Marathon

So, as some of you might recall, in February 2007, I donated 60% of my liver to my father in a successful effort to delay the effects of liver cancer (February 28th, to be exact... henceforth refered to as my "liverversary." I'll begin accepting commemorative gifts at the end of January, to give you all a good jumpstart on shopping). I gave him the right lobe of my liver (who needs that anyway?), and kept the left one for myself. Magically, the liver lobes grew in both of us to full size within weeks! I regrew a shiny new liver to punish all over again, and Dad came out of surgery with a rocket-charged right lobe to call his own. Currently, Dad and I are both doing well, for those concerned, and looking forward to our 2 year mark coming up.

Anyway, a good friend of mine, Kenleigh, was extremely supportive throughout the entire ordeal. She took my numerous morphine-induced phone calls from the hospital, drove me and my dad to Massachusetts for a follow up exam, and listened to me routinely bitch about the giant divet in my stomach. Also extremely notable, Kenleigh ran the Boston Marathon to raise money for the American Liver Foundation in my father's name that year, despite a veritable monsoon and 70mph headwinds.

Yet again, Kenleigh has decided to run the Boston Marathon to raise money for the Liver Foundation's "Run for Research" team this coming April. Perhaps she's the most dedicated friend anyone's ever had... perhaps she's so intensely driven to fund liver research that she can't help but run 26.2 miles to save lives like my dad's... or perhaps she's toggling between sheer determination to complete one of the most difficult tasks known to mankind and some sort of masochistic infatuation with intense muscle spasms. In any case - she's my pal and she needs help. In order to run for the team, she needs to raise over $4000 in donations ASAP! If you are willing and able (with the understanding that times are tough and there's no Bailout Bill for the layperson), you can donate to her fund here, on a secure-fancy-american-liver-foundation-certified webpage. Your name will appear on her little "honor roll" scrolly thing, if you so choose to identify yourself, or you can remain anonymous. I know that every small donation will help her reach her goal, and assist her in the exquisite self-punishment she can look forward to in the months to come.

When we get closer, I'll post the link for "runner-stalking," as I like to call it, where you can track the times/locations of registered Boston Marathon runners throughout the race. Then I'll give you Kenleigh's cellphone number so you can text her while she's running (yes, this fashionista runs with a sleek fanny pack to house her cellphone and gummy bear stash) and tell her to "run faster" like I do.

Have a fantastic evening!