Show your support for National Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month this September by joining us for our first virtual month-long national event.

This year during the whole month of September we will be hosting our Annual Teal Ovarian Cancer Walk. This walk originated 7 years ago in honor of my mom. In October 2019 my mother passed away from Ovarian Cancer. She was the one who gave all of us the initiative to begin the first ever annual Litchfield TEAL WALK. The following is a piece of a post that my mom wrote about her experience with ovarian cancer:

“When first diagnosed, I did not fear the "c" word or feel angry or depressed. Maybe it was because of all the love, support and prayers I received from my family, friends, co-workers and community. Maybe it was my focus on the happy times -- graduations and special family moments that were occuring. Though it may seem strange, I knew there was something I needed to do with my "gift" for the benefit of others. It was at this time that we Jim, Justin, Kelsey, Marissa, and I decided to change our outlook and re-prioritize our goals. We embraced each new day with a new motto, "Every day brings a new normal" and found time to celebrate some joy. This made it super easy to maintain a positive outlook. We set new goals -- both immediate, short term and "long" term. Not all goals were achieved on schedule -- I'm still waiting to get back to the top of Lion's Head, but there were targets on which we could focus.

I was honored to have the first TEAL WALK sponsored in my name in Litchfield last fall and look forward to the next walk in September. This organization's focus is on education, early detection and research. I also began participating in a Phase 3 trial study for a new drug that could potentially be used for maintenance after treatment. Though both of these events will deliver benefits for future survivors, some of the best gifts I have been given has been the opportunity to meet and speak with other fantastic people who are traveling this same path. We have been able to share stories of success and failure, worry and doubt and have also celebrated many "last days" of treatment together. I'm not sure if this was my purpose with this path, but it does feel good to be able to share and educate and comfort others on a similar journey.”

This year is the second year we are putting together the Teal walk without my mother, as well as fully virtual, due to the Covid-19 virus. This will be an emotional challenge, however I am hoping that we all can be up for the challenge! I would love for this year to be as successful as we can make it! However, we are a little set back because of the ongoing pandemic. So, I am asking all of you, near or far, please help us with donations, sharing this link to all of your friends and family, or get a group of you all together and walk virtually wherever you may live! I would LOVE if there was a group of virtual walkers in MULTIPLE different states so we could see pictures from everyone’s experience!