Counting up hope
When I was a kid, one of my favorite
hobbies was collecting old coins with my father. We never found anything super-rare or anything worth more than a few cents over face value, but it still was fun combing through the old coin book and squinting to see if we had found that illusive double-die wheat penny in a pile of change after a shopping trip. How exciting it was to think that we might find a penny worth thousands of dollars!
Those memories have come rushing back as of late. My father passed away the day after Thanksgiving 2017, and one of the things he left behind was a Snickers coin banks. My mother said that Dad had been placing mostly pennies into the bank since 2010, and she gave it to me to count up and roll as part of my fundraising for the Lymphatic Education & Research Network. She said that my dad had been proud of my fundraising efforts and that he would have wanted me to have this to put toward this year’s Walk for Lymphedema.
Before I began to count and roll the coins, I tossed in some change of my own. Only pennies and dimes fit through the slot. Then I weighed the football — 16 pounds! I’m in the process of counting, and I’m up to $19 already. It makes me happy to know that my father is still helping me to raise funds for lymphedema research even today. And every time I come across a wheat penny, I find myself squinting and Googling just in case. I have not found any worth more than a few cents, but I have found a renewed closeness with my dad. I’m “buying” the wheat pennies up and placing them in the box with the other coins I still have from my childhood. Someday, these pennies will be more than 100 years old … a lot sooner than we realize! Then I’ll have these memories of my dad to pass on to my children and grandchildren.
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With one week left until World Lymphedema Day on March 6, I’ve been busy trying to convince groups that control the lighting of landmarks and other structures to “Light it Up for Lymphedema” across New York State! The press releases are out, and hopefully the media will assist me in spreading the word. But in case you don’t see it in the media, you can read it here!! More than a dozen locations have signed on to the “Light it Up for Lymphedema” campaign, which means on March 6 (World Lymphedema Day) and during the month of March (World Lymphedema Month), waterways, buildings and other landmarks will glow in teal — the color of lymphedema (LE) awareness. Patrick and I, along with my sister and brother-in-law, Mary & Robert Codick, will be out taking photos and videos at the WNY locations, LE&RN will have the Canadian Chapter covering things up north, and the Lymphedema Awareness Network of Rochester has volunteered to capture the magic in Rochester. We’re so excited to have the word spreading so far!
Western New York and Southern Ontario attractions/facades that will be illuminated in teal include (overnight from March 6 to 7, unless otherwise noted):
– Peace Bridge: Buffalo to Fort Erie, Ontario, from 9 p.m. March 6 to 1 a.m. March 7.
– Niagara Falls (U.S. and Canadian sides): The Niagara Falls Illumination Board will light the Horseshoe Falls, American Falls, and Bridal Veil Falls in teal from 10 to 10:15 p.m. March 6.
– Buffalo City Hall Dome: 65 Niagara Square, Buffalo, from dusk to dawn March 6 to 8.
– Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, Elm & Carlton Streets, Buffalo, dusk to dawn March 5 to 7.
– Electric Tower: 535 Washington St., Buffalo.
– Seneca One Tower: 1 Seneca Drive, Buffalo.
– Bell Tower of Rockwell Hall at Buffalo State College: 1300 Elmwood Ave., Buffa
lo.
– 
CN Tower: 301 Front St. W., Toronto. A standard light show March 6 will
run for 8 minutes at the top of every hour and will be visible about 30 minutes after sunset.
Rochester attractions/facades that will be illuminated in teal overnight from March 6 to 7 include:
– Xerox Tower: 100 S. Clinton Ave.
– Legacy Tower: 1 Bausch and Lomb Place.
– Tower280 at Midtown: 280 E. Broad St.
– Rundel Memorial Library: 115 South Ave.
– High Falls: Browns Race.
Syracuse attractions/facades that will be illuminated in teal overnight from March 6 to 7 include:
– Barclay Damon Tower: 125 E. Jefferson St.
– Syracuse University Hall of Languages: University Place, main campus building.
– Syracuse University Hendricks Hall: West Zone on main quad.
In the Albany area, the Times Union Center Rainwater Wall at 51 S. Pearl St. will be teal for the entire month of March.
To find a full list and interactive map of World Lymphedema Day activities around the world, visit https://lymphaticnetwork.org/wld. For more information about lymphedema, visit https://lymphaticnetwork.org.
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LE&RN in the news (more to come soon, hopefully!):
https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/resolutions/2017/j3914
https://lymphaticnetwork.org/news-events/nys-to-honor-lisa-mcpartland-lern-new-york-chapter-leader
http://www.kentonbee.com/news/2018-02-28/Entertainment/Special_Events.html
http://www.allwnynews.com/2018/03/area-landmarks-to-light-it-up-for.html
And this story from The Buffalo News (I’m adding the pic because you need a subscription to read most of their stuff online):
LympheLisa - What the SWELL?!?! 