Lam Luncheon Denver Roadtrip

August - 2011 - My first Regional LAM Luncheon. After flying to Cinci and meeting & spending time with my Colorado LAM ladies, I had been looking forward to keeping in touch. From where I live near Utah, that meant driving over 200 miles over the Rocky Mountains to get to visit. So I invited my mom to drive like we used to for a little road trip along I-70 to see the girls.

 

I loved this sign, I had to take a photo with LAMmie waiting outside. These were from the rest area in Glenwood Canyon. It's pretty much where the Mountain Terrain starts on the way to Denver. As you can See from the Photo below.

 Once through Glenwood Canyon, it's Mountain Pass after Mountain Pass. It's the best highway view of the Rocky Mountains in my opinion. It tops out around 11,200 feet just before the Eisenhour/Johnson Tunnel. I checked my O2 and I was creeping down into the low 90's but doing well. The way home sat's fell into the 80's when trying to run around and take pictures. But we made it back down in one piece.

 Once we arrived, it was like we were home again, among friends. I found out so much about my Colorado and Wyoming LAM sisters. They are nothing short of amazing. Runners and Skiers, some of these ladies wore me out just hearing what they are accomplishing in the face of their diagnosis. Quite motivational and so worth the drive.

 

After Lunch we were treated like royalty. First a hike up on Davidson Mesa, a much smaller Mesa compared to ours, yet a breathtakingly beautiful view. 

 

Just a short hike down the trail led us to a magnificent view of the Rocky Mountain Range and the Town of Boulder Colorado. 

After our hike, we were introduced to the beautiful town of Louiseville, Colorado. Recently voted one of the safest towns to live, in the U.S. It was a great small town atmosphere, we were treated to some great town culture and view of the downtown area. Karyn was an excellent host. Here's hoping to get to visit again soon.

 On our way back we stopped near the Summit, near Dillon Lake, We had to wait in line for our photo opportunity here, as there were two garden gnomes in our spot, then after we were done, and alien and a rubber ducky were waiting for their shot in front of this scenic vista. They however didn't have time for a group photo.

 Then it was back to Glenwood for a dip in the Hot Springs Pool, I didn't tackle the waterslide this time, but did take a jump off the diving board. Then of course, the highlight of any trip to Glenwood, the Slurpee Stop at 7-11.

  

 

Then it was back Home Sweet Home, well rested after a short vacation weekend. 

Thanks to all the Ladies who made this trip so much fun. Thanks to Mom for Spending the weekend with me, and to Mrs Karyn and her family for making us feel so welcome. As well as Mrs. Ann for hosting the luncheon at her place. Can't wait to get another opportunity to visit again.

LAM Miche Fundraser

August 2011 - Having a rare disease is expensive, researching one is even more expensive. Some diseases that are more widely known or when stars suffer from them get more media attention than others. These are a couple reasons why fundraising for LAM is quite difficult, only 2 women in a million are impacted by the disease, and to date, no one breathtakingly popular has got it. So LAMmie and I in our superstardom are doing what we can by spreading the word through our travels to raise money. You can always go to My First giving page to send money to The Lam Foundation.

LAMmie and I, with the help of Miche Consultant, Glenda Hamer (Glenda's Miche Page) decided to do a fundraiser. I love having Miche parties, to help me stock up on what's new in the form of new shells to fit my purse. If you haven't heard of Miche, go check out her site. Needless to say, Glenda met with me, and shared a way I could have my party and raise money at the same time. Instead of getting the free stuff that is the standard perk to having a party, We decided to donate 20% of all the retail sales to the LAM foundation. This was one way to give back to a group who has helped me out a great deal, you see they are the hosts of Lamposium, as well as funders of primary research for treatments & cures for my disease. So I set out to have the biggest Miche bag party I could. I had orders from far and wide for my idea, which made me very happy, I had a few folks attend the party at mom's as well to show their support. My retail sales lifted our donation to about $120.

 Well, I finished up sales, and went on about my week, and found out that Miss Glenda was having an open house to spread the word about her September releases. (there's a new midsize 'demi' bag you know). I went and ordered a shell, and found that part of her proceeds from her open house were also going to our fundraiser to make it a higher donation. She's left the party open until Sept.6th just in case you are reading this before hand. We are hoping to bring that donation total to $200.00. We will see what comes of it, but many thanks to Glenda for taking care of others! You rock!

LAMmie photoshoot

August -2011

Corbie with Corbie Lyn Photography helped me out by doing a photoshoot for my blog and bio's for LAM pages. I hadn't had my photo taken intentionally in a long time, but I have so many photography friends who have offered and hadn't taken them up on it. I like Corbie, she's always giving of herself, and she was available, and she took to Main St. Grand Junction, CO to take some pics of us.






We had a great time posing for a few shots. But I wanted something that is Iconic to Grand Junction, so we decided to go visit Chrome on the Range for a photo op. 



Thanks so much Corbie, take a look at her work at Corbie's Facebook page.

