Protect or Prepare?

Protect or Prepare?.

The Ballad of Rebel and Dodge

The Ballad of Rebel and Dodge.

Warning – Action brings hope alive

We are all survivors! Some of us survive cancer, others life changing accidents, others still a negative relationship or childhood. Something all survivors share is hope. Hope for a cure, a better tomorrow and/or a full life. This hope is not passive, it is something which we anticipate, work with and look forward to.

My friend James is the Hope Ambassador this week, sharing words and actions to help us discover our own hope.

Anyway James got me thinking about hope,feelings and action, most importantly my actions and feelings. Hmm…but where to start there seems so many things I could be doing to create the future I dream of?

James’ day 1 of Hope Free Gift has some great starting points, so I printed off the sheet, made a hot coffee and started to read.

Then I heard our postman slow down at my letter box and wondered who wanted what today!

Then I did a rethink! Wow!

How long has it been since I actually looked forward to the postie coming or got excited about what might be in my letter box? Since the advent of email, sms etc it seems the only thing i get regularly in my mail box is adverts and bills 😦

Now honestly when was the last time you got excited about junk mail and the utilities bill, not exactly warm and fuzzy makers are they?

Then and there I decided that my one small step toward hope and my ideal future would be to spend 55 cents a week and write – yes with a real pen and paper 🙂 one letter – just one letter each week.

Hehe, I’m already giggling thinking of my family and friends reaction, and of what I might find in my mailbox soon:)

You know you really can eat an elephant – one small bite at the time :)) Just like we can change our lives on small step at the time.

What tiny little thing did you change in your life for the better today?

Virtual world innovation helps to fight back

Wow I knew when I first blasted a tumor whilst riding in a simulated blood steam in Anatomica that it was a very powerful tool. The fantastic news is Anatomica will now have a permanent home on the American Cancer Society’s island.

Friends Fighting Cancer media release:
“How do you fight back against something so small that even the most powerful microscopes have difficulty seeing it? How do you empower people to visualize themselves getting healthier? ”

For the 2009 Relay For Life of Second Life, Friends Fighting Cancer chose to answer these questions with a full-sim build called “Anatomica: City of the Hero Cell.” This interactive environment featured displays that introduced visitors to the lead player in the body’s immunity system; the White Blood Cell. It also personified threats to the body like bacteria, viruses and, true to the meaning of Relay For Life, cancer.

But more than just learning about these allies and threats, Anatomica gave visitors the opportunity to take the fight to cancer in a literal way. By donning protective gear and boarding a special submarine everyone who came to the site could go on patrol with the Hero Cell and use various weapons like the Chemo-Missles to destroy those threats. Bacteria couldn’t stand up to those weapons. Nor could the free-floating cancer cells or tumors that were to be found within the blood stream.

More than 6000 people visited the Relay For Life sims this year and many of them found Anatomica and spent some time fighting back. Countless survivors and caregivers now have an image in their minds of watching cancer cells explode and die. As one survivor said after spending more than an hour inside Anatomica, “That is good medicine!”

And while Relay is designed to be an overnight event, the value of Anatomica will endure long after the sims have been taken off line. Friends Fighting Cancer is proud to have been invited to install all of Anatomica as a permanent feature of ACS Island, the American Cancer Society’s headquarters in Second Life. The vision and purpose of this build will continue to help people for years to come thanks to this partnership between ACS, the RFL of SL and Friends Fighting Cancer.

If you donated time, talent or money to this year’s Relay For Life then you are part of the reason why 2009 broke all previous records. Overall, almost $275,000 USD was raised. Friends Fighting Cancer added over $11,000 USD to that total! On behalf of every one of your Friends Fighting Cancer, thank you for the gift of life and for helping to celebrate the undeniable fact that we are indeed One World with One Hope.

Stay tuned for more updates including an announcement of the Grand Re-Opening of ACS Island featuring “Anatomica; City of the Hero Cell!”
End.

Tumor alert

WOW! How’s that for a whole lot of HOPE?

I finally recovered from the amazing Relay for Life in Second Life. It was an incredible time, emotional but freeing also, and best of all I made some new international friends.

We have few more days left before the effort finishes but I wanted to share this with you all. Relay for life shatters records!

Send someone you know some love and hope today 🙂

You are an amazing person, I love you 🙂

Hugs, Light and Love, your generosity saves lives http://tinyurl.com/lmkbz2

Virtual world raises over US$250 000 for cancer

And we are not finished yet!

Whoot! how wonderful – so much love and caring AND theres still 12 hours to go.

Tears of joy everywhere THANK YOU Hugs love and light. You are awesome!

I started this blog 10 days ago with a birthday dream but this day is just one amazing dream. I wish you lal could be here:)

Will post more later meanwhile become part of the history making live saving event,

listen live to the radio from the event http://tinyurl.com/me6l4m

Buy a limited edition linden bear. Let’s build a mountain of bears and give more people more birthdays! http://tinyurl.com/lj5esz

or make a donation here. http://tinyurl.com/lmkbz2

Celebrate, Remember and Fight Back TODAY!

CELEBRATE
Whooot! It’s here, my birthday AND Relay for Life in the Virtual world of Second Life.

I’ve been spoiled my family and friends in the real world and had a most wonderful out lunch with Dad.

Now it’s time to get ready for the biggest party ever in Second Life.

