OK so then there were also these motorcycle guys (also known as the pink panthers) who rode around with pink helmets on. It was so nice. They were our crossing guards. They kept us safe. First we went through the Botanical Gardens. I don't know what the big hype is about that, because it was pretty boring to me. The only neat part was when this 10 or 11 year old boy came walking down the path with a grass skirt on and only a coconut bra!!! Then one of the first cities we went through, Winnetka, was BEAUTIFUL!! The houses looked like they were about 2 million dollars each. They were right on the lake and the GUEST houses were 4 times the size of my regular house! Then we went through Glenview. The people in all of the neighborhoods were so friendly. Every so often we would pass a house that had tables set up and signs in their yards. They would be playing music and cheering for us and handing out water, ice, candy or popsicles. It was so nice and it really kept us going.
A different pink ambulance was pulling these two guys on a trailer and they were playing music and dancing. Every time they went by, you know I had to stop to bust a move!!
The crew also consisted of an AWESOME Medical Staff who took care of our sore muscles, injuries and MANY blisters.
Then with 4 miles to go, I got my second wind for about a minute. I started yelling and dancing. Then we passed this bar. Now, I'm not a drinker (maybe once a year) but MAN did an ice cold Margarita sound good. And there were even some walkers there stopping for a drink but I was like "NO way, I only have a few more miles to go." Then one of the crossing guards said "COME ON LET'S GO, you only have 1 more mile...." That was seriously the LOOOOOOOOOONGEST mile in history. The next day we were done walking that mile (see I told you some of the details were fuzzy). Just kidding but it seriously seemed like it was the next day by the time we finished it. Part of the reason the last mile totally stunk was because there was no where for us to walk besides the side of the road and it was FULL of huge rocks and pebbles that were killing our feet.
and here is our pink sea of tents:
So we went to put our tents up. I could hardly carry my bag. We got there and started to put it up and along came a "tent angel" he was the father from a boy scout troop who had volunteered to help us set up tents and carry bags. Now don't misunderstand, I was SUPER grateful that he put our tent up, but I looked ALL over the place for some sorry sucker to carry my bag to the tent area and I couldn't find ANYONE! And I forgot to mention that our tents were ALLLLLL the way at the end. You see the small tents that are about the size of a spec of dust in the above picture? Yeah, that was us. So, then we went and ate. It was spaghetti. Now that was great!! What Italian girl doesn't get excited about spaghetti? While we were eating they announced that the last walker would be there any minute and that we were supposed to stand up and cheer for her. So, suddenly we hear someone yell "There's the last walker..." and so we all stand up (yes, all 2398 of us, plus the crew) and we are cheering, and hooping and hollering and it goes on for like 5 minutes. And then the speaker lady gets on and says "That was a great job you guys, that was really good practice for when the REAL last walker comes in." So, this time when the last walker came in all 2399 of us did the same thing all over again and then we raised our Day 1 flag.
Then it was time to hit the showers. The showers are very interesting because they look like a semi trailer. There are two doors and about 6 showers on each side. They were nice warm showers. But, guess what, this was when I got to be traumatized by seeing a bunch of naked women drying off and putting lotion on with NO modesty at all. WHAT THE... And I thought I had no modesty. But, in their defence, the towels they gave us were about the size of postage stamps. So, I just tried to focus on covering up my ghetto booty!
Now for the karaoke party. Of course we got up there too late so I didn't get to sing :( CRAP! I was soooooooooo looking forward to that. But it was fun and I got up and danced and shook my ghetto booty. It was great! Poor Cyndi was at the Medical tent getting her blisters tended to. Anyway, then it was 9pm. Time for lights out and quiet time. Of course SOME people don't know how to read directions, so they were laughing and being loud. So, I yelled at them one time (LOL) and they were quiet after that. I popped my earplugs in, lied down on my raft and fell asleep almost instantly. I did wake up once in the middle of the night to go to the restroom, I considered peeing on myself but then decided against it. I woke up Cyndi getting out of the tent so she went too.
