Yah, last MRI Day! Tiny hat celebration!
This is a quick in and out, no contrast, half the tests done before 7am. We meet this afternoon with the oncology team to go over results and plan next round of treatments.
Looking forward to “sleeping in” tomorrow.
Ugh day two of 6am MRI’s. THIS time with coffee. Won’t make that mistake again. Yesterday they were an hour late and that = hangry Tom and Jessie. Good news, they changed how this study works. These scans are my new baseline scans. I only have to do the three scans if 25% of the tumor grows back. I don’t plan on that happening so maybe won’t have to do the MRI gauntlet again. Just a normal one hour scan. Whoo hoo
So Friday Night concert – got home somewhat early so I could get up and be at Cabela’s at 6:30am to drive down to Alsea Falls for shuttle day. The Balloons were out, I think we saw 5 of them?
Met up with Steve, Scott, Clay, and Alkai for a great day at Alsea Falls just south of Corvallis in the coast range.
This place is amazing and when you can get a ride to the top it is even better. This is my 2nd mountain bike ride since the brain surgery and recovery from the vestibular neuritis issue and I was worried how I would do. Also, I just two days to recover from Wednesday race was not sure how my legs would do. I have only ridden here once before and that was at the shuttle day last year. I don’t know these trails like I do at Sandy Ridge so I had to be a bit more dialed in. The top section is little more rootie and rocky and that is what causes me the most problems. The middle and lower sections are a lot more buffed, swoopy, and wide open. I can see and focus a lot better when it is smooth like that. Ever so slowly I am getting the feel back. The new bike is making up the difference. I could not have ridden this trail like I did on my old bike. The first lap was fun and I was fresh, this is where my legs felt best but I did not know the trails yet so I had to keep it somewhat restrained. Second lap was better in that now I knew the turns and where some of the obstacles were located but I really noticed my legs were starting to suffer. Third lap was the hardest, we had a couple delays due to a crash by Clay and a punctured tire by Scott so lots of down time but still my back and legs were done. Clay, Alki, and I called it a day and it felt nice to get out of the riding gear and recreate. Steve and Scott went on another lap. Once everyone was in we proceed to feast on Steve’s sammich that I should have taken a picture of to show all of you the epic size of that thing. I was too tired at that point. Weather was perfect, crew was fantastic, and the day went better than I expected. The heart was willing to do another lap or two but the legs were not there. I could feel every lap the fatigue was causing little mistakes that I knew would become big mistakes. When you are riding like that you DON’T want big mistakes!!
Should have taken more pics but really just wanted to enjoy the riding and hanging with the guys. Thanks for taking it easy on me and making me feel safe out there. Looking forward to the next one…
Addendum 9/14: Just found out there was a photographer out for the Alsea Falls Shuttle. He got a good shot. Too bad he did not have a sign out so we knew where he was. Often he kind of startled you. Added below the gallery
After the Labor Day travel it was back to work full time, UGH! I was getting used to this part time stuff. In addition we had a packed week.
So I will make this quick – great time catching up with Torgy and Alana. We saw Alana and Brian’s summer production of Into the Woods. They volunteer to do a 5 week summer musical production for middle and high school students. It is always fun to see these kids pull off a Broadway musical, ACMA Theater. Then hear about the all that went on with the production. I am always impressed what these two can pull off each year and with the talented kids they get as well.
Wednesday was my first race – Honestly this is the one thing I was most looking forward to and dreading at the same time. When the doctors at OHSU said I had a brain tumor and they were going to cut it out one of the first things I asked was how soon I could ride once surgery was complete. I was assured 3 months. Well three months and 7 days later I did just that. I was more nervous for this race than all but my first one. It really helped that it was the Wednesday night “Blind Date at the Dairy” race series as it is my favorite and I know this course so well. Being on this Ketogenic diet has really thrown my nutrition and race prep dietary planning out the window. I was not sure how my body would respond not having carbs to rely on as a fuel source. There is not much documentation utilizing strictly fat for high intensity competition. There is good literature when doing all day low intensity like ultra’s or centuries where you keep your heart rate relatively low and go for many hours. Cross is not like that at all, it is 100% for 40-50 minutes. In addition to just the nutrition, I am still dealing with my balance issues (more on this on the Thursday post) so I was worried about being a pack and dealing with the unexpected in a race environment. Plus my fitness is not even close to what it used to be. This was going to be my year to move up in class and was why I was working so hard in the spring. (Subsequently probably helped me get through this whole tumor/nuronitis issue as well).
