Saturday & The Big Walk

Barely got to bed and WHAMM-O!  Time to wake up and get those walking shoes on! 

Saturday morning Brennan and I got down to the National Mall bright and EARLY.  Sure, we'd been in D.C. for a few days now, but 7:30 in the morning was still our 4:30 AM back in Phoenix.  (Oh, and by the way...the "National Mall" is not a shopping center!) 

Brennan pre-Walk

Brennan & Karen pre-Walk

(hanging with some of our best fake friends)

Joyce Bender with Brennan pre-Walk

Brennan really wanted to walk with Greg Grundberg and his son Jake, and we got there early enough to start the walk at the same time as the Grunberg Family.  Jake ended up walking some but mostly riding a golf cart because of his broken leg.  Brennan still got to walk with the Grunberg Family for part of the National Walk for Epilepsy.  Brennan and all of the others with a diagnosis of epilepsy got to wear a purple shirt and it was nice to see so many of the people that we were walking for...because you know that most people with epilepsy look just like everyone else.

Before and after the walk we got to talk to Joyce Bender.  Joyce spoke to the Kids Speak Up! crowd several times during our training days.  Joyce has epilepsy herself.  She also is the President/CEO of Bender Consulting which helps people with disabilities and employers.  She also is the Chair of the Board of Directors for the National Epilepsy Foundation.  And she's just a very positive person who constantly reminded the Kids Speak Up! participants to remember to do three things:  believe in yourself, make friends, and speak out!