So… This Christmas I walked up to my co-workers, Jon & Andrea at the help desk… Andrea was knitting a yellow scarf. (There are lulls from time to time at the desk…) I said to Andrea, “That scarf would look really nice with black stripes…” Jon rolled his eyes while Andrea muttered some words that probably should not be printed on a family blog – and Jon leaned over and said, “she’s knitting that one at home – it was supposed to be a surprise…” Andrea gave me my scarf at Christmas – and then she explained to me that she made it with 13 stripes – and each stripe is 13 stitches wide… As you might imagine – it’s my favorite scarf now…
I know it might be subliminal – but often enough, I look up and a “13” catches my eye… Truck 13 from the Chicago Fire Department might be barreling by… I might look up and notice that the address on a building I’m passing is “13”… Walking through a cross-walk, I’ll see “13” flash… Ambulance 41 will cross my path… (OK, that has nothing to do with “13”, but it was the buggy that took me to the hospital when this whole need-new-lungs-thing started…) But anytime “13” catches my eye – and it happens quite often – it’s like she’s winking at me…
I first learned about “13” around October, 2001, when I received a letter from her family, telling me about Kari – they explained that Kari wore the number 13 on her volleyball team, and that her school retired her number… We established direct contact several months later – and, on what would have been Kari’s 19th birthday, her Mom sent me a shirt that Kari’s volleyball team created in her honor… The shirt has a 13 inside of a volleyball printed on the left sleeve… I wear it whenever I’m involved in any athletic activity – I never would have been able to participate in any athletic activity without her beautiful lungs… I’ve put that 13 inside of the volleyball on the left sleeve of all of my Kari’s Klimbers team t-shirts too…
On Sunday – along with almost 100 other members of my team, I will take the stairs 1,622 steps to the top of the John Hancock Center in Chicago in the Hustle up the Hancock. My team is named Kari’s Klimbers. Over the past 8 years – my teams have raised an incredible amount of money for the Respiratory Health Association… We’re approaching a quarter of a million dollars! For the past several years – my friend, Grizelda, at RHAMC has pulled bib number 13 and given it to me for my climb. I feel ten feet tall when I pin that bib on… I know the fundraising is very important to RHAMC – but the most special thing to me is that they’ve allowed me to tell thousands of people about Kari…
There are a bunch of other numbers that have become special to me – 15, 12, 8, 7, 4 and 2 – Tessa, Katie, Wendy, Alex, Kelly and Samara… I will be with several of them this weekend – her volleyball teammates… And this year, the lady that coached #13, and the rest them in high school, is climbing with us too… And I’ve had friends of Kari’s without numbers – Jenn, Kathryn, Christian, Gretchen (Nicole) – climb with me over the years too… I think you have an idea of how I feel about #13 and the girl who wore that number – even though I never met her – I never knew her… Can you imagine what it feels like to be near people who did know her, and loved her – people who she loved? It’s quite special.
One of my favorite moments happened a few years ago at the top. I was waiting for the elevator and, as I’m prone to do, I started chatting with the guy waiting in line in front of me… I asked him why he climbed. He told me about his father, who had recently died because of lung cancer – he climbed in honor of his Dad. We talked about his Dad for a few minutes. Then, he asked me why I climbed… The top was full of my team colors – a lot of people were wearing my “Kari’s Klimbers” shirts, but as I mentioned above, I wear the shirt Kari’s Mom sent me so I don’t look the same as the rest of my team… I pulled out my running wallet and showed him two pictures. He said, “That’s Kari!” I smiled and I welled up a little bit – and I told him that I breathe with her lungs… He didn’t recognize me – he recognized Kari – he recognized her smile… That moment has made 8 years and 12,976 steps worthwhile for me… She was so much more, but she was also number 13: