LiveSTRONG Challenge: Thursday and Friday

After spending some fun days with my friend Sue and her family (did my first hay ride and corn maze and watched her son do Robotics) I arrived in Austin Thursday October 13th. After spending some (!) time at the airport waiting for Karen to arrive we made it to our rental car (got an upgrade) at 8.30 pm. To safe money we decide not to pay extra to be able to both drive so Karen was the driver for the weekend. Kind of odd for me though. Started driving to our motel and checked in. Upon arriving in our room we discovered there was only one bed. As I explained to the clerk, we like each other but not that much . She understood and gave us another room.

The other morning Karen and I drove downtown Austin to find LIVESTRONG village at Mellow Johnny’s for the package pick up. The sight of LIVESTRONG village is enough to put you in a great mood, the bright yellow and all those kindred spirits, all ready to kick cancer to the curb! It was really nice meeting Erik Pearson and his lovely wife Lynn just outside the pick up point and we decided to have coffee together a little later. After that it was time for Karen to have her first Mellow Johnny’s experience. Let me tell you, for LIVESTRONG supporters that place is heaven! (for cyclists too, but for another reason. Since I am both for me this a the best shop to go to). We both saw stuff we REALLY needed and that had our names written all over it. I also got to speak with Todd who assured me he had the perfect bike for me. It belonged to Lance’s stepdad !!! We had to hurry to be on time for our coffee with Erik and Lynn. I loved finally meeting Lynn, Erik I had already met during last years Challenge. After spending some quality time with them Karen and I headed back to our motel, since we both had places to be that afternoon/evening. I was very excited because Henrike, my friend and fellow LIVESTRONG Leader from Germany, had made Ride for the Roses status and invited me to be her guest for that weekend. Still can’t thank her enough for that! That mend I was co-invited to the Welcome to Texas dinner that evening.

As we arrived at our motel we where very much surprised to find ourselves locked out of our room. In a hurry we made our way back to the front desk where a new clerk told us to wait, she was going to fetch her boss. That lady informed us we where in the wrong room. I started to explain what had happened the other night, thinking this was the cause of the misunderstanding. She heard me out and than said, actually you are in the wrong motel and you will have to leave!!!!!! Turns out there are many motels by this name in Austin and the desk clerk on duty the night before should have seen we didn’t have a reservation there. The lady told us we couldn’t just switch our reservation to this motel because they are franchised, she already lost out on one night pay. I explained that we really couldn’t move out there and then: I had a dinner to go to and Karen would do some volunteer work at LIVESTRONG village and was expected there any minute. After some talking back and forth she told us we could stay until the next morning.

So we hurried upstairs and got changed. Karen went back to LIVESTRONG village and I made my way to the Hyatt hotel where the pick up for the dinner was. Arriving in the lobby I ran into my CCC “dad” Mike (he got me involved with CCC) and his lovely daughter Katelyn. As we started to catch up other CCC friends came in as well. Great meeting and talking to Steve Bartolucci and Scott joy again. After a while Henrike walked in and I was finally able to thank her in person for being so generous.

When we got on the bus and it moved away from the hotel we where greeted by a LIVESTRONG staff member who told us where the dinner was going to be held. Imagine the buzz when she told us it was at LANCE’S HOUSE!! How cool can it get. We hardly had time to get over the excitement when we arrived there. We entered the house through the dining room (we think) and made our way to the backyard where the horse d’houvres and drinks where served. Within minutes we ran into Matt McGinty and his wife and at last I saw the person I had been waiting for all day: the man that made it possible for me to come to Austin, Brad!!! He, of course was in the company of his lovely wife Jennifer, the lady getting the autographed jersey as an anniversary gift. Finally I could tell everybody how grateful I was for his help. Brad was the true gentleman and made it look like he had me to thank but we know better right  ! A few minutes later we where joined by Luke and his mom Victoria, other great Twitter friends that I now got to meet in person.

The dinner itself was amazing: the garden was beautifully decorated and the house made a stunning background. We sat down at a table with Matt McGinty and his wife and some other LIVESTRONG supporters. The food was excellent as was the company. The Gipsy Queens made their way from table to table and serenaded everybody and our “boss” held a speech that inspired all of us even more. It was an evening to never forget! I have been asking myself what pictures to include in this blog, I decided for LiveSTRONG Village, The Honor wall with my family members and one of The Boss’.

