Running for Scleroderma
On October 3rd Laura Dyas, the Michigan Chapter’s Executive Director put on her running shoes after a summer of training and drove to Ann Arbor with her daughter Kristina to the Big House at the University of Michigan. Her stomach was knotted in anticipation of running her first 5K but she knew she was raising the money for scleroderma and she wanted more than anything to be able to just finish the race.
Standing among 12,000 people she scanned the group realizing that all around her were individuals of all sizes and ages. After what seemed like hours the signal for the race began and ahead of her she watched as slowly the runners all broke away from each other and space enabled her to begin her quest.
As she took each step she concentrated on her goal of breathing and not running into anyone and after what seemed like endless time she noticed that the first mile was indeed over. Glancing over she saw that there were people on the sides of the street cheering and waving and suddenly the impact of the situation hit her and her stride increased. As she ran by a woman on the side with an outstretched arm she reached up and slapped her hand laughing as she continued running, picking up her pace. Suddenly she could feel her daughter Kristina grabbing her shirt and gently pulling her back and cautioning her to slow her pace down because there was still a long way to go.
During the second and third miles Laura focused on scleroderma patients, their daily challenges and how desperately there was a need for a cure. As she and Kristina ran into the tunnel of the Big House she realized she had forgotten how far she had run, she had not even stopped and moreover she was almost to the finish line! Looking up on the big screen she saw herself crossing the finish line as she and her daughter crossed together side by side. While the accomplishment of running the race was a large one for Laura when asked she remarked, “I realized that day more than anything that we need so much more awareness for scleroderma. As I ran I kept thinking that we need to find a cure and we need to do it soon. Running the race is the easy part it is the work we have to do now that is the hard part. Everyone has to work together to spread the word that scleroderma touches so many lives and we need more research funding, more awareness and more people willing to get involved.”
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