REMEMBER
During the last three months of her life my computer sat in Mum’s bedroom and she got to know and speak with some of my friends. A couple she had been messaging for over a year having met them at my home on previous visits to Queensland. When Mum died a friend of mine wanted to make me my own angel and asked me for a picture of Mum. At first thought it seemed a bit strange but I photoshopped Mum onto an angel outfit and gave it to my friend.

Every now and then I take my special angel out and it is kind of wonderful to have her in SL with me again. This year along with hundreds of others from all over the globe we will walk the track together.

FIGHT BACK
Some people collect bears but Mum collected monkey’s 🙂
The lindens form linden lab, owner of Secondlife have created a unique virtual RFL Bear — only available until the 19th July. You can help fight back by buying on for yourself or sending a gift bear to your favourite avatar.

Let’s build a mountain of bears and give more people more birthdays! http://tinyurl.com/lj5esz

Laughter and Tears = LIFE TOMORROW

It’s nearly here and cancer gets another boot in the…whoopsie 🙂
latest figures show that RFL in SL has raised over 236 000 USD Whoot!!!!!

Tonight the 125 plus teams of passionate people in Relay for Life in Second life will be celebrating LIFE and the magic of raising a quarter of a million American Dollars to fight this insidious disease.

From every corner of the world we will laugh, cry and pray together and we will remember.

Already over 500 of the almost 8750 luminaries are lit in memory of someone dear, by the end of RFL they will all glow lit by the generosity of family and friends. A colorful reminder not only of those we have lost but a reminder of how gosh darned blessed we all are to still be here to light them.

If there is ever a reason to dig deep into our pockets – it’s those hundreds upon hundreds of luminaries.

Almost 8000 Luminaires line the track

How’s this for a beautiful place to remember? Dylan Thomas’ poem “Angel….: Do not go gentle into that good night…” greets you when you arrive at the top of the stairs.

The Garden of Heaven

And a pray of HOPE meets you as you enter the garden.

Excerpt form the Gate of Hope

Thank you for coming with me on this journey to the Relay for Life in Second Life. For many this is a game for so many others it is a me and by which they can participate in LIFE!

“Some join the Second Life event because they aren’t physically able to participate in real life. Last year, the daughter of a bedridden woman brought a laptop to her mother’s bed so they could do the virtual relay together.”

Also last year, the avatar of a young woman came up to Foley’s online persona and said she had found a lump on her body, but feared doing a biopsy. Foley and others encouraged the woman to see her real-world doctor, who diagnosed the lump as cancerous.

“She got treatment and she’s doing fine,” Foley said.
Read more in the San Francisco Chronicle.
http://tinyurl.com/mh5nt9

Your donation is saving lives today! http://tinyurl.com/lmkbz2
Give someone another birthday 🙂

Relayforlife in secondlife – Breaking records

Camping is so much fun and I’m just a big kid at heart, so when Fay announced the early opening of the RFL sims I was wrapt. 37 sims built by SL’s best creators are open for just over 24 hours.

What a full 24 hours it’s going tol be:) Each team strives to keep at least one team member walking the 10,907 metre track all the time. It takes about an hour and forty mnutes to complete.

And its going to be so distracting with lots and lots of interesting places tempting me to visit.

Anatomica has just the places for you to unwind.

Tai-Chi and a flower filled garden to restore harmony

or maybe take to the stars?
[/caption]

I reckon I have the best birthday venue in any both worlds for 2009 🙂 My dream to get donations to match the 7500 USD raised by the Friends Fighting Cancer Team is getting closer and excitement is mounting as fast as the dollars are rising in Second Life.

It’s getting harder to remember the times during treatment when it seemed there was no light and little hope. It’s easy to feel very small and insignificant while those around get on with the busyness of healing and caring.

Sharing your Journey

Add to the light today – your donation saves lives. http://tinyurl.com/lmkbz2
or here http://relayforlife.org.au/

Relay for Life camp in Second Life

INSIDE EACH OF US IS A TINY WORLD

I spent the most wonderful afternoon exploring the FFC campsite at the RFL in SL. Our campsite encompasses an entire region and has been brilliantly built by talented creators. Zander, Lauren, Felix and Grafix not only created a beautiful looking camp but made it educational and therapeutic too.

Pictures and information from the camp will tell the story:

Inside each of us is an amazing world

“There is a world within each of us…a world where the smallest things wield incredible power…a world where nothing is bigger than HOPE!”

Welcome to Anatomica: City of the Hero Cell!!

We begin this adventure by meeting the Hero Cells. Our Hero Cells are white blood cells, the key players in the body’s immune system.

Meet the Hero cells

And we continue to learn and train for our Hunt for the Nemesis!

Time to learn how to recognise the enemy

Learning who is good and who is bad.

Amazing creations help us train for our Blood Stream Mission

EEEPS!

The time has come…

You are now entering the battle zone

Wow!!! A chemo-missile equipped cell to ride!

Training done, armour on and ready for battle

This blood stream is utterly amazing.

Tumor alert

Take aim….FIRE!

Another one bites the dust!

I can’t believe how much pleasure I got out of blasting the bad guys to bits and watching them disappear :):):) This is an incredible visualisation tool and oh so therapeutic 🙂

To be continued…

One (small) World! One (BIG) Hope! Until there is a cure WE RELAY!! Your support matters http://tinyurl.com/lmkbz2

1 person dies of cancer every 4 seconds in this world – every day