About
October of 2011 my wife Eileen was told that she had cancer, on November 7th of 2012 she lost her battle to Pancreatic Cancer. When Eileen would go in for her chemo treatments she always had what she called her "Chemo Bag" and in her chemo bag she would have her medications, her ipod, a book or two, a few snacks, her sketch book, plush toy and a blanket. Because Eileen was a wonderful artist I wanted to continue sharing her art after she passed away but I was unsure of just how to do that until I thought of her chemo bag. Eileen's art was loved by all but her biggest fans were the children, so what I have done, to honor Eileen's memory and to give back to children battling cancer, was creating a "Chemo Bag" featuring Eileen's artwork. I have created a coloring book, bandana's, a plush toy and a blanket to fill a chemo bag and be given to a child battling cancer. I have named this charity Eileen's Little Angles. It is my hope is to one day make this a non-profit foundation so that it may continue on long after I am gone and Eileen's artwork will forever put a smile on children's faces. So how do I raise the funds needed to make Eileen's Chemo Bag and to raise the funds needed to create a non profit foundation? I struggled for some time trying to come up with ways to fundraise until I had the thought...I wondered how far it was from San Francisco to San Diego, with no thought of covering that distance by car, bike or foot, I was just curious. 501 miles. I knew at that moment just what I was going to do for a fundraiser...walk from San Francisco to San Diego in my Stormtrooper armor. That was my "sign". This is what I had to do. This is how the 501 Mile Walk came to be. In the time since I have added a return trip back up to San Francisco, this trip will be for me, to allow myself to heal a little bit and to cherish the time that I had with Eileen, to remember the good times and not just the suffering. The west coast has brought healing to many people as they made their way one step at a time along the path or roadway. For the next three months I hope to share in my experience with everyone I meet, to share my memories of Eileen and to introduce her art to you so that you too may enjoy the artist that she was.
