The Race is Given to She That Endures 'til the End

 In 1995, cancer almost took Deirdre Thompson's father.

Dolphus Thompson was Korean War veteran, and he committed  himself to beat Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma, a devastating disease that have no conscience. It is a merciless killer.

Dolphus waged his war with radiation and chemotherapy, an endless process that is painful and takes a lot of strength. These treatments didn't all work. So he then under went a stem cell transplant in 1999. Since then, he has been free of this disease. For more than 11 years, he has been in the clear. Since then, Deirdre began a fight of her own.

She tells me that she used to weight 300 pounds. To look at her fabulous figure now, it leaves you scratching your head. A transformation has occured and she lost much of that weight.

In March, she took on a new challenge, in honor of her father. She signed up to train for a 100-mile bike ride in Lake Tahoe. She would be riding for Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. She had to raise $3,900, which she completed the week prior, with a lot of help from local businesses and a nice fundraiser that Christian at threw for her.

The day she arrived in Lake Tahoe, she discovered that her bike arrived, but the trucking company had somehow damaged it. The wheel frames had been chewed up and bent, but she didn't let that stop her. The  morning of the race she woke to temperatures that had even shocked the local residents there. It was 40 degrees outside and to top that, it was raining. An impending storm was moving in and they almost called it off. The race went on anyway.

She began the race with the determination that brought her there. During the race she took two hard falls off the bike, which left abrasions on both knees and fractured her shoulder. She got up only to hear her coach telling her maybe she should take the short cut and opt out of the race. Deirdre brushed herself off and continued on. Other bikers encouraged her. At the 70-mile marker, she was going along with her strength stretched, and she had become discouraged. She looked up and she sees a patch of clear blue in the sky. Then she looks forward to a restaurant sign and it read, "Have you looked up lately?"

Immediately, her determination returned and she sped on. She said, "I knew God was going to get me through no matter what, at that moment."

She finished the race crying and praising God for her strength.

 She returned to Atlanta, and soon after, she celebrated her 50thbirthday on June 11. She has invited me to join her the next go-around, but I don't think my right leg would survive it. 

I am in total awe of this woman's strength and outstanding accomplishments. Leukemia and lymphoma, you have met your match.

She has a great quote on her Facebook profile, "This simply sums up my testimony and my entire TNT, LLS experience, 'The race is not givento the swift nor the strong, but the one who endures to the end."