Mornings

It's interesting that we take for granted the most simple of things until they no longer are so simple.

Take waking up, in the past I'd awake, look at the clock and be relieved if I had more time to sleep or curse that I needed to jump out of bed. (Just a note I hardly ever use an alarm clock anymore)

Today I awoke.......  looked at the clock and realized I had twenty minutes before I "needed" to get up to escort Maggie to the school bus. The check list immediately starts....

How are the feet ........ move them around a bit ....... most mornings now I feel most of my toes. (Cool)

How is the GI tract  ...... this is the harder issue to hone in on.... surprises are still plentiful. Flipping on my back sometimes provides some clues. This morning I'm pretty sure I can wait until the bus leaves ........ then  .........  I will take my place on the throne.

Bus gone, a bowl of Irish Oats consumed "The Force" calls. Then it's taking Susie to work, (we are once again a one car family.)  Returning home, Twenty Two degrees and windy, I really don't want to go outside for a run but I do anyway and feel better for doing so.

Each morning it's very much the same and it seems almost pitiful that at this stage I am not further along then I am. I know I have little cause to complain, I'm not pushing Daisies but never the less I want better.

In a conversation yesterday I mentioned that the only times I'm not uncomfortable are

If I'm Running
If I've had a few drinks
If I'm on Pain Pills

I don't particularly like option number two or three but I just can't run all the time no matter how much better it makes me feel. (Well to be honest option two ain't too bad occasionally)

I know I should be grateful but tonight I am pissed off, hopefully I can dig out of this and be motivated tomorrow !

Bill and Tim ...... Climb Safe over the next few days ..... wish I could be there with you manly men ... don't loose your tent !

Bro Mike












 

An "Interesting" Week

If nothing else this wasn't one of those Bla, Bla, Bla weeks will soon be forgotten like so many others. It started out that way but didn't end up the way we had planned.

We'll fast forward to Thursday, February 14th otherwise know as Valentines day. The morning started off well ........... I DID NOT FORGET ........ so Flowers a card, and a hot cup of coffee waiting for Sue after she finished her morning shower. She did not forget either and presented me with the most appropriate card. ( I Love Olives).

Since there had been a dusting of snow the night before I cleaned off the Jeep so Sue would not have to. I would have started it to warm it but it was a bit too early. Anyway, later, Sue started it up and while brushing off some spots I may have missed the Jeep stalled and simply would not start again. It had lasted less then a week from the last time it was in the shop. Once again we became a one car family with two car neediness.

No problem ............ It's Valentines Day ............. and .............. Sue returned home after work with wonderful treats for dinner.

All was well until sometime after dinner Sue had a wicked attack of Vertigo, so bad in fact that She could not stop throwing up nor open her eyes for an instant and I was powerless to help her.

At two A.M. I finally laid in bed unable to sleep in case she needed me.

On Saturday I took Maggie to her NATS (singing) competition in Towson, MD. Normally Sue would have done this but she still hardly able to get off the couch much less drive a car. Wouldn't you know it ........ Maggie won her division.......  If you are able to stay the winners perform a song in a "Review" at the end of the competition.

So how to include Susie in on this ? Well "Stealth Phone" technology of course. I though I was so clever, I had everything set up to "Phone Home" just at the instant Maggie started to sing. I was discrete (or so I thought). ........... Just as Maggie got up to sing I hit "Call" and a voice from my side said... "Sir, I'm going to have to ask you to hide that"......... Trust me I'm not one to break rules, however no rules were posted, no announcements made,Video cameras recorded, cameras flashed and all I could think at the time was "Hide This" (My Fickle Finger of Fate)

 I moved the phone to my lap, .......... Sue did manage to hear a muffled rendition of what Maggie sang.

As for me, excepting Sues' illness, the car breaking down (again), getting "slammed" twice in the span of a week, otherwise feeling pretty well it was a good week. I lifted weights on two mornings, manged thirty plus mile of running in mostly miserable cold weather, Cut firewood, closed some business and had a couple of night of good sleep.

I even managed to visit my friend Rick who is in the process of dying from Cancer. An amazing man from whom  I draw inspiration and continue to be amazed by his attitude.

Mike 

Suday February 10, 2013

A real mix of a day starting with a 3:30 A.M. nature call , call, call and call which I figured unperturbed the tank. Though not pleasant I figured I would be ready for my eight o'clock trail run.

Eight A.M., twenty one degrees I felt great and ran a very enjoyable ten miles.

Standing around afterwards talking with friends I felt an urgency that was totally unexpected. Bye guys, hello dash home, hello bathroom sprints for the next six hours.

