Tempe Walk for Stroke

Tempe, Arizona

by Rod Sparks

I am writing in this newsletter about an event that I attended, which was a fundraiser for stroke and heart disease survivors. The event happened at Tempe Town Lake in Tempe Arizona, which is east of Phoenix. Tempe is known for the yearly annual Fiesta Bowl, and has also accommodated the Super Bowl.

The day started off with registration at 7:30 in the morning and the walk stated at 9:00. They had many sponsors that supported the walk. They included: Phoenix Suns; Subway, which provided a lot of the food; St. Joseph's Hospital, which is the top hospital in the valley that takes care of stroke survivors and spinal cord patients; St. Luke's Hospital; Arizona Cardinal's, who had two members of the team to sign autograph's; APS, an electric company in the valley, which provided entertainment with live music. There were so many sponsors -- it is hard to remember them all.

As you can see by looking at the pictures below the number of people that showed up was unbelievable. The walk was 3 miles long around the lake, 8000 people participated. They raised $700,000. As I wasn't able to walk the 3 miles, I had my 11-year-old daughter push me in my wheelchair. She did a very good job but was only able to last for 1½ miles, then another volunteer pushed me rest of the way. I was honored to have my daughter with me.

With events like this and the support groups that some of us attend, it is worth while for us as stroke survivors, that we know there is a lot of support out there. We all go through the same problems in our lives such as: having to depend on someone else to get us around to where ever we want to go. The best support that we have right now is The Stroke Network because of the many other survivors that have gone through the same problems as each and every one of us. I am truly thankful for all of you and the support that you give to me. It is always a sense of at ease in talking to those on the chat room knowing that we all have the same disability. I hope you will enjoy this part of the newsletter that I have put together.

The Stroke Network, Inc.

P.O. Box 492 Abingdon, Maryland 21009