And it is why my teammates, thousands of them at any given time around North America, 650 of us in Nashville that weekend alone, do all of these things, too.
It is so this young girl, and others like her, can have a future. Seven years ago, I received the gift of life when I survived a form of blood cancer that was treatable only because of much medical research and clinical trials. So to do what I can to help others have this same chance now and in the future feels like the least I can do.
Whoever you are, young Nashville girl with leukemia, I hope you survive. I hope you have a long, productive, healthy and happy life! And I am glad that our lives crossed for a brief, bittersweet instant that day.
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