30) Medals 4 Mettle

This post has been a long time coming. I've had several versions of it in my head, but I wanted to get it right, and there's been quite a bit going on that has prevented me from spending a bit of time to do it justice. Here goes:

One night in late October, I received a curious message from my friend C. I've known C since about 1995, meeting her when we worked together in retail. She was the one who introduced me to my wife, so in a way, this blog exists because of her. C's message included a YouTube link and a quick "Watch this video. I will explain when I see you guys on Saturday". The link was to the following:

I watched it and was perplexed.

Saturday rolled around, and C dropped by for a visit. During the visit, she explained that there was an organization known as Medals 4 Mettle. Their mission is as follows:

At Medals4Mettle we attach our branded ribbons (lanyards) to donated finishers’ medals (marathons, triathlons, half marathons and triathlons) and award them to children and adults for the mettle and courage they demonstrate battling cancer, chronic illness, trauma and other life challenges.

Unbeknownst to us, C had started a local chapter of Medals 4 Mettle, and was giving the first donated medal to our little E.

E's generously donated medal from Krista DuChene & Medals 4 Mettle.

C explained the connection between the video, and the medal:

Krista DuChene is a Canadian mother, dietician, and Olympian. In 2014, she fractured her femur defending her title at the Canadian Half Marathon Championships in Montreal. To fix the fracture, she required emergency surgery. In April 2015, after a mere 11.5 months of recovery and rehabilitation, Krista returned to the sport and raced in Rotterdam, Netherlands. Her time of 2:29:38 was her second fastest marathon, and qualified her as the first Canadian to race in the Olympic Women's Marathon in 20 years.

The medal you see above is the same medal that Krista won in Rotterdam, which qualified her for the Olympics. Krista included a wonderfully written note along with the medal, and we found the entire gesture to be thoroughly heartwarming.

My wife and I had contacted Krista privately to thank her for her generous donation, to let her know how this memento recognizes the difficulties associated with E's cancer and chemotherapy treatments. It was beautiful and selfless for her to donate something of such great personal value to a family and a little boy that she didn't even know. I want to now thank her publicly, and to let her know that this medal hangs on a wall in E's room where he can see it every day. When he is old enough to understand, we will tell him Krista's story, where the medal came from, and how it came to be in his possession. On behalf of E, thank you Krista.

Medals 4 Mettle
Medals 4 Mettle GTA Chapter
Krista DuChene 
Krista DuChene - Marathon Mom