I had two goals, finish the race and in true Team Food Baby form, “Not come in last”!! I staged in the back and off we went. The pack started off pretty slow so I thought it would be a good opportunity to move myself up a bit. I wanted to just ride my own pace and got in a group of about 5 of us doing the same. When I looked at these guys I told myself I have to beat them, I am better than this even with all I have gone through. I used the first lap to “settle in”. On the second lap as I was starting to push a bit harder, there is a path as you come out of the velodrome that follows some trees and bushes before you do a 180 and head back toward the main area I felt a sharp pain on my left butt cheek. Then I felt it again in a different spot. In looking at the guy in front of me I saw a bunch of yellow jackets buzzing around him. Almost simultaneously 3-4 of us yelled I just got stung. While I got popped three times on my ass I was better off than the guy in front who had one go into his helmet and he had to stop and quickly get his helmet off. After the third lap the sting was starting to fade. Thankfully the course staff rerouted us away from that section and got some wasp killer out. Typically these races are in the 4-6 lap range. I heard the announcer say that this was a long’ish course (1.7) miles and he expected us to do 4 laps. I was keeping an eye on lap times and was running in the 8 and a half minute per lap. I was planning on just 4 laps, heck I was hoping for just 4 laps, so on that 4th lap I started pushing to pass several guys I knew I should beat. As we were coming into the infield just before the finish line I heard the bell. The bell signifies the last lap so one more to go. CRAP – I had expected this to be the last one. When I looked at my computer I realized there was a lot of time left, I had to do one more lap – shit. I had used up most of what I had on that 4th lap expecting to finish. Once across the line and off for another trip I had to rest. There is a long downhill stretch and a tight circle then an uphill that routes around the main course area then back into the trees and up a hill with steps cut into it. I got passed buy this fat guy. That is when the resting ended I could not lose to this guy, I can rest when I am done. Somewhere in there I passed him, I think it was where we head into the trees and up the steps. I just remember after the steps and turning back into the trees on a down hill seeing him fall over cramping up. I knew I did not have to worry about him anymore and I could target the guy I really wanted to beat as I had lined him up on the 4th lap. While I tried I did not have the gas to catch him BUT I did achieve my goals. I made the race, and did not come in last. My race is a mixed group of guys over 40 racing in two classes 3’s and 4’s. I raced 4’s and out of all those guys (and starting in the back) I came in 54th out of 62 finishers. 5 guys did not finish. Not bad for a guy that had a craniotomy a few months ago and still cannot walk heel to toe in a straight line without losing his balance. I know I could have got the two in front of me if I had just pushed a bit more. Will see what happens next week!
Oh and I almost forgot, the bee’s created a controversy on the OBRA Chat as the yellow jackets were referred to as bees and not wasps. When it was announced that the dairy was going to “take care of them” one individual said not to hurt the bees as they are in a global decline and need to be protected. It was pointed out they were not bees, they were in fact Yellow Jacket Wasps and they should be eliminated. The race organizers announced a bee sting contest:
There were a lot of things that made last night special. Perfect weather, a magical sunset, the healthy competitive spirit shared by our competitors… oh, and the enormous swarm of angry bees full of hate. Once located we fought bravely, turning the course into a wild maze around the occupied tree and emptying a can of bee spray into their base. By that point rider and course worker casualties were extensive, and the offensive chemical tactic only seemed to make them more angry.
To honor our wounded (operations crew excluded), we’d like to announce the first and hopefully only:
BLIND DATE BEE STING CONTEST!
Submissions will be judged by location (no photo evidence, please), intensity, and number of stings. Extra credit for creativity and storyline. Winners chosen by a panel of medical professionals and celebrity guests, Prizes to be determined.
I repeat, photo evidence is not allowed, i’ll take your word for it. If i see that little paperclip on the email its going to be deleted.
My submission is as follows
Ode to the Bee
(In your best Forest Gump voice)
Something bit me!
Oh Mr B how can it be, you bit me?
Pop, Pop, Pop, One, two, threeUnBeelevable Mr B you stung me.
It wasn’t me, you say, Mr BVespidae Vespula, the left buttock wasp
Attack while we race crossYellow jacket alert
Skip that section, no dessertFinish the race as the sting dissipates
Only to return as an itch that never abates.Next week you will be dead
And I will not treadOn you Mr B
As you are a friend to me…
After the race was done we rushed across town to do our 2nd fantasy football draft.
