In 2015, I had the honor of running the Boston Marathon while supporting the Boston Celtics Shamrock Foundation. I never had any intentions of running a marathon...ever. Just a few short years prior, I was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease that very quickly turned my ability to move at my own leisure upside down. I've always been incredibly active, it's how I get my crazy out, so to be labeled with something that takes that away from you with no control was maddening and frustrating to say the least. After finding the right injections/meds my joints came back to me and I vowed to never take the ability to move for granted ever again. So I signed up for a freakin marathon....the Boston Marathon.
Fast forward to 2022, and I was back at meeting another uncontrollable knee disease called PVNS (it SUCKS). I've had 2 knee surgeries in the last 18 months, weeks and weeks of PT, a few setbacks, and an immense number of F bombs to get me back not only to where I was, but even better. It's not the setback, it's the comeback.
The opportunity to ride the 2024 Pan Mass Challenge for the Boston Bruins Foundation was presented to me just as I was about to schedule my 2nd surgery in 2023 and I said LFG! How could I say no to representing such an iconic brand celebrating it's 100th year of existence for an incredible cause (with only 1 decent knee)? I figured I did it before I can do this again. I will be very clear though, I'm not riding for myself. I'm not raising money for myself. I'm riding and raising for all the family, friends, colleagues, and strangers I don't know who have experienced what I have in a different way, who aren't able to do this for themselves, who had movement taken from them, and who lost the fight along the way. #move4heather
We are all fighting for something or someone. We are all fighting for things that cannot be seen with the naked eye but the human spirit and the will to win and overcome is unlike anything else. Please consider donating for yourself, your family/friends/colleagues, those you've lost and those you haven't even met yet.
I will be raffling off some outstanding items from the Bruins, Celtics, and Red Sox on my IG page which you can follow along @siobhankathleensks to help this incredible cause. Good karma! Thank you for following along and Go Bruins!
