Colon Camp

If you’re willing to take risks, push outside of your comfort zone and be present, you #livemoore. If you open your heart in the mix of it all, you create memories and connections that will last a lifetime.   

Earlier this month, I hopped on a plane and headed to a remote area of Tennessee for the 2018 Colon Camp hosted by The Colon Club. They invited me for a photo shoot and an interview to share the Live Moore message, as well as my personal story as Matt’s caretaker. I also had the life-changing opportunity to connect with other #coloncancer survivors and caretakers. It wasn’t until the silence and stillness settled after the Colon Camp that I can even began to process the magic of this life changing experience. 

In reflection, it was clear that Matt’s presence filled each room as the models, staff and board members wore Live Moore shirts and spoke of how they Live Moore each day.  I shed tears of joy when I was divinely connected with Sarah DeBord a year after Matt shared her New York Times article on early onset colorectal cancer with our family and friends. And more tears were shed with the meeting of Kristina Smith, a fellow colon cancer caretaker and widow, “My Amanda”. It was surreal when I realized we would be featured in the 15th issue of #ontherisemagazine, the very same number Matt proudly wore on the soccer field for years.  

We started out as nine strangers featured in a magazine and left a family. I will never be able to articulate the impact those five days had on my soul. If you could see the wounds left on my heart from the experience of losing Matt, you would see deep scars filled with flowers in a rich soil of healing, growth and hope for the future for our family, colon cancer awareness and spreading Matt’s legacy and message to Live Moore. 

Thank you to Molly McMaster, for creating space through the Colon Club to experience connection, strength, advocacy, and most importantly, hope! My heart will never be the same and my hope is that when you pick up #ontherise magazine in Spring of 2019, and read the stories of my cohort, that your heart will also never be the same.   

Live Moore!!!

~Nikki Moore~