A couple of months ago, one of our awesome neighbors nominated Lori for a trip sponsored through the Karen Wellington Foundation (KWF) for LIVING with breast cancer. Their motto is #FunNow and they gather funds/resources and organize all-expenses-paid vacations for women living with breast cancer and their families. Karen Wellington, the namesake, was diagnosed with breast cancer when she was 30 and she passed away at age 40 in 2007. Apparently, she was even spunkier than Lori in life, and she had a dream of setting up a foundation like this.


Yesterday, Jaimie (the Dayton chapter president) and Liz (an old friend of Karen’s and a KWF founder) visited the house to tell Lori that she has been chosen to receive a trip! She feels honored and blessed, and we’re planning her trip perhaps at the end of July. Location/dates TBD. We were tempted to deny the offer because we can easily afford to fund our own vacations, but Liz anticipated that response and shut that down before we could even try. Apparently, lots of women try to turn down the offer for the same reason, and Liz emphasized that it’s more about giving the gift, and Lori is excited to accept. Not to mention, she loves the beach, and it looks like she’s headed to a beach soon!
The KWF seeks contributions in the form of donated vacation homes, time-shares, cash for trips, etc. When they send families on these trips, absolutely every expense is covered.

To learn more or to donate to their charity, visit their website at
www.karenwellingtonfoundation.org

and their Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Karen-Wellington-Memorial-Foundation-for-LIVING-with-Breast-Cancer/391253811063

LORI UPDATE:
She has continued to feel great! Last week, she even stopped taking her Oxycontin, and it hasn’t affected her pain level at all. She’s home alone with the kids most days while I work, and she’s easily able to keep up with the workload in the house. We’re so happy that she’s doing so well right now, and we’re going to take full advantage of this extra time we’ve been given with her.

Also, her dad called me this week, and we began to plan a birthday bash for Lori to be held on July 11, and everyone’s invited! It will likely take place at my parent’s house in Lafayette, IN although we haven’t settled on the location just yet. We looked into renting properties on various lakes/rivers in southern Indiana, but we started that process a little too late. Everything is booked! Instead, we’ll likely host on my parent’s five-acre lot in the country just outside of Lafayette, and it’s open to any/all who would like to attend. At a minimum, we’ll have a big meal and outdoor games in the evening on 11 July, but we’re also looking into various options for the rest of the weekend such as a Wildcat Creek canoe/kayak/tube float, fishing with the kids, trip to Indiana Beach, Lafayette Park with kids, etc, etc. Again, we haven’t nailed down the details yet but it will be over the weekend of 11 July, and we want as many friends/family as possible to attend any/all of those events. We’ll send out an official e-vite soon and will ask for RSVPs for food planning.