Thoughts on Avon Walk?

[kerikadi]

My BFF is a breast cancer survivor, she was diagnosed at 31 and went through surgery and chemo. Next month she turns 40

I noticed in a magazine that the Avon walk for breast cancer is going to be in Houston in April and thought this would be a great opportunity for us to get together (she lives in St. Louis) so I call her up and tell her we will buy/help with plane ticket for her birthday gift if she can make it.

I posted about this on another board but then the thought came to me that I might not be able to bring my nursling with me which was confirmed They don't allow any children under the age of 16 for liability reasons.

I called the Houston office this morning and the gal didn't really seem to care to I asked to talk with someone with more pull. The gal in charge of Chicago got on the phone. Honestly she was great and said she understood my situation and told me that they don't normally do this but I could speak with the logistics coordinator and find out the route and have my husband bring DD to me throughout the day to be breastfed.

While I appreciate that they are open to this (actually at one point even said the medical team could bring me a breast pump) I can't help but feel discriminated against I explained to her that I feel it's important for young women to know that breastfeeding reduces the chances of breast cancer for Mother and baby which she wholeheartedly agreeed with but it's just about insurance.

So I have to decide if I am ok with being away from my nursling for the better part of 2 days to participate in this even with my BFF who I haven't seen in about a year and a half or say screw it!

FYI - Nursling will be almost 13 months at the time and does take solids and DH is great. However, we are not used to being away from each other and the stress of that concerns me.

[Kerlowyn]

In 2006, my SIL was diagnosed with it, at 7 months pregnant. She had a mastectomy, delivered her baby a month early, went on to have chemo and radiation, and is now doing well

She did the Avon walk in 2007, with my DH (her brother) and our SIL. They created a team, shared the fundrasing and so on. They even held a party at a rented hall, sold tickets, had door prizes and raised anither 1K for the team.

DH told me that you are required to sleep in the 'tent village' they set up the night between the 2 days. I assume that will be a problem for you, and you should ask about that.

If you decide not to do the walk, maybe you can put a team together, recruit walkers, and lead the fundrasing effort. Avon lets you create a special webpage for fundrasing. You can have the team on honor of your friend. You can be on the sidelines during the walk, there are designated places for support persons to cheer people on. Maybe you can volunteer this year to help, pass walkers cups of water, help at traffic intersections...and then maybe be a walker when your child is a bit older

[DWAXSMOM]

I did the SGC 3 day last year. There were stops where families could cheer us on. You could probably meet your husband at these stops. Participants could sleep away frm camp so that is another option.

This was a life changing experience for me. I would recommend everyone do it. I do not think you will get the same joy and challenge and bonding experience with your sister this year. I would hate for you to miss out on that because you are constantly planning out the next rest stop and leaving camp when a lot of the bonding happens. If you wait one year I think your nursling will be better able to handle the separation and you will be better able to take in the experience. Just the traing alone took up to 12 hours a day at times. You definitely can not expect your child to endure that with you. It is a time commitment that I never expected between training and raising a ton of money!

Good luck!

[kerikadi]

If we do this we would do half marathon per day. It certainly isn't going to require 12 hours a day of training to walk 13 miles.

The FAQ section said that although staying in the 'Wellness Village' is HIGHLY recommended it is not madnatory.

I have to think about this.

I have a hard time with them wanting to keep women from their children for an entire weekend. If I did things their way I wouldn't see my kids for 48 hours. It seems to me with this 'plan' they are eliminating a HUGE portion of the population.

I'm just disappointed I guess. I really want to support breast cancer but backed out of Susan G Komen because of their donations to PP and may boycott Avon as well for their 'family separating' practices. They certainly don't seem very family friendly which is ironic because most breast cancer patients have family :

[Equuskia]

I don't support Avon, but for a different reason. They use chemicals in their products that are known or suspected to cause cancer.

[rmzbm]

Originally Posted by Equuskia

I don't support Avon, but for a different reason. They use chemicals in their products that are known or suspected to cause cancer.

Oh, the irony.