Thursday was my long awaited testing of my vestibular system. I did a hearing test, pressure tests, a bunch of tests with these goggles on that can track my eyes as I look at dots moving in front of me. Then they blackout the goggles and watch my eyes with infrared so they can see what my eyes do when they move my head around but I have no reference point. Probably the coolest and most interesting test was the water test. They put water in your ear that is 7 degrees colder than body temp, then 7 degrees warmer than body temp for 30 seconds. Then once they stop if the vestibular nerve is working you will feel dizzy. That worked on my right ear indicating normal. My left – nope. So she did a third test with even colder water and still nothing. So basically my vestibular nerve on my left side is no longer working. Since I have started vestibular rehab that is basically all I can do as these nerves generally don’t repair themselves. While that is what they thought, the audiologist has seen two guys come back in with some partial recovery so maybe I will be lucky and get some recovery too. But then, once I go back on chemo, I don’t think my body will repair like it would normally so I am not too optimistic there. She said it generally takes about 6 months to start recovery and 12 months to get somewhat back to “normal” function with the rehab PT. Given I had a little procedure in my first 6 months since occurrence she feels I have done remarkable in my recovery. I meet with the Dr next week to go over the results in more detail. So more on that later.
Thursday night was me suffering from Wednesday racing and FOOTBALL! First game of the season and it was a good one. The Denver Carolina rematch. Inbetween I was trying to pack and get ready for Saturday mountain biking at Alsea Falls. It was shuttle day!! Pay $35 and you get a ride to the top and can do as many laps as you can fit in. Whoo Hoo!!!
Friday FREE tickets to the last concert at the Oregon Zoo. The Zoo concerts can be a lot of fun but a bit crowded. This was really relaxing as it was mildly attended, we did not pay for it so were free to leave at any time, and got there right after work so had plenty of time to just wander and see some of the zoo animals. Sadly after labor day they go to winter hours and the zoo officially closes at 5pm so we could not see that much. Since I posted on FB live at the concert I will just include a couple of pictures here. It was a very nice night!
Saturday was Alsea Falls shuttle. I will save that for its own post as this one is now quite long.
Note: when my pictures were uploaded to Google Photos from my race, google put them into a little video. Rather than me upload those pictures I will just upload that video. It had most of the good ones in it.
Sometimes, when I have a few moments to reflect on what we do I have no idea how we do it. These moments of quiet time I cherish.
Note: sorry this is going to be a long post as I am not as good as Jessie typing up quick updates. One, you will see we have been rather busy, two, I don’t really like typing on my phone to post a message, and three, I like to reflect a bit about what I am going to say.
It all started last week on Thursday when my niece Amy and her boyfriend stopped in on their way to the coast. We had a “mini” pub crawl through Tigard. Not our best showing but it sure was easier than going into town. We finished by watching the Beaver game at Big Al’s and while it looked like they had a shot to win it. They could not follow through.
Next day we had to get up for work and that afternoon we flew to Spokane for the start of our Labor Day whirlwind tour. Friday night went to dinner with my mom and sister once we got into town. Saturday we had a fun BBQ at my sisters house and got to meet my (ugh hate saying it this way but you know you are old when your nephews and nieces (the ones that YOU changed their diapers) start having their own kids!) Great Niece, Allie, new dog. What a great demeanor. She was playful and loving and goofy and fun. Perfect for a teenage girl (or a brain cancer survivor – hint hint Allie). A mix of a belgian malinois and blue heeler so you know she is going to be smart. She had the malinois coloring but the blocky head and smaller stature of a heeler. At some point Jessie and I will get a dog and something like this little gal would be a good fit.
Once everyone went home we went to visit Jax (Jaxon) and Tara. We always seemed to have a conflict on past visits so I have not seen him since he was a baby. It was fun to play with him kicking the ball around on a wonderful Spokane fall night. We got to play with some bugs and he just loves to run. Damn these kids grow up fast!!!
We then made a trip over to visit mom one more time before we had to get up at 4:45 to catch our 6 am flight to Boise. It was great to see her and let her know I am doing well. I have found it is one thing to talk to people on the phone or via email. When they actually get to see you it really sets in that I am currently doing quite well and expect to continue this way.
