Yesterday I had the privilege of being a part of the first annual OKC CureSearch Walk.  It was a moving experience. While I have lost some friends near and dear to me as adults to cancer, I am thankful to say that I have not dealt with childhood cancer and my children have not fought that battle. I was there at the request of my friend from high school whose son is a survivor. At around 6:45 AM, was supposed to be 6:30 – par for the course for me, I arrived with a friend and my older sons to see what we could do to help with the event. There were already several volunteers busy turning the parking area in the front of OU Children’s Hospital into a unique experience – an uplifting, yet heartbreaking combination of celebration for survivors and a memorial for the children gone far too soon. The Committee had been working for months alongside CureSearch to make sure the walk went off without a hitch – tirelessly asking friends and family for support and working to get the word out, contacting companies and securing sponsors. The weather in Oklahoma is well known for being unreliable and the evening before the committee had made plans for alternate locations in case of rain.

1st Annual OKC CureSearch Walk

The morning was crisp and mostly clear a few clouds carried a worry of rain. When we arrived the parking lot was bare, OU Children’s Hospital had graciously asked everyone to move their vehicles to provide a space for us. Inside the atrium a group of volunteers was already constructing an arch that was to be covered with balloons to adorn the stage. Others were sorting t-shirts and bandannas to be worn by the walkers. It wasn’t long before trucks from rental companies arrived with tables, chairs, and audio video equipment. The volunteers poured out of the doors eager to help setup the tables and make signs. The stage was quickly constructed and speakers and audio equipment made ready for the event. In the matter of about an hour and a half the parking lot was ready for the event. There were balloons, tables for face painting, temporary tatoos, refreshments, and even massages! In addition a group of actors arrived – among them Obi-Wan, Darth Vader, Princess Leia, Anakin, Padme, Boba Fett, Imperial Officers, Stormtroopers and Rebel Commandos – ready to greet the walkers.

With the preparations all set we were ready for the arrival of the walkers, my job was to talk to a few and see if they would be willing to speak to the camcorder and share with us the reasons they were walking. The first couple of families arrived and my friend took his camera to one side the registration table and I took the other and we began to get a sense of the importance of this day. People filed in – filled out some paperwork and then picked up team shirts representing the a child in their lives who had been touched by cancer in any number of its dastardly forms. As they passed by I asked if they would like to share a few words – and little by little I was uplifted and heartbroken as they spoke. I spoke to a retired oncologist who had spent her life fighting the disease and a teen survivor who had both a young soul and an old soul at the same time. I spoke to a team walking in memory of a child who spoke eloquently and fondly about the constant smiles of the one they had lost. I was completely unprepared to meet up with old friends, whom I had not seen in years, only to learn that their young daughter had passed mere months back. I watched as children laughed, got their face painted, shyly approached Darth Vader for a photo opportunity and carried on as if there was nothing wrong in the world. Then it was time for the ceremonies to start, the sun was bright the day was warming and all fear of rain had been alleviated.

I had been given an iPod with the music for the ceremony and moments before the music was to play my wife called to let me know she was near dropping off my youngest son. I heard my name being paged over the loud speaker and quickly said goodbye to my wife and hurried back to the ceremony. The iPod delivered the ceremony began – several speakers gave brief comments of thanks and described the importance of the CureSearch walk. Then the tone became somber as one by one teams who were there in memory of someone lost were called to the stage and given a box. The box contained live butterflies and each person held on to their box until all had been passed out. Then at once the boxes were opened and the butterflies released, it was a beautiful and somber moment I instinctively looked at my children wondering where the people here had found the courage to deal with their losses. Next the names of survivors were called and the children took the stage and spoke, telling their name, at what age they were diagnosed with cancer and how long it had been since, they impressed me with both their courage and their strength.

Lining up to walk

Some of the children there were also participating in Martial Arts and representatives from several of the schools were there to lead us through a warm up. The warm up kicked it in gear for the Sun as well as the morning chill had completely disappeared and many of us began to ditch our jackets. Parents, grandparents, friends neighbors and children lined up to march out of the parking lot and down the street. We walked along with them, my oldest taking photos while my friend and I tried our best (as amateurs) to capture some good video clips of the walk. We would film and photograph for a bit then take a shortcut through a parking lot, or a side path in order to get back ahead of the group and get some video from the different areas. Along the path of the walk were signs with the picture and name of a child with the comment “This is why we walk.” I stopped to read each name and look at each picture and after every one I looked at my sons and pictured my daughters. The walk was designed for children and as such was a relatively short route and in no time we were back at the parking lot where Chik-Fil-A had arrived with lunch for the walkers. Closing ceremonies were held, chicken sandwiches were eaten, and the crowd was soon dispersing.

It did not take long to finish lunch and then break down the tables and chairs. The bittersweet meeting place of survival and remembrance returned to being a parking lot and I sat there on a bench having just finished a conversation with a new friend and watching my three sons finish their food and I reflected. As parents we fret over our children worried about everything from cars to kidnappers; We tend to their cuts and bruises and check for washed hands and brushed teeth. We do our best to protect them,  but life is fragile and can change in a heartbeat. Every day of our life we meet up with things that don’t quite go our way from minor annoyances to missed deadlines, red lights, traffic jams, stubbed toes. We struggle with our culture’s never ending need for more stuff. We settle for second best when it comes to dreams and ambitions due to complacency or worse we set aside our families in a chase for personal desires. In short we take life for granted while somewhere out there is a child struggling with cancer his or her life balanced on a razors edge, or a family struggling with loss. Beyond cancer your neighbor may be struggling to keep the lights on or you might have a friend battling depression. Chances are there is someone near you in need of a helping hand or an encouraging word – its time to turn our lives outward and reach out to those around us for it is only the mark that we make on the lives of others that carries any real significance in this world, and that is why I walked.