LiveSTRONG Challenge 2011 part one: before I left

Where to start with the story of this years LIVESTRONG Challenge? As most of you know 2011 hasn’t been my year thus far: I almost lost my leg beginning January, an experience that shook me to the core and made me realize once again how fragile the situation with my leg is. The treatment put all 30 kg back on that I lost with hard work last year. This to the joy and pleasure of some, now former co-workers, who referred to me as “the whale” or “the elephant” behind my back, not realizing these kind of remarks always find their way back to the one they are made about. That hurt me deeply because I knew I was fat again but it was beyond my control. It wasn’t something I was proud of or happy with. The situation at work was difficult for all of us as we faced financial crises that required harsh measures. Luckily I got to keep my job and got a new manager I love working for. During the year I had to learn my injury was not to be compared to a normal sports injury but was of a much more severe nature. It prevented me from getting as much hours in on the bike as I wanted and needed for the ride at the Challenge in October.

One of the worst things, besides the situation with my leg, was the passing of Aïsha Hunkar, a brave single mom who had been fighting cancer for a long time. I promised her and her family right there and then I would ride the Challenge this year with just her name on my back, my way of honoring the amazing person she had been.
My leg problems, the situation at work and the amount of work I did for NL4LiveSTRONG made it hard for me to concentrate on my own Fundraising, although the teamwork is very rewarding and we agreed on a good way of splitting the difference. I just did not have to time to fundraise a lot on my own as well. To top things off, my car broke down and I needed another one. This destroyed my “travel to Austin” fund, as I told you about in another blog. Sold my silver flute and my prize possesion, a jersey signed by Lance Armstrong to get the money. One of my fellow Leaders, Brad, bought the latter as an anniversary gift for his lovely wife Jennifer. he was a lifesafer!!!! To make a long story short,I couldn’t book a flight to the Challenge until the Wednesday prior to its start. That was a very nerve wrecking experience and I do hope I will never have to cut it that close again. It killed me to think I wouldn’t be able to keep my promise to Aïsha.

Knowing I could go I had to make all kind of last minute arrangements: luckily my teammate Karen was going as well and I already told her I was going to share a room and a car with her so that part was taken care of. My friend Sue made sure I would be able to get from her house in CT to Austin and made all the travel arrangements for that. But I still needed a bike!!!! I decided to write an email to Mellow Johnny’s to explain my situation. I got a reply from Todd telling me they where going to do their utmost to help me out! Great people at a great store let me tell you.

So, despite all the odds being stacked against me I left for the US on Monday October 10th!!

Parting is such sweet sorrow

Well, the first donations in honor of Aisha Hunkar have been made or pledged so thank you all for that! I hope to reach my Fundraising goal and honor her memory in that way as well, not “just” on the bike.
Riding the bike is going as planned, not progressing fast enough to my liking but I’m getting there, one step at a time. I will be able to do the mileage my doc will allow me to, even if it feels like I did 100 mile afterwards. I don’t care about it putting me in the wheelchair for a few days, it will be worth it.
 
One thing not going to well is saving up enough money for the flight and my stay there. Don’t worry, I won’t use any money that is donated to my Challenge in honor of Aisha but I have to find a way to make money quickly and I found it.
 
I am the proud owner of a commemorative Discovery Tour de France shirt, autographed by Lance. It is my price possession and the only thing that will make some money  when I sell it and that is exactly what I decided to do. I won’t be happy to see it go but if it gets me to Austin so I can keep my promises to Aisha and her family it will be totally worth it. You will understand I won’t sell it for less than the amount I need to go to Austin (and stay there), but I hope giving up this shirt will get me where I need to be. Please help me reach my goal and tell people about this one in a kind shirt and keep your fingers crossed I will be able to sell it.
 
I’ll do what I can to fulfill my promise but I can’t do it alone!

Sometimes life sucks but no matter what, it won't make me come back on my promise

As I told you earlier, 2011 didn't start well for me. After almost losing my leg beginning this year I have been struggling to get back to my old level, both walking and riding the bike. As stress at work with a reorganisation and a hostile co-worker added to my physical discomfort, my goal seemed to be further away than ever. I finally got permission to get back on the bike a few months ago, but only for a few minutes a day. As the treatment to save my leg put on all the weight I lost last year I felt bad but kept up the faith things would turn out ok. A few weeks ago I got assigned a new manager that I work very well with and last week I got another, equally nice to work with. My hostile co-worker has moved to another office building. My office is my own now and that reduces the stress a lot. So life was looking up again and I needed that badly. But last Friday I also had my regular check-up with my doc and I went there thinking he would tell me my leg was healing up nicely as well. Although he allowed me to up my time on the bike he also told me that he doesn't think I'll be able to ride the Challenge or in the best possible scenario just the 10 or 20 miles. As I looked at him in shock he continued that riding the 10 or 20 will feel (and have the effect of) riding the 100 miles. He realizes how important this Challenge is for me and he will continue to work towards it with me, but that was the bottom line: 10 miles will be an exeptional performance, 20 a miracle. It took some days to get over the news and getting ready to share it with you, but here it is. For all of you who think this is it, you're sadly mistaken! As I told my doc straight away: I will be on that bike in Austin and well for one very good reason: I promised Aisha Hunkar and her family I would ride this years Challenge in her honor. Unfortenuately it will be in her memorie because earlier this year we lost her to cancer after she put up one hell of a fight. You can read all about her and her courageous fight here: http://birdsperch.blogspot.com. Aisha was a 42 year old single mom with met.foll. thyroid cancer and an inspiration to us all.

