Current Mood: Feeling Accomplished
Last week, Evie and Dad supported a very special person in our lives by participating in the #WeAreBrooks Challenge Mile.
Mom’s stepdad, Dennis Laster, is a survivor of pulmonary fibrosis, for which he underwent a lung transplant six years ago. The journey since then has been a long one; the condition and subsequent transplant caused a number of physical complications. Yet, through all this, Dennis has remained positive and as determined as ever to reach the goals he sets out to achieve. One of them was finishing this year’s Brooks Rehabilitation One Mile Challenge. An avid runner in earlier days, completing the challenge seemed naturally fitting.
While Mom, her sister, and Dennis’s wife, Judy, walked the challenge in person with him, Evie and Dad took on the same mile back at home, running to a local coffee shop (for a quick treat) and back.
“I ran one mile there and one mile back. It took a long time, but we still got there - eventually.”
Mom made custom t-shirts for everyone who participated, featuring Dennis’s love of all things Jimmy Buffett, with a play on Caribbean Soul - which became Caribbean SOLE. Of course, the shirts were sponsored by eviepizzacat.com with the hashtag #kickitinnowsecondwind. The shirts, although maybe a bit silly, were a fun way to add motivation to the difficult challenge.
“I ran to support Dennis. It’s important to encourage other people because then they know that they are special.”
And special, Dennis is. The challenge was visibly difficult for him, but he completed the race with an entire crowd of strangers cheering him to the finish line.
We are so proud of all that he has accomplished. "Way to go, Dennis!"
