Letter To The Editor: Anything Is Possible

On the morning of Sunday Jan 1st, 2012, I did what I doubt too many people did...a SOLO Polar Bear Plunge! Yep, that's right! I convinced myself to get up extremely early that morning and put my swimsuit on under my heavy running clothes, packed the car with towels, blankets, camera, cell phone (for additional pictures to instantly upload to Facebook), and my loving husband. As soon as it got light out, I headed to Coulon Park for my exciting New Year's Day celebration MY WAY! It was about 7:30 and it was VERY cold out, but let me tell you, the water was EVEN colder!!! The lake was calm and the ducks were happily waking up and then I headed into the water with gusto! My husband, Joel commenting that maybe the water was warmer than it was outside. Me answering back, "nope, it's freezing!" I plunged into the water as he told me I was insane, laughing and taking pictures to document the event. Then, telling me how proud he was of me. I walked out, then went back in, so he could take pictures with my cell phone of me plunging, so I could upload them to my Facebook page before I headed to work that morning.

You see, I had planned last late January to do this Polar Bear Plunge with a friend at Lake Sawyer with a big group of people at noon on this day. I had been looking forward to it for a year. In April this past year I had very serious surgery and nearly died. I fought for my life for a long time and still have struggles and challenges I deal with on a daily basis. and some of them STILL collect money for me, which I deeply appreciate. I have hundreds of thousands of dollars in medical bills alone that we are trying to pay. The key Bank at the Landing STILL has a Fundraiser Acct set up for me that anyone can donate to at any time. It hasn't been donated to in months, people tend to forget as time goes by and that's natural, but hard. Anyway, I was out of work for 3 months recovering and this was at the time my husband was out of work for a year and two months. So it was a VERY difficult time, in every way you could imagine. I stayed positive and did all I could to get back to being me. I am me now, just 28 pounds less of me, due to the kind of surgery I had and all I deal with physically now. However, I am a fighter and I am strong and dynamite comes in small packages! Since I planned to do the plunge for so long, I had every intention of doing it. A few days before the 1st, a co-worker asked if I would work for her that day. I said I would, then realized I wouldn't be able to do the plunge I had planned so long to do and had my heart set on for such a long time. I REALLY WANTED to bring 2012 in with a splash and shove 2011 out the door with no looking back! So...ok, all that meant was I had to tell my friend that I wasn't going to be able to join him, but it certainly DID NOT mean I couldn't do it! I just had a change of plans.

Anything is possible and any day above ground is a good day!

Sunni Rudd