Cade Brigade

Many of you who read my blog know that Big Guy's best friend is fighting Stage 4 cancer.     He was diagnosed last June.      If you want to know more about his story and his battle you can visit his Caring Bridge site.

Each year our church holds a 5K race called Race For His Glory.   This year the proceeds from the 5K went directly to help Cade and his family.  

Here are some of our kids hanging out at the golf carts they had decorated for Cade.    His parents brought Cade right at the start of the race so he could ride along the 5K route waving and encouraging racers.     Talk about amazing!      So many people haven't seen Cade in a long time and a lot haven't seen him since he got diagnosed.    

Speaking of racers... there were over 500 people who raced in this 5K.    Pretty amazing.    The streets around our church were congested with people running, laughing and talking.     What a way to spend the day before Easter!    I love that second picture hubs took of the crowd because it shows our church steeple in the background.

They named those golf carts the "Cade Brigade", but if you want to meet the REAL Cade Brigade you are seeing them in these pics below.    They are the teen boys who play xBox online with Cade.   They are the ones who give Cade the fun and normalcy he needs in the midst of chemotherapy, radiation and side effects from medicine.     They are the ones who don't ask "How are you feeling?", but ask "Dude, how do you get to the next level in this game?" or "Did you see that?"     They are the ones that Cade talks to when he won't talk to his own mom.    Sometimes sharing things that he SHOULD tell his Mom.     They are his friends.    

When I see these pics below I laugh because I know that they probably aren't talking about anything to do with the race.    They are probably talking some video game strategy.     My son is in that picture and I know before he left that morning he was playing a new game and his one track mind was probably talking non stop about that!

Big Guy picked a friend to be his race buddy.    He is a high school student who plays base in our worship services.     They enjoyed just talking and making their way around the 5K track.    

I appreciate my sweet hubs taking pics for me.    There isn't much that would have prevented me from being at this 5K supporting our friends.    However, I was with my family remembering the life of my uncle which is where my friends would have wanted me to be.