Sunday morning off to Boise for Tyler and Haley’s 16th birthday (Jessie’s nephew and niece). Seriously, this was a weekend to make both of us feel old!! Once we got into town we had a quick lunch and off to Idaho City and the hot springs. I guess there used to be a place here for quite a while but it got rundown. Looks like they got new owners (or an influx of money) and built a new facility that is very nice, TheSprings. If you find yourself in the area I recommend checking them out. After a good long soak we went back to town for cake (our second boont cake that weekend) and ice cream followed by dinner at a pizza place. Monday was hang with the twins time with Jessie being the math tutor and changing the word problems to have a “Portland Theme”. Haley is learning quadratic equations and here is Jessie explaining how we have goats to eat the blackberry bushes in vacant lots and wooded areas. (this replaced horses in the original problem as Jessie felt horses were not nearly as interesting as goats). Jason and Becky prepped for a BBQ (two in one weekend, nice!) as Jessie and I did our fantasy football draft. After the BBQ we visited Jessies family then headed to the airport for an 8:30 flight back to Portland. I think everyone got in at the same time as the airport was PACKED. I have never seen so many people waiting for buses to the economy lot. We had two red buses come in and both filled up and there were still people waiting to get on.
While it was a fun trip and great to see everyone – I was pretty pooped and ready to rest. Sadly, it was the start of going back to work full time and a packed week so the rest would have to wait. Will continue the week in another post to break these up a bit.
This post is long overdue. Things, life, stuff, get in the way of posting consistently but Sunday was a HUGE day for me. It all started at my weekly meetings with my Radiation Oncologist Dr Jerry Jaboin. He had a friend. Jeff, coming to visit and promised Jeff they would go mountain biking. Jessie and I LOVE to host people and show them around so I could not resist saying I would take them to Sandy Ridge. When I found out Dr Jerry has never been that reaffirmed my offer. I love that place and love to show it off. The timing was perfect as it was a week after my radiation and chemo treatments ended. Just enough time to rest up and recover a bit. I contacted Steve and Scott and said it is time to ride. I figured if I could not ride, Steve and Scott could show Jerry and Jeff around the trails.
I had a simple goal, go to Sandy Ridge – Ride up to Flow Motion, hit Lower Hide and Seek, and call it a day. The climb was so much easier than I expected. It was pretty squirrely going up the trail to the downhill part of Flow Motion due to my vision issues but the ride down went well. I have never really gotten Flow Motion dialed in so I took it pretty easy but it was hard to avoid the fun jumps. Steve and Scott rode ahead to take pictures of my “return” and it was pretty cool to be back on a mountain bike 81 days after brain surgery. Honestly, at times, it was hard to concentrate because I kept thinking, dude, two and a half months you had brain surgery….
I still remember asking Dr Dogan when he said we are going to cut the tumor out; would I be able to ride? He said not right away but in 3 months you should be able to. Nice that he was wrong and it was less than that 😛
Lower Hide and Seek went much better as I could do that trail in my sleep. It was less looking and more feeling the trail and it felt good. Riding my mountain bike is much more comfortable than riding any other bike I own. Even being on the new bike I am at home and that acclimation happened so quickly. I have only ridden it twice before, the last time being Sunday before my vertigo attack. I attribute my ability to ride so well as 80% bike 20% me. That bike just rips! Thanks Steve for talking me into buying it.
Once we finished I was tired but so jazzed I wanted to do it again. Huge hugs from Steve and Scott added to the excitement. Jeff and Jerry had huge smiles and were up for another go. Off we went and did the same loop. The second time the fatigue had set in a bit more so caution was high but I let if fly a bit on some of the jumps. Before we started I predicted when we finished Dr Jerry would say, I am hooked, can we go next week. Looks like I was right…..
Friday was another big day as I was finally “diagnosed” as to the cause of my vertigo. I saw Dr Jeffrey Brown, he is an Otoneurologist. They specialize in neurologic inner ear problems. He diagnosed me with Vestibular Neuritis or Neuronitus. Sept 8th I go in for more tests to determine the extent of the damage. Fortunately, through my internet research and a comment from my primary car doc I had already come to that conclusion. I was referred to a vestibular rehab PT two weeks ago. I have exercises I do twice a day to help regain the function of the deficit from the nerve damage in my left ear. I attribute those and continuing to work out with my ability to get back on the bike again.
If it was not for the neuritis issue the riding would not be a problem as I feel great. Nowhere in condition before all this happened but that is slowly coming back. My first race is scheduled for Sept 7th and I don’t see anything preventing me from racing. We plan to ride up at Sandy again this weekend so well on the way to some normalcy in life. I will enjoy it while I can!!!
Thanks to Steve, Scott, Dr Jerry and Jeff for making it a great day!
Funny thing looking at the pictures below, you can see the top one was first and maybe the second or third banked turn on the trail. You can see I am low in the turn and pretty upright. Still pretty tentative at this point.
The lower picture was near the end of the trail. Now I am up on the bank and starting to lean into it. Much better body position and starting to feel the trail again.
Jessie got me out on the bike tonight. We did a whopping 6’ish miles down to Summerlake park and back. Balance was good, turning my head side to side was good, looking back over my left shoulder, not good. I get a bit wobbly and can’t hold a straight line. Have to really concentrate to do that. Looking back over right was much better. The other issue that has me concerned is when it got a little bumpy – that gave me some visual issues. That is about it for the balance vision component. The physicality on the other hand, that is an issue!!
I think this week will be spent on the trainer because I don’t think I could climb to the top of Sandy right now and feel good once done. Just the little hills we did made my legs feel like lead and that was on my light road bike. Lugging my heavy mountain bike up a much steeper hill for 3 miles that is a whole other story. I am definitely weak and things just feel odd. I don’t think the muscles are ready for heavy use yet. LONG way to get for race shape in 3 and a half weeks. First race might just be a parade lap.
Fingers crossed when that last chemo pill is taken on Monday the body starts healing fast!!! I don’t have time to wait!!!
Just one chemo/radiation treatment left on Monday. Whoo Hoo!
It will be nice to have a long rest from this and maybe feel normal for a while? There are still a bunch of appointments lined up until I see my Oncologists and do my post radiation MRI’s. I am currently seeing two different Physical Therapists. One as part of the radiation/chemo treatments to help manage the brain/nervous system. The other is for my balance/visual acuity issues from the inner ear issue. Next week I finally get to see the Otoneurologist. He is a Dr that specializes in neurological issues of the inner ear. If it was not for this problem I would be golden ponyboy (who got that reference ;p )
Since I am in the trial for the new contrast agent, I will have three MRI’s at 6 in the morning mid September. They are going to have me taper off the steroid and hopefully I can get off the anti-seizure med as well. I am not a fan of taking it.
I hope to go mountain biking on the 21st. I told my Radiation Oncologist I would take him and his friend up to Sandy Ridge. With the balance work the PT has given me I should be able to at least ride up the hill and roll down. Won’t be doing anything “crazy” or ride like my old self but it sure will feel great to get back on the bike. If I can just do one lap that will be a win! (actually after thinking about it, if you are going to go mountain biking after brain surgery it is a good idea to go with a Doctor 😉
Today I am meeting with a group that is forming a racing team for cyclocross this fall. I have been down the team route before and it did not really work out but I thought I would give it another shot. It might be fun to go out to a few races and “support the team” when I am unable to race. Since I will be starting chemo treatments probably the end of September racing will be quite limited and I am nowhere near race shape so I see lots of suffering in my future. First race is set for Sept 7 at Alpenrose. The Wednesday night Date Night series is probably my favorite. Just a great way to spend the evening after work. I have already registered and I will have 3 weeks to get ready!
After doing some reading it sounds like the 28-day Temodor cycle can really knock you down. I am starting to get a bit worried. Fingers crossed I am abby normal in how I tolerate those treatments as well. The 6 week chemo/radiation has gone better than we expected or hoped.
Oh and I also wanted to note. Being on this Ketogenic Diet one of the side effects can be horrible leg cramps. The diet flushes water and thus often flushes out much of the electrolyte minerals that your body normally holds onto like: potassium, magnesium, and sodium. I have had some cramping at night in my calves but last night they really hit me. I could not make them stop. I had some issues with this mountain biking in the summer a few years back and did some research. Apparently Pickle Juice can help eliminate cramps. So I got up and ate a couple of pickles. When I finished my 2nd one the cramps had stopped.
So, if you are prone to muscle cramps – eat a pickle or two!
Sorry this post is a bit disjointed sort of a ramble but it is a beautiful Saturday Morning. I have my coffee, the hummingbirds, so I can ramble if I want…
Thanks Everyone for all the encouragement I appreciate it immensely.
