Despite the fact I have the most amazing girlfriend any knucklehead from Missouri deserves, there’s another woman. Yep, I’ve got a big crush on a gal named Thelissa Zollinger.
We celebrated her birthday Saturday, in the chilly rain, with about 350 best friends. I love to sing, especially with a microphone in hand, and was honored to lead the throng in a rousing rendition of the birthday song. The crowd had gathered for the sixth “Gift of Life and Breath” 5K road race, run and walk on the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical campus, which, with its impressive array of research, facilities and care, is emerging as the Mayo Clinic of the Rocky Mountain West.
Despite lousy weather many appeared and endured in honor of a woman’s passion for life. This beautiful spirit - thus the crush - has a pretty darn good reason for not being so dynamic and effervescent. The way-to-early death of beloved hubby Gary. He was a good dude, successful businessman, devoted father and community leader, non smoker too. But somehow the oil and gas executive was diagnosed with cancer in each lung.
This darling couple with six great kids, many darling grandkids and tons of friends fought the good fight for more than three years. They tried just about every treatment known to man, including a rare double-lung transplant.
In an all-too-common theme, lung cancer won. It usually does. Do you know we lose 160,000 Americans a year to lung cancer? It kills more of us than breast, prostate, colon and melanoma combined. My father passed five years ago from it. If you’re diagnosed stage four, it’s usually one of those, “Get your affairs in order” kinda conversations.
So after Gary, just before his 59th birthday, passed in 2007, Thelissa decided it was time to get busy. She refused to be a victim of the circumstance and focused on being a student of the experience. The blue-eyed bundle of energy sunk heart and soul into raising money to fund research for an early-detection test for lung cancer. Progress is being made but, unlike the four previously mentioned cancers, a reliable and affordable test remains elusive. Thelissa’s leading the charge in trying like heck to turn that personal lemon into a sweet and savory margarita for someone else. While watching her work a crowd your humble correspondent senses the spirit of late hubby encouraging, “You go girl.”
As we prepared for the start of this year’s event, a bone-chilling rain poured upon participants, volunteers, vendors, sponsors and everybody else assembled for the cause. It didn’t seem to faze many. No, there seemed to be a spirit present taking attendees to a different spot: loving thoughts of loved ones lost to lung cancer.
It was like, “Okay it’s rainy, cold and uncomfortable but considering what I witnessed my - fill in the blank - endure in fighting cancer. This is a walk in the park on a beautiful day.”
I guess what I’m trying to say is this: it can always be worse. I can recall a recent moment while talking with a client about some marketing stuff and life. There are challenges on each front. I then remembered another buddy who, five weeks ago, lost a 25-year-old son to suicide.
Life often has us wondering, “What the heck is going on around here?”
Take a cue from Thelissa Zollinger. Her honorable quest to find an early-detection test for lung cancer attracts admirers - thus the crush. She’s on a mission to transform her pain into progress for others.
Rarely is that not a noble endeavor. Could this be the week for you to try and transform pain into progress? What the heck, like terrific Thelissa, you might have success too! You don’t know till you try, right?
Have a good week!
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