Arches National Park

July 2011 - Doug, Nicolas and I decide to head out on a day trip across the state line into Utah. I have been to Moab and Canyonlands before, but still hadn't made it to see the arches. I heard that some of them were a trek to get to, but that some of them were close enough to see without having to hike too far. I was very excited to go, and try out my camera with some new landscape. I brought my lammie along for a pic with an arch. As it turned out, it was a bright sunny day in Utah. At near 100 degrees we are hiking around in desert terrain, not the brightest thing to do on a summer day, but it was later in the evening, if you haven't ever experienced a sunset in the Arches, It's a must do in your lifetime. It's simply breathtaking, (pun intended). While there are several Arches near the road, the best ones are a bit of a hike away. I decided when we neared the end of the park where the ones are that you've seen in national geographic are, that I would simply try to hike up to Delicate Arch. We didn't take the main trail, I knew better than to try that, so we went to the "view area" trail. There was a short 100 feet tail down to view it from near the parking lot, and a high road, was quite a bit farther, I forget how far, needless to say, I didn't make it that far, but I did try. There were these rock stairs that were Breathtaking for me, They did me in, but I insisted upon climbing them, just to see if the view was better at the top.
I decided once up the stairs that this was something of a milestone. I hadn't really made it too far, I couldn't see the arch from where we stood, but in 100 degree heat, these stairs were momentous, so I left LAMmie at the top and snapped a pic between tourists. We then started our decent to the lower viewing trail, it was a bit more "handicap" accessible than the high road, but I would like to think I tried.

Here's a shot of LAMmie from the lower trail, still beautiful from below, and made for a rewarding finish to my hike. I appreciate my husband & son on adventures like this, if they feel they missed out on something by hanging out with me, they sure wouldn't say. Besides a sunset is much better when shared. 

Our Anniversary June 2011 Rocky Mountain National Park

June 2011 - Doug and I spent our anniversary in Rocky Mountain National Park. I spent most of the time, not thinking about LAM. I was warned that the elevation could impact my breathing, as altitude has done in the past, I was a bit leery, so I brought my Pulse Oximeter. We happened to be there the weekend they decided to finally open up the road over the top of the park, which is blocked most of the season due to snow. The park is home to Long's Peak, one of our state's many 14ers. As a photographer I dream of hiking to some of the most picturesque lakes there, and love shooting the ample wildlife. Estes park where we stayed was pretty high in elevation as well, I bought a shirt that says "Got Oxygen" because people without lung disease can barely breath there, so I think I did pretty good. Near the peak I got out of the car to snap some pictures. walked a short bit, got winded and returned, I decided to check my O2, I was satting in the 90's which felt fantastic, I then remembered my LAMmie I had purchased from Lamposium, so I decided, I should take a picture of him at some of the highest points in the park, to remind my Lammies that it's possible, don't limit yourself, and don't allow your disease or fear of what may happen to limit you. Here are a few pics of LAMmie from RMNP.

New Adventures with LAM

April 2011 - Hello, My name is Dawn Morrow and I have LAM, it's a well deserved acronym for Lymphangioleiomyomatosis. There are many folks who write in their blog about their illness and problems or blessings. I am a photographer, and I decided to take my disease adventures on the road with my little Lammie. I have to admit, at first I felt it was a bit childish of grown adults carrying around stuffed animals to represent their disease, I know some of you are thinking that, because that is the same thing that I said. Those stages of grief are just as important to acknowledge with anything so large as a terminal disease. I know because I lived in denial for so long, in fact I still go back and visit frequently. Feel free to google it if you don't know what it is, I don't want to dwell on it in my blog, at least not right now. I feel so blessed in my life to experience it. I feel that is a benefit of knowing how short life can be, that you do what you can to live it to it's fullest. I was so inspired by hearing other LAM women's stories, I could see every stage of LAM. Some who feel they shouldn't get active in the groups because they feel so much healthier than the other women with LAM. Some feel they want to share everything, because then they aren't suffering alone with the disease. Some feel so healthy, they don't want to be in a group with a bunch of sick people, and some come to the group in some of the lowest states in their life and grasp at any and everything they can from it. Now that I have lived with LAM for over a year, I feel that I have experienced each of these states. I am now in the stage where, Whenever my God wants to take me from this life, he will let me know, but for now, I am going to spend what time I can living it.

 It started with a conference that was created for the LAM patients called Lamposium. Women from all over the world converge on Cincinnati, Ohio to learn about lam, Physicians from all over the world come there to to learn and share what they learned through the year of research, and most importantly all of them converge to have fun and raise money to find a cure or valid treatment for the disease. The Lam Foundation has been a wonderful resource for me, but again their story is theirs, if you are interested, go to www.thelamfoundation.com , but I digress. I was awarded a grant to attend this conference from Colorado. I roomed with my buddy Jeanne, and she inspired me to start my LAMVenture. I have always wanted to be turned loose in a large city with skyscrapers, I decided I would wander town and check out the tallest looking building in town, then ask if I could go to the top and look out to take pictures. Well I decided to take a few LAMmies with me. Miss Lisa and her buddy Josh, and Jeanne and I decided if we could do it, we should. So we began our 50 story accent up Carew tower. The last few floors used a service elevator, and the last level was just stairs. I felt I had a bit of an advantage here, since I was the only LAMmie not toting O2. We all made it to the top, and for me it was one of the highlights of my trip. Jeanne had an idea that has stuck with me. She decided to pull out her stuffed lam out of her bag and put him on the edge of the building. And there is where the LAMVenture Begins! I found my little LAMmie at Lamposium. He even makes noise, and he's not too big. I can sneak him when I feel silly carrying around a stuffed toy.