DAY 2:
Saturday morning we got up at 5:30 because the route would open at 6:30. Got dressed quickly, caked on the body glide and off we went. Cyndi had to get her blisters worked on again so we didn't leave until 7:30. But that was fine. Slow and steady wins the race, right? The guy in the Oscar the Grouch shirt and biker shorts was now wearing a Grinch shirt and biker shorts. So, I started calling him Oscar the Grinch (instead of Oscar the Grouch, since he had changed his shirt). Then we were off, at first the people in Des Plaines were very nice, honking and waving and cheering for us. Then the next city.... UGGH! They were soooo grouchy. They were so irritated that we had invaded their city. I would say "HI" to people passing and they wouldn't even say hi back. Well by the time I said hi to this one lady, I was fed up when she didn't say hi back so I said "Hey, we're walking for YOUR boobs!!" Then this other lady wouldn't wave when she was stopped at the stop sign waiting for us to pass so I finally said "WAVE TO ME!!" and then she reluctantly did LOL! At the first pitstop, it started raining and of course since there was NO rain in the forecast I didn't have my rain poncho in my fanny pack (YES I WORE A FANNY PACK HHHHHAAAAAAA). But, then I looked over and there was an angel handing them out, so when I went to sit my stuff down to put the poncho on I was thinking "OK how am I going to hold the hood on?" and it was like God threw a clothes pin down from heaven, there was one just sitting there right where I had stopped. So, I used it to clip the hood onto the bill of my hat. It worked like a charm. But, then I was still really cold so about a mile later, I found a Walgreens. I went in and bought a pink hoodie for 14.99 and that made me nice and toasty! Also I went ahead and used the restroom (one less time I'd have to use a nasty porta potty). You wouldn't believe how nice the sound of a flushing toilet is until you've gone two days without it. The next town was Mount Prospect! I'll never forget that town. They were the NICEST people ever!! The police officers that volunteered to help us cross the streets had gone out and bought PINK uniforms. Can you believe it?? They were OFFICIAL uniforms with badges and everything. So, I got my picture taken with two of them, one was an old man and one was the husband of one of the walkers. But, of course I don't have those pictures downloaded yet. Then we were off to the next town. I really don't remember much about the towns between Mt. Prospect and lunch because I was in a lot of pain. My hip was killing me and no matter how much I stretched it I couldn't get it to go away. I was hobbling so much and walking so slowly that one of the sweep vans stopped and asked if I needed help. Of course I said no thanks and I was on my way. Slowly but surely. Then I texted everyone and they all said "I'll pray for you..." and I swear about 1/2 hour later, it was completely gone!!
At lunch time I took my shoes and socks off and found that I had a bunch of blisters. I wrapped them up as best I could and Courtney told me to put Vaseline on my feet to prevent blisters. NOW THEY TELL ME! So, I caked on her Vaseline and I was on my way again. Cyndi and I were limping quite a bit but then again so was everyone else. As Cyndi and I were walking we actually saw a fox, right in a rural neighborhood just hanging out. If I wasn't so tired I would have gotten out the camera and taken a picture but I was too tired for that nonsense. We kind of looped around on Saturday and then ended up back in Mount Prospect. The police officers were so nice, cheering for us and saying "Welcome Back." I thought that we were close but we weren't. For the last 7 miles we were stopping to rest our feet every mile and a half or so. One time when Cyndi took her sock off, steam pored out LOL!