Jessie and I are thoroughly pooped. What a great day and great motivation heading into my last full week of radiation and chemo. This is a huge, Huge, HUGE, THANK YOU (!!!) to everyone that has supported us as we have progressed through this ordeal. From all the offers of; if you need something call, the meal train, our friends and family that came from far and wide to visit and participate in the the tumor walk, EVERYONE that donated and helped fund raise for the walk. I NEVER expected anything like this. I knew I had great friends and family and that they would “be there for me if I ever needed it” but I never thought I would “need it”. I cannot express enough how touched I am when ever I am in contact with any of you. Your generosity is greater than I can thank and I appreciate it so much.
Going to the tumor walk today I saw that same level of support in dozens of groups and families. It is amazing how we can rally around to support each other in times of need. It is extremely encouraging to see other survivors thriving and inspiring others as this can be a terrifying ordeal. I was not comfortable being up with a group of people deemed Tumor Survivors. I don’t feel I have survived anything. Everything has gone so well and it has been such a short time I don’t feel like I have been through the gauntlet that others have. While I hope I don’t have to, I am constantly worried that it will get worse at some point. That nagging feeling that all has gone too well so that something bad is bound to happen. Of course we intend to keep the all’s well going for as long as possible and hope to put this behind us soon. Sadly with Brain Tumors I don’t think you really get to live that life.
It has been a great weekend seeing everyone and just having a good party. We love to host and feel so comfortable in that environment. Next time, I am going to have a beer! And thank you all so very much for everything. I honestly cannot say that enough.
So here we are, Brain Tumor Walk weekend. Time sure has gone fast. I have a week and a day left with Chemo and Radiation. I feel great but look forward to the break. Just to get off some of the pills for a while. I feel like we are getting the Ketogenic diet dialed in a bit. Going back to work, and I never thought I would say this, has been nice. It helps to have a good routine again and feel like I can still contribute. Honestly I think my brain is working better than before. Maybe diet, maybe getting something removed that was not supposed to be there, maybe the slight decrease in stress knowing what you are dealing with vs guessing. Not sure but I will take it….
First, before I get distracted (you know those butterfly thoughts…), I want to say the biggest THANK YOU I possibly can to all of those that have supported Team Food Baby in the Tumor Walk (hell, and Jessie and me in general). In a very short time we have raised over $4100. For those of you doing the walk I really appreciate your time and support. Getting up early on a Sunday morning and walking around downtown Portland is not my idea of a great time. So far the walk has raised over $88k, with the top 10 teams raising 3/4 of that (we are pretty solid at #5 thanks to you folks). The more I have learned about cancer, tumor, health research in this country the more I realize it is people like us that make the difference. The government cannot fund all of it. Drug companies need to make money so they only want to fund what can generate a return. So it takes the public that has been affected in some way help push the research forward.
I found out this week about an amazing event in Ohio called Petotonia. It was created to help fund cancer research at the Ohio State University. The brother of a good friend is riding in it this weekend. Since 2009 this event has raised over $119 million for cancer research at Ohio State. My friend shared with me a story about a researcher at OSU that had a new way to treat GBMs (what I have) and could not get funding from any government source. This group gave him $900k to fund the research. Maybe one day I can participate in this event as I would rather ride my bike for 100 miles than walk around downtown Portland.
Oh and while I am on the soapbox I would like to highly recommend the book, The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer (Amazon). There is also a great three-part series done by Ken Burns, of PBS documentary fame, on Netflix basically covering the book. I find it amazing to look back at the history of our fight against Cancer and see the theories from the 1920’s still being used today. I experience it every day when I get my radiation treatments. Fascinating stuff.
Sorry quite the detour there from where I wanted to go with this post. I wanted to add, I am very excited to see my sisters as they are coming to visit and participate in the walk tomorrow. It is such a great feeling to have so much love an support when you are faced with a horrible life changing situation like we are going through now. I cannot express how great everyone has been. If I could say one thing to all of you reading this, don’t wait for such an event to love and appreciate those around you. Make time for it regularly, I know life gets busy and it can be expensive or time consuming but the people in your life are what makes life worth living. Don’t take that for granted.
All in all – I think we are in a very good place. It has been liberating to get back into the gym and feel my body responding to the workouts. It takes a bit longer to recover but I can feel my strength returning. Racing starts soon and I hope to be ready. Shooting for Sept 7th for my first race. All I have to do is ride my bike in circles for 30 mins and not finish last!