Day 7:  Friday, September 25^th

“Rest” Day in Lake City

Dedicated to:

Andy Frei (and his mom, Katie Frei)

 

This day isn’t going to be much about my journey with raising awareness for epilepsy, but more about my understanding of how good humans really are….

Sam headed back home to Cali early in the morning. The rest of us spent the day working and catching up on our real life. Mom did all our laundry and then headed back to her house because she has to travel to Turkey for work this coming week. Pam prepped meals. Vaughn organized our lives a bit. Marcus downloaded and organized video footage while Tory and I were elbows deep in work on our computers at the only internet café in Lake City… Chillin’ Cafe. While we were outside taking in the fresh air and pounding away at our keyboards, a tall lanky gentleman with a scraggly beard and nothing but a backpack full of his few belongings came strolling in to get a hot meal.

Tory overheard him talking to someone about his journey. Andy ­­­was walking from Canada to Mexico for his mom. She was diagnosed with Stage IV lung cancer nearly 3 years ago and has been able to keep growth at bay with chemo.  However cancer is adaptable and will mutate and grow…then Katie, Andy and their loved ones hope will be at the mercy of current research.  His mission is to raise funds for research so when this time comes, his mom has the best shot possible.   If you feel like contributing to another road warrior, please visit his site HERE.  His goal is to raise just $3,000… let’s help him greatly surpass this.

Another bearded man came out of the hostel next to the café while we were chatting/crying with Andy. This man was also walking for his mother. Choking back tears, he explained to us that his mom was diagnosed with a terminal illness and unfortunately passed not long after. He was also out raising awareness and funds for research.

This was an emotionally exhausting day for my team. Although it was physically relaxing, we were all in tears as we heard these two men tell their stories. The amount of love, compassion and genuine goodness that people innately possess is contagious and I am finding is a huge reason that I am doing what I am doing. Yes, the goal is to spread the word about epilepsy, but the deeper meaning is to connect with people. To share stories. To relate to eachother. To love one another. To support one another.

Lessons Learned:

1- People are really genuinely good.

2- There is much much more to what I am doing than raising awareness for epilepsy.

3- A sunset like the one above will make any day the best day!