A Random Act of Kindness

Last week, I was connected with an amazing colon cancer survivor – Mark Weiss. Mark and his wife, Elizabeth, without having met us, invited our family to spend the weekend with them at their bakery and B&B in Cazadero, California (near the Russian River).

What a marvelous weekend we had at Raymond’s Bakery at Elim Grove! The girls happily hunted for fairies in the beautiful woods and along the bubbling stream but ended up catching only a toad and multiple caterpillars (which they were VERY excited about… I, on the other hand, wasn’t so thrilled with their catch). While the girls were busy exploring with their 3-year old daughter, Mark and Elizabeth spent their time telling us about their struggle with colon cancer and shared their love and support to help us as we face this tremendous adversary. What’s truly amazing about them is that they decided that they want their B&B to serve not only as a business for them, but also as a place of respite for cancer patients. They regularly invite cancer patients to come to the serenity of their home to relax and enjoy their fantastic food (and they refuse to be compensated for their hospitality for cancer patients). Pat and I were truly moved by their generosity and unbelievable spirit. Information about Raymond's Bakery at Elim Grove can be found by e-mailing to gottabakebread@gmail.com (Phone: 707-632-5335 ).

Mark has an amazing story to tell about his experience with colon cancer – he was diagnosed with Stage 3 colon cancer the night before his wife’s scheduled c-section for their first child. I cannot even imagine the incredible pain that they faced during what should have been the happiest time in their lives. Furthermore, Mark had left his job in the Silicon Valley to move with his lovely wife Elizabeth to Cazadero to start their bakery and B&B – and they were at the beginning stages of the business. Mark’s story is one of phenomenal courage as he and Elizabeth struggled with a newborn baby, a new business and Stage 3 colon cancer.

As you can tell from my earlier description of this couple and their bakery, just because Mark’s treatment was over, didn’t mean that they were no longer going to be involved in helping others with colon cancer. Since completing his treatment, Mark has been involved with an organization called The Colon Club, whose mission is to educate as many people as possible about colon cancer. They want people to talk in their everyday lives about it and to get screened when it is right for them. To meet that goal, they do “crazy things” to teach that anyone can get colorectal cancer at any age. They actually have a “colondar” that features colorectal cancer survivors diagnosed under the stereotypical age of 50 along with their personal stories and information about colorectal cancer. Mark is Mr. July 2008. For information about the Colon Club go to http://www.colonclub.com/. For more information about the Colondar go to http://www.colondar.com/.

I wanted to share this story with you as an example of the support that we have received from people who, until now, we did not know. So many people have opened their hearts to us. We feel truly blessed to have so much love and support as we take on this incredible challenge.