Yay, Marine!

I mentioned that we had our monthly Soldiers' Angels lunch for patients and their families at Bethesda last Saturday.

What I didn't mention was that at the end of our lunch, I ran into Zach. I met Zach, a Marine, at Bethesda last December shortly after he was transferred from Landstuhl, Germany. Even then, just short weeks after his injury, he had so much energy and such an amazing attitude. MaryAnn in Germany wrote about the days immediately following his injuries HERE.

I emailed MaryAnn Saturday night to let her know that I'd seen Zach and that he was in town, not for treatment at the hospital, but to participate in the Marine Corps Marathon!!

When my younger sister ran the MCM a few years ago, I had a great time chasing around DC and Arlington to cheer her on. I now live in Arlington and I'm just a 15 minute walk from Miles 1, 4 and 26. A couple years ago, my sis and I chased around town to cheer on a Navy friend. It's really fun and I get a ton of exercise. Needless to say, when I heard Zach's plans, I told him I'd try to cheer him on as I live so close.

Well, after a late start and then getting stuck on the wrong side of the main flow of runners so that I couldn't get in front to catch up with the trike riders (which included Zach), I made a beeline for the second half of the course in south DC and sat down to wait... yes! I managed to catch a glimpse of Zach at Mile 15 and Mile 20 and yell "Go Zach! Go!" before he rolled by surrounded by a pack of runners.

MaryAnn posted about Zach's latest efforts HERE, so go see the photo of Zach...

And yes, he finished! Totally cool.

Way to go Zach! You're an inspiration for us all. :-)