So, eventhough I am way behind on my training schedule, my Fundraising (need to get to my goal $ 3500) and saving up for my trip and my stay in Austin, I WILL GET THERE, because I promised Aisha. It's that simple: I promised her and I always keep my promises. So, no matter how hard it will be to reach those goals or how bad those 10 or 20 miles gonna feel, I WILL DO IT!!! I will keep you all informerd, please keep your fingers crossed for me.

Grateful beyond words

I know it has been a while since I blogged. I still owe you an account of the amazing experiences I had when I went to the States to participate in the LiveSTRONG Challenge in Austin. The time I spend with Jody and her husband Steve which was so amazing I still can't believe two such sweet people actually exist: they made my first LSC an experience that can't be topped. The actual time in Austin, where Heidi took time out of her busy schedule to talk to me in person, meeting Doug in person and have the opportunity to talk to him a bit (and as total surprise him actually knowing who I was), being at the dinner and see and hear Lance speak: if ever inspiration came in human form, it was right there and then. Meeting dear twitter friends Erik Pearson, Henrike Hirsch, Kate, Lindsay, Matt and family. Getting to know CCC mentor and dear friend Mike Terry and his lovey daughter Katelyn, another highlight, as was seeing the CCC conference room being dedicated. All that and much more is to come. It is late but coming back things started to unfold quickly and needed all my attention (work wise).
But this blog has to be about my friends and family who just got me through one of the most difficult times post accident.
As the people following me on Twitter already know I got a bad flu at the beginning of this year: no big deal you'll think and usually it isn't. But for me the two days of vomiting and diarrhea mend that the medication that prevents the frame inside my leg to reject didn't take effect. That led to the one thing we have feared the most since having the frame put in, it started to reject. That led to all kinds of side effects which I will spare you here, suffice to say it wasn't pretty. My doc saved the day (and the leg) in the knick of time using heavy medication. This time I came with a couple of hours of actually losing my leg and it has been a long time since I was so afraid. After all that I had the misfortune to take a nasty fall in week after that, so the leg took a second beating.

And that brings me to the reason of this blog: my amazing friends and family stepping up and pulling me through. I gained 10 kg due to the medication and although I know that is not something that will kill me, I worked so hard to loose 33 kg before the Challenge and now this. Friends understood it was hard on me and tried to cheer me up and didn't belittle it (I KNOW it isn't a big deal). But beyond that, they made a schedule so someone could drive me to and from work work every day, did chores around the house so I wouldn't have to in my wheelchair. Jody understood how upsetting it is when I can't manage to do the 20 minute bike ride to nowhere: not just because it means I get behind on my schedule for the LSC but mostly because it means I have weakened so much I can't peddle for 20 minutes. It is not just a hobby I can't do (which in it self would be bad enough), it is essential to my health and strength I am able to do that. She didn't tell me, don't worry and don't blame yourself, take it easy, it will come back. She acknowledged the severity and gave me a place to vent that. My other fiends did the same in other ways: they know I wouldn't "complain" about it if it weren't important. They understand the importance of the bike: not "just" a hobby but a means to feel "normal" again (all of them saw me go from dancer, twirler, teacher, choreographer to a person on crutches, not even able to walk by myself. They understand it hurt a lot to loose all that without me telling them) and regain some of the freedom I lost. But they understand even better my bike is my way to fight as a LiveSTRONG Leader for the 28 million affected by cancer. Losing my strength will hinder me doing what I am most passionate about: go out and raise awareness and raise funds. It stopped me from raising funds for my Challenge but also hinders me in earning the extra cash to pay for my flight and stay this year. And all of them have been so understanding and supportive in finding ways to make up for lost time and time yet to be lost. recovery will be long and hard but that is not the point: I did that before and will do it again. It is the feeling I have people surrounding me that understand, try to find a solution with me and support me and cheer me on to reach the so important 20 minute mark. They make it possible for me to do my work, do my LiveSTRONG volunteer shifts and maybe even get to Austin again. I am the luckiest person in the world for having them.