Anyway, so then we had 3 miles to go. WOW that was a LOOOOOONG 3 miles and it was almost all rocks and pebbles. KILLING our feet. But, of course, we pushed on. About a half of a mile before camp I sat down on this bridge ( now you know I was tired because I'm TERRIFIED of bridges) and I seriously thought I was going to have to use the sweep van but I was like NO WAY! So, finally I got up and we made it!! We decided to eat before walking ALL the way to our tents so I just took my shoes off and walked around with just my socks on. It was some Chicken stuff and it was actually pretty good. Or maybe I was just starving. Then we went and took showers and then straight to the medical tent. The NICEST little 25 year old girl helped me take care of my blisters. I believe her name was Stephanie. She wrapped all 10 of them. She was so sweet. I told her that if I had money I would have tipped her. Then it was off to the dance party. Yeah! My feet hurt but do you actually think I would pass up dancing?? NO WAY!! I got on stage and danced for a while and then Cyndi and I went into the mail room. We found that we both had the sweetest letter and card from my mom and Melinda. They were VERY inspirational and they really helped me going on Day 3. We were also able to send out postcards from that room so that was great too. Then Cyndi and I went to the "remembrance tent." This is a white tent where you go in and write names of survivors and people who didn't survive on the tent. It is a very nice peaceful place to reflect on the events of the 3Day. Then we went to bed (or should I say, we went to raft).
DAY 3:
Rise and shine!! It was time to get up at 4:00am. We had to pack up our stuff, take our tents down (no tent angels this time). And drop our bags off at truck G again. I went to the porta potty and when I came out, I was in an ornary mood so I said "This toilet isn't flushing" to some lady. She actually stopped for a second and then remembered that they were porta potties and started laughing. We ate breakfast which was really good and we were on our way again. We had to ride a bus to Skokie Illinois and then we would start our walk. Oscar the Grinch was now wearing and Air Force shirt. It really didn't go along with his previous shirts so I started calling him "Oscar the Grinch in the Air Force" every time I saw him. We started the day off and I remember saying "I think I'll do this again next year." About 10 miles later I was thinking "I'LL NEVER DO THIS AGAIN, maybe I'll be a crew member next time." Anyway, it was absolutely beautiful. We were walking by the lake almost the entire time. It was 76 degrees and the wind was blowing from the lake. I actually wore my little pink hoodie almost the entire time. I forgot to mention when describing the other days that there were these two ladies that would ride around all over the place honking and screaming at us. We got to the point that we would start waving before we even saw them because we recognized their horn sound. They would also stop every few miles and hand out water and ice, they were great. There was also a clown lady that was great too. She was so cute and she kept giving us stickers and necklaces and yelling and cheering. Then at one point they were handing out donut holes. YUM those were so good, they were just what I needed for a one minute burst of energy.
By Pit Stop 2 I was about to die. But, we pushed on. At one point Cyndi was trying to make us laugh and she goes "Talk like Chevonne." She was referring to how when Chevonne, Melinda and I get together we start talking like they do when they're "straight from the hills of Kentucky" just to be funny. We say things like "She's got the sugar" instead of she's diabetic, or "Nothin' in that garage ain't no count" instead of Everything in that garage is junk. And I go "I CAN'T, I can't even think. I don't even know what we say any more." LOL! Then we hit the streets of downtown Chicago. That helped a lot. People were yelling and screaming for us as we walked down the streets. And then, with 4.2 miles to go, Cyndi and I got a second wind and we started walking REALLY fast. And I was slapping everyone a five that walked by off the street. If they didn't lift their arm, I would yell "COME ON BROTHER (or sista), HOOK A SISTA UP!" Then they would laugh a little and reluctantly slap me a five. Then we stopped at a stop light and Cyndi started a chant. She said "Who's walking 60 miles?" and we all yelled "WE ARE!" and she said "WHO?" and we said "WE ARE!!!!" and she said "WHOOO?" and we said "WEEEE AREEE YAY!!!!!!!" and we all started screaming and clapping. So of course at the next stoplight, I had to put my spin on it and I said "WHO'S THE HOTTEST 60 MILE WALKERS EVER??" and so we all yelled again.
