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Some Causes Are Worth The Sacrifice

D’ANN WHITE/Staff photo

Some of the members of the Project Cure Hot Pink Flamingos chili cook-off team, from left, Lisa Huetteman, Kristina Glenn, Diane Rush, Karin Graziano and Mary Owens, accept the award for raising the most money during the event from Tampa Tribune columnist

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By D'ANN LAWRENCE WHITE | The Tampa Tribune

Published: April 24, 2007

Apparently hell froze over on Saturday.

It didn't make the national news. There wasn't an NBC Special Report or an 84-point headline on the front page of the Tribune.

But I knew it must have happened because my friend Rita showed up at 6 a.m. to walk around Natures Way with us as part of our training for the second annual 60-mile Project Cure walk in October.
And Rita has told me repeatedly and firmly that she'd only get up that early on a weekend morning to walk with us when hell froze over.

So I could only conclude that Satan and his minions were scrambling for mittens, parkas and ski caps.
Either that or Rita, like the rest of us, has simply had enough of that feeling of helplessness that comes over you when you watch friend after friend bravely but futilely battle breast cancer.

It was after attending the funerals of three friends that a group of women from St. Stephen Catholic Church came up with Project Cure last year. We wanted to make a real difference, so we joined forces with the Tampa Bay Lightning Foundation to raise funds for the Don and Erika Wallace Breast Cancer Foundation at the Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute. We talked to foundation representatives and researchers, and we learned that Moffitt is conducting groundbreaking research into breast cancer right here in our back yard.

Over several months, we raised awareness about breast cancer and the need for self-exams and annual mammograms (I know two women who got their first mammograms this year). We brought people together that might not otherwise have connected for this common cause. And, most importantly, we collected $26,500 for the foundation. The Lightning Foundation then matched those funds.

I'm not an early riser myself, but, recalling the suffering of my friends as they fought breast cancer, I found myself automatically setting my alarm for 5 a.m., donning my walking shoes in a semi-dream state and joining my fellow walkers brandishing flashlights on Natures Way in Bloomingdale East.

Despite training throughout the summer, I was still unprepared for the actual three-day walk. By the second day, my heels were a mass of blisters.

Kevin Nance, a registered nurse and the husband of my friend, Cheryl Nance, who died of breast cancer the previous January, first pleaded with me to quit walking. Then he threatened to sit on me and hide my tennis shoes.

But I figured if I could get used to getting up at 5 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday, I could get used to the discomfort of a few blisters.

When he realized I was determined to finish the walk, Kevin begrudgingly bandaged my feet the best he could, dosed me with pain reliever and reluctantly sent me on my way. I still cringe when I watch the videotape showing me hobbling along.

No, I'll put up with early wakeup calls, blisters and even humiliation for a cause I believe in. I think everyone who knows me will agree I met the humiliation requirement during the annual St. Stephen Spring Jubilee April 14.

This year a portion of the proceeds from the jubilee's annual chili cook-off went to Project Cure. The women of St. Stephen had two teams registered but had more volunteers than we needed so cook-off organizer John Pignataro of the Krewe of Alafia Norsemen suggested we form a third team.
It was just two days before the cook-off and, in what can only be described as a moment of temporary insanity, I volunteered to head the new team.

Afterward, I was talking to my sister in St. Louis who asked, "What were you thinking? You don't even cook!"

True. That's why I recruited my husband, who does cook, by reminding him that I spent 22 hours in labor bearing his child.

Keeping that in mind, he dutifully arrived at the chili cook-off that morning where he chopped and mixed and spiced. He added all the secret ingredients and put the chili on a low simmer. Before he went on his merry way, he reminded me that all I had to do was stir it and make sure it doesn't get too hot and scorch the bottom of the pot.

Simple enough. Except I got distracted taking photos and chatting with Tampa Tribune columnist Steve Otto, who was one of the judges. Before I knew it, someone asked, "What's that smell? Is something burning?"

By and by, the judges went off to a secret place so they could taste the contestants' chili without being disturbed or bribed or otherwise influenced, so I only heard what transpired secondhand. But I figure it's pretty accurate since I heard it from my priest, Father Mike Juran, also one of the chili judges, and priests have to tell the truth.

He said there was one entry the "seasoned" chili judges said was so horrible they spit it out. He didn't dare try it. Apparently, it even smelled bad. The judges gave it last place.

"That was mine!" I said enthusiastically, because at least it was memorable. I'd gotten 11th place out of 11 entries. Then I had a horrible thought.

"No one threw up, did they?"

I asked if he'd give me absolution if I stole a copy of the winning chili recipe to use for next year's chili cook-off. Father Mike just shook his head and said it wouldn't do me any good.

"You'd just burn it again," he said. For once, I couldn't argue with a priest.

I'm not sure exactly how far I'm willing to go for Project Cure. But every time I watch my son's classmates at St. Stephen Catholic School, Joshua Bryant and Olivia Nance, mark another milestone in their lives without their mothers, my determination is renewed.

I guess I'm willing to do just about anything.

Maybe you feel the same way.

This year we're reaching out to the entire community, inviting all the churches, community groups, civic organizations, businesses and neighborhoods to join Project Cure and the Tampa Bay Lightning Foundation for the 60-mile walk around Natures Way Oct. 19-21. We're hoping to double the amount raised last year.

For starters, you can set your alarm clock to 5 a.m. and meet us at Bloomingdale Park East Saturday and Sunday morning to begin training. Or you can form your own team and start training at your preferred location and time.

Hey, if Rita and I can do it …

D'Ann White is editor of The Brandon News. To find out how to get involved in Project Cure, contact her at dwhite@mediageneral.com.

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