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One Woman's Gift: A Story from the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure

by Genny of "Genny Heikka"
Photo by: Shutterstock

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One Woman’s Gift: A Story from the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure

Every year, we participate in the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure with my mother-in-law, a breast cancer survivor. A couple of years ago we went, and in the middle of thousands of people who came together to make a difference that day, there was one person who did one little thing that made a huge impact…

The year before that one, when my mother-in-law had finished the race, she, like all survivors, had received a medal at the finish line. So when she walked through the finish line again this time, she looked for the place to get her medal. She went from booth to booth, but every table she checked had already run out of medals.

Just then, a woman in a pink survivor shirt walked by with a medal around her neck. My mother-in-law stopped her and asked where she got it.

“Didn’t you get one too?” the woman asked.

“No,” my mother-in-law said, “Everywhere I’ve looked, they’ve run out.”

And that’s when the woman reached down and took her own medal off.

“I’ve been cancer-free for ten years,” she said, “and this is my tenth year at the Race.”

She leaned forward and placed the medal around my mother-in-law’s neck. “Here. It’s yours now.”

They hugged and cried, and in the same way my mother-in-law has inspired so many people with how she’s overcome cancer, that woman inspired her.

I don’t know if the woman will ever understand how much her act of giving meant that day. Because she gave much more than a medal. She gave inspiration. And encouragement. And hope.

And it was an awesome reminder that each time we give to others, we can impact their lives in a powerful way.

What about you? Do you take part in the Race for the Cure—or are you planning to participate in an upcoming event? What has your experience been?

Genny Heikka is a mom, author, speaker, blogger and coffee lover. Stop by her blog and share a cup!

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