Diamond Elementary school teacher Dr. Edith Allison plans to put on her racing suit and head to Atlanta tomorrow to race in the Red Bull Soapbox Race at Piedmont Park, the 2009 event’s first pit stop in the United States.
Designing a non-motorized speed car was not something Allison thought she would ever do, but her life took a dramatic turn when, in 2006, she was diagnosed with breast cancer. She became determined to beat the disease and live life to the fullest.
Inspired by the book "101 Things to Do Before You Die" by British author Richard Horne, Allison created her own list and began to blog about it.
"I’m doing 101 things to do before I die as part of my victory over breast cancer," she said. "And No. 88 was to compete in a soap box derby. I have a Web site where you can look at the things I’ve completed and it’s the seventh item I’ve completed — well, it will be after the race."
Allison said she has some pretty wild stuff on her to do list, but its all part of recovering and aiding others.
"I’m trying to inspire other breast cancer survivors to go out and live life because it’s not a death sentence anymore," she said.
Allison said her sister, Jean Marie Allison, came up with the car design. They submitted it to the Red Bull judges and were among the 50 teams selected. In keeping with the breast cancer awareness theme, they named themselves Team Boobie-Do.
"My sister had the idea to make [the car] look like a breast cancer ribbon, and it’s actually in my den because it was too long to fit in the garage. I hope we can get it out the door," she said, laughing.
Going with her to Atlanta as her pit crew is her sister Jean Marie Allison and Diamond Elementary School Assistant Principal Dr. Odessa Morman. Her co-pilot in the car will be Nancy Cintron, who Allison said is another breast cancer survivor. Cintron teaches at another Fort Stewart school.
Allison said they named the car Betty, after a friend who was just diagnosed with breast cancer and began chemotherapy Thursday.
"And we are going to dedicate our performance to our friend Betty," she said.
Allison said her team hopes to win the people’s choice award and earn a party with 20 of their closest friends.
"If we win (first or second place) that’s nice, but that is not what we are going for," she said.
The Saturday race also marks Allison’s two-year anniversary for being cancer-free.
On Labor Day weekend, Allison said she will cross another item off her list. She and 10 others were chosen to dress up like female Klingons and participate in the Klingon Beauty Pageant at the 2009 Dragon-Con event in Atlanta.
Follow Allison as she tackles her list of 101 items at: http://edidod.blogspot.com/2009/03/welcome.html.