Then, with one mile to go we stopped at our final pit stop. We didn't stop long because we were ready to get there. When we were almost there, I suddenly felt like a little kid and I looked at Cyndi and I said "I can't wait to see my parents." We could see Soldier Field in the distance and it actually didn't seem like a long final mile like the other days had. Then we started on this path and thousands of people were lined up cheering us on. Here is a picture of my mom and Ellah waiting for us: 
Then I saw my momma bear and papa bear in the distance. My mom was taking a picture of us and crying. Here is Cyndi and me coming up the path:
And here is what the finish line looked like:
I didn't see Ellah yet because she was sitting on the little cement bench behind my mom. Rick had said that he didn't think she was going to be able to go because they were going to go to the water park. I stuck my arms out and my mom ran out and hugged us. Then she turned around and pointed to Ellah. I ran and grabbed her and hugged her so tight. I missed my little Ellah Pooh.
We waited under a tree for the closing ceremony to start. I took my socks and shoes off, MAN that felt good! Here is what my feet looked like:
I had 5 blisters on each foot. That includes the two that were underneath the toenails of my 2 second toes. But, that isn't a big deal, like a lot of the signs on the route said "BLISTERS DON'T NEED CHEMO!"
First my mom rubbed my feet and then when my mom's hands got tired, since Ellah LOVES to put lotion on me, I said "Ellah, do you want to put lotion on my feet?" She was really excited and it felt like a foot massage with two tiny soft adorable hands.
Now it was time for the closing ceremonies. We all got in a group and and lined up to do our victory walk.. We walked in holding hands with our hands up in the air. Then the survivors walked in doing their victory walk:
We all raised our shoes up in the air to honor them:
Then the survivors did their survivor circle and raised our victory flag. It said "A WORLD WITHOUT BREAST CANCER."
Then the motivational speaker got on and told us that Chicago raised a total of 6.1 million dollars! CAN YOU BELIEVE THAT???? Of that 6.1 million, I raised a total of $3,551.07 (I put the 7 cents in myself because 7 is my lucky number). Together Cyndi and I (Team CHICAS 4 TETAS) raised almost $7000.00.
After closing ceremonies were over, we went to get our bags and leave. We found my bag right away and then Cyndi's sister, Mari and Izzy came and gave me a little present. It was so sweet. And then Cyndi't friend Jen came and gave me a dozen roses. That was so sweet too. My mom and dad were parked right in front in the parking garage. So, that was great, or so we thought. Until we sat in the parking garage for 30 minutes without moving an inch. It took us about an hour to get out. We drove home and Ellah wanted me to hold her hand the whole way. It was so cute. I was dying for some good old fashioned Mexican Food! You KNOW I love Mexican food. So, we went to La Caretta in Merrillville to eat. That was so yummy! Then we got home at about 8:30pm. I fully expected the house to be a disaster and that I would have a ton of laundry to do. On the way home I asked Ellah "Did daddy use the dishwasher while mommy was gone?" and she said "Yes, he got a bowl out of the dishwasher." and she was so serious. It was so cute. But, when I got home there were Rick and Halle standing right by the door hugging and congratulating me. Then I walked in the house and it was totally clean and the laundry was done and folded. Rick and Halle had really pulled through for me.
I wanted to stay up and visit but I couldn't. I was BEAT! So, I took a shower and went straight to bed. Snuggling with Ellah of course, my little "Snuggle Bunny."
Monday morning I hobbled into work. Everyone was congratulating me. I went to the 3Day website and signed up to do the walk again next year. So, now I have more time to raise the required $2300.00. So, if you want to help me get an early start, you can donate to me by going to http://www.the3day.org/ and then click on "Donate Now" and then go to the bottom and type in my first and last name (Melissa Fairchild) and click on "Find Participant." At the bottom it will list my 2008 walk and my 2009 walk. Be sure to click on the 2009 walk.
Thank you so much for all of your donations, support and prayers. I can't wait to do this all over again next year.
