This past Sunday was the much anticipated CHOC walk! :) Can I just say it COMPLETELY fueled my passion for serving different organizations in this way--and providing me what a way to get exercise too!It started with an early morning. My dad picked up my friend and I at 6am! None of us were too sure if it was worth it at that point. Having on the CHOC walk shirts and wristbands made it feel real though.
We drove to Disneyland and waited in the long line to get into the Mickey and Friends parking structure. At this point, we began to realize how big this walk really was. With a crowd of people we made our way down the escalators and onto the road the tram normally runs. We walked...and walked...until we reached the gate of Disneyland entrance.
Here the understanding of the immensity of the walk increased. A huge amount of people were being funneled through a tiny gate. So we waited.
Finally we made it to Main Street! Now we could begin walking, right??? Lol. Not really. We waited in another crowd.However, as we waited on Main Street, there was a person (high up in Disney...can't remember who) announcing each of the groups as they walked by. Some groups were nurses from the hospital. (Like the SUTUREHEROES! Had the cutest spin off of Superman with stitches in the "S." They were from the surgical unit of the hospital.)
Others were victory stories of children who had survived because of CHOC's care. It was fun to see people who were presumably the "CHOC babies."
However, the groups that stood out to me the most--and at one point brought tears to my eyes--was those walking in memory of a child who has lost his or her medical battle. It amazed and humbled me to see just how many people would turn out for those groups. I bet some groups were 30 or more people! Seeing the photos on their signs of those little ones who are no longer here both touched and broke my heart.
A fourth group wasn't represented at the walk, but crossed my mind too: Those who were at CHOC and couldn't make it to the walk. Some may have even planned on it, but then their child took a turn for the worse or had scheduled chemo or some other complication came up.
This is why I walked. These children matter.
Back to the experience itself. After we passed the announcer, we were able to walk a little more freely...and had gotten used to the crowd. ;) We walked through most of the sections of the park. Just before exiting Disneyland, we had the chance to walk behind scenes. We were cheered on by groups of cheerleaders and received free waters from Aquafina.
Then we moved on to California Adventure. This didn't feel as crowded because of the wider walkways. We even got to walk past one of the Cars Land rides that is normally closed.
This whole walk felt like such a celebration! Everyone was here for one purpose. And we all knew it.
The final section of the walk was through Downtown Disney. We had reached the finish line!!I felt invigorated for the rest of the day. :) In a small way, I had made a difference. And with the 60,000 of us who came, we made a big difference. *sigh of satisfaction*
Thank you to those who donated to CHOC!!!
(Bonus: Dad bought my friend and I discounted tickets to Disneyland for another day! ;) )
