Carver County "Road to Recovery" 5k run/walk

In support of the Koreen Phelps Foundation, there will be a "Road to Recovery" 5k fun run/walk on Monday, June 9 at 6 p.m. Registration begins at 5 p.m. There is no entry fee and the race will begin at the Carver County Government Center (600 E. 4th St.).

The Koreen Phelps Foundation is dedicated to bridging recovery modalitis and providing bio-chemical options for those how want to restore their brains, repair bio-chemical imbalances and acheive nutritional replenishment.

For more information or to pre-register, contact Cathryn Taylor at (612) 282-3686 or email ctinnerchildwork@aol.com.

Organizer Cathryn Taylor explains how the first "Road to Recovery" 5k came to be:

Who was Koreen Phelps?  She was a vivacious woman with a smile as wide as the Mississippi. She had a contagious laugh that started in her belly and erupted moments later from the corners of her mouth. Opinionated – with strong convictions – she had a heart of gold and never failed to see the best in everyone she met.            

At least that was the Koreen I knew. We first met when the Salvation Army hired both us as the primary counselors for a new, Beacon/Matrix Outpatient Treatment Program they were executing in Carver County. We worked together for three, short months. With over 50 years experience between us we excitedly implemented this new, client-centered, manualized approach to treatment. Then one Monday night Koreen did not show up for group. It was unlike her. I knew she had not been feeling well. But to not show and not call was not the Koreen I had come to know. I sensed something was wrong.  It unnerved me. Immediately after group I dialed her number. There was no answer. The next day I tried again. A strange voice answered the phone. When I asked for Koreen she was vague with her response.             

I explained I was Koreen’s co-worker. She gave me her brother’s phone number. I dialed it immediately. There was no answer.  That afternoon I tried again. This time he picked up. I explained who I was. Don told me he had found Koreen in a diabetic coma over the week end. She had been rushed to the hospital. The prognosis was unknown. 

Like all in Koreen’s life – I was devastated. Although I had only known her for a short while our connection and camaraderie defied time and space.  In the following months I sustained almost daily contact with Don holding onto the hope Koreen would fully recover and return to us.

One morning he reported Koreen was conscious enough to receive visitors. I rushed to the hospital. Koreen looked better than anticipated. We talked for awhile then Koreen said she was getting tired and needed to take a nap. As I was getting ready to go she reached for my hand and casually said, “The Angels came for me … but then I was told to come back.”  She paused for a moment waiting for my response. I smiled.

Words were not necessary. Koreen and I had had many conversations about such things. As she released my hand she added, almost as an afterthought, “If they come for me again, though, I think I will go.”

Our visit fueled my will to keep the new program going. There were times when I feared it would close. Referrals came. But they were fewer and further between than we had hoped. Unfortunately the size of my paycheck was dependent on the hours worked and the hours worked were dependent on the growth of the population.

I was faced with the need to supplement my income and reluctantly began the search for another part time job. I kept in close contact with Koreen’s brother. Her recovery vacillated. Some days she showed signs of improvement. Other days were challenging and left little hope.            

I was hired at Health Recovery Center in Minneapolis. Founded by Dr. Joan Mathews Larson nearly 30 years ago – HRC offers innovative, bio-chemical repair to addicts and alcoholics. Flavored with a mental health component the program not only treats addictions but also the allergies which fuel the cravings resulting in relapse. Their success rate is impressive. The opportunity to witness this model of treatment first-hand was exhilarating. I began to juggle the scheduling demands of both positions.            

I also maintained contact with Koreen’s brother. One day he reported the situation had taken a turn for the worse. Shortly thereafter the final message came. Attending her Memorial Service and hearing Koreen’s eulogy awakened a grief within me I had not expected. I envied all those who were there to celebrate her life. I felt cheated and angry.  As soon as the service was over I hurried to my car. I wanted to get out of eye’s view before the tears overtook me. I cried all the way home.            

My grief hung on like the San Francisco fog on a cold summer day. I couldn’t shake it. I continued to carry the program but felt a dull ache every time I walked into that office alone. Yet, the program prospered. Clients were staying sober and reporting to their probation officers that they loved coming to group. For most court-ordered clients these comments are rare. Their enthusiasm was bitter-sweet. Each compliment was laced with pangs of sadness. How grand this would have been to have shared this triumph with Koreen.  Meanwhile, I was being exposed to this bio-chemical approach and learning that many cravings and triggers are symptoms of hypoglycemia – a precursor to diabetes.  Oddly enough, this fed my anger. Koreen had been in recovery for over 22 years. Her diabetes had gone undiagnosed. I struggled with the gnawing truth that had I known what I was learning even just several months earlier I could have perhaps helped Koreen get the bio-chemical intervention which could have saved her life. This thought weighted on me as I straddled between these two, new innovative programs … both magnifying the incredible absence of Koreen. I didn’t understand why these two experiences were converging within me. I felt as though I were being given two pieces of a three-part puzzle unable to decipher the missing link.  Then one day it became crystal clear. I was running around the track at the Chaska Community Center conversing silently to God about my dilemma.

“Why are you exposing me to these approaches to treatment with absolutely no clue as to how to bridge the two? What is it you want me to do with all of this new knowledge and experience?  What was the purpose of my meeting Koreen… and why is it so very, very difficult for me to get over the loss of her…” 

On and on I fired my questions at God.  It was becoming increasingly difficult to go between these two worlds. Then suddenly it felt as though Koreen whispered in my ear. 

Instead of focusing on the problem – ask to be shown the solution. You want to make a difference!  Use your talents to inspire others to do what I was unable to do. You know the importance of exercise – you are learning about the promise of bio-chemical repair – the necessity of an internal structure – those are the pieces to the puzzle and you are the one who can make them fit.    

The log jam broke. The Koreen Phelps Foundation was given birth! It is a foundation that will organize fun runs/walks around the world to provide to those who have at least one year recovery the resources for bio-chemical repair. Although not yet even fully formed on Monday, June 9^th, at 6 PM the foundation will be launched by sponsoring its very first event - the Carver County Fun Run/Walk/Push the Stroller Event! Won’t you join us at the start line?  Call 612.282.3686 for details of the event.

BIO – Cathryn Taylor is a licensed Drug and Alcohol Counselor who has been in the field of recovery for over twenty-five years.  She is the author of The Inner Child Workbook and Soul Steps – a 90 day program to  “Conscious Aerobic Exercise.”