What all this means…….

Well, as a Support crew member for the Teams, why I am participating.  I am Renee’ Killian-Zeiger, massage therapist for the “gang”, Dennis my husband is on TEAM 3 (a.k.a. Where’s Dennis?) and I do this for many reasons.  I guess the largest reason..I lost my father to cancer 14 years ago.  James D. Killian was only 61 years old and left behind a wife (Mom) of 39 years of marriage, Son #1 age 34, Daughter age 33, and Son #2 age 28, 2 grandsons, Josh age 11 and Chris age 8 and a new granddaughter, Cassie 8 weeks old in 1994.  It was a fast and painful process, his passing, 6 1/2 weeks after diagnosis.  I had never seen my father afraid.  I did then. I was alone with him in the hospital the night before he passed.  The cancer was so bad, he was yelling out in pain even though he was unconscious.  I do this for Dennis’s mom who passed away 2 years ago Dec. 21st.  I do this because I have seen how fast cancer can take someone down and how long it can linger in some people.  I do this because I love helping try to defeat something that is vicious and stinky and pathetic and destroys the lives of people without reason to do so.  I do this because I cry when I see a small child, bald from chemo. I do this because it makes me put my own life into perspective and makes me realize how blessed I am and how insignificant most things we get stressed about in life really are.  I am sure I will cry my eyes out in Austin and I will run fast and ride hard when we get there.  No matter how tired we ( riders and support crew) get along the way, I want to remember every minute and focus on the “WHY”.  Why…..because we all have posted our reasons….people we love, people we know were taken too soon.  So I want to somehow make a small difference, leave some type of small footprint so that maybe the people who will be struggling with this disease might come out the other side with more dignity, less pain, and in a shorter timeframe with a big smile saying,,,,”I beat this stinking #@#$&%^%#& and NOW I will live the rest of my life with grace.  That is why I am Renee’ KILLIAN-Zeiger….to honour my father who was taken from me entirely too soon.

As others have said, I look forward to sharing this time in my life with you, we all have the same goals in mind, just to help in any way we can.  Remember….we could learn a lot from crayons…some are sharp, some are pretty, and some are dull, “some have weird names,” and all are different colors, but they all have to live in the same box.  So as we (The Palmetto Peloton Project) are on this journey, let’s make this box a blast and kick some cancer butt!!

Godspeed,

Renee’ KILLIAN-Zeiger