What is unnerving is that I had probably done it to myself with a "Health Salad" the night before. With Sue and her sister taking a long overdue "Gals Weekend" we were left to ourselves to forage the fridge for ourselves.

Dinner consisted of a large (very large) salad of Spinach, mixed greens, a whole large onion, green olives, hot peppers and five or so garlic cloves chopped up it small pieces. Topped with Blue Cheese Dressing it was fantastic ! Perhaps the Vodka Tonic I enjoyed with dinner wasn't the best choice of beverage but at the time it seemed the perfect selection.

These "Events" are getting further and further apart., I am grateful but they serve a valuable lesson, I am not one hundred percent, I cannot ignore the fact that I'm still fragile and finally I should be a bit smarter. (Perhaps a whole lot smarter)

Since my talk at MSM I have had another request to be a survivor speaker. I have been told by so many that what I have done is "inspiring"; to me this seems to be an incorrect accreditation. I only did what I did to keep from going out of my mind. My way was to run, it was the "Drug" I needed to keep my mind away from thinking about my situation. I don't consider that inspiring or heroic, just a way of dealing with it all.

As I update my blog a runner friend of mine is in his last weeks, dying from cancer; a month ago we buried my Mother. All of this gives me pause to consider how good life is, how precious family, friends and experiences truly are.

Six more weeks and winter may be behind us, leaves will clothe the trees, flowers will bloom and new life will emerge. I for one can't wait.

Mike

MSM Talk February 4th

Last Night I gave a short talk at Mount Saint Marys University to promote their forth-coming Relay For Life. This was during the Women's Basketball Game. I was pretty calm until the announcer broadcasted " At Half time Hear the Powerful Story of Michal O'Grady, a Cancer Survivor"

Wow, Powerful would not have been the adjective I would have used as I tried to keep my story somewhat light. Didn't really want to discuss some of the "finer points" such as being dissected ! (Sorry I meant Resected)

Thank Goodness Sue was with me, I looked at her, she at me and we both laughed.

It went well but coming home my car started acting up, looks like we'll have both cars in the shop at the same time. They know us well at Enterprise Car Rental.

It's been cold and snowy here this last week and I am hesitant to train hard in fear of slipping and re-injuring my abdominal section, as I am slowly getting over it. I ran six and a half miles Sunday Morning with out use of the ACE wrap and it was fine.

Below is the text of my speech last night, I rewrote it so many times, thanks Sue and Joe for your input.

Stay well all...... Mike

---------------------------

Good Evening My Name is Michael O'Grady, I have been asked to speak with you tonight about my experience with cancer.

I am a Husband, A Father........... A Mount Grad ......Class of.... OMG..... 1976......... an Ultra Distance Runner and a Cancer Survivor.

Three years ago my wife and I returned to the Mount to participate in the Relay for Life... We did so to honor the memory of a dear friend who had passed away from Pancreatic Cancer.

Little did I know, just a year later my phone would ring and the words no one wants to hear would ring clear, ............. “Mike, I'm sorry, it's Cancer”.

It's not that I thought it couldn't happen to me .... it just seemed the odds were in my favor.......... I was in great shape, never smoked, no family history, good diet..

Colon Rectal Cancer is a “Silent Killer”, a disease which can linger for years with no symptoms. It's the third leading cancer killer among men and women yet it's one of the cancers somewhat preventable with recommended screenings.

Where I went terribly wrong was assuming that I could “Push” the recommendations. I didn't get a Colonoscopy at fifty, ............. instead, I chose to enter middle age by running my first fifty mile race.

To be honest with you I would like to forget most of the time during my treatments but here is one story. My Surgeon, Dr. Howard Berg, happens to be the race director for Susie's cause, a 5k race to promote Colon Cancer Awareness. At my second appointment he left his office returning with a race application. “Mike” he said, I want you to be “My Horse” in the 50 year old division.

The problem was, this race was six weeks after Major Surgery plus I would be sporting an Ostomy bag. “Sure Doc”, ................I took his application thinking “No Freaking Way”.

I decided to try and perhaps because I was twenty pounds lighter, I managed a decent time and ......... won my age group. It was a wonderful feeling and timely as well, for the very next day I started chemotherapy.

Last Month The Frederick News Post Wrote a Story about Me...... the theme being that Cancer did not rule me. I ran through radiation, chemo and surgeries. .... a good story but not complete.

For what was missing is that I never, ever could have done what I did without the support of many.

First my wife, who stood by me at every step of the way. She lent me her ear and her heart in my darkest moments, never letting me know the depth of her own feelings as she dealt with my cancer.

My Children, who rallied to the cause. I was the recipient of many massages to “wake up” hands and feet, numb from Chemotherapy....... too often calling upstairs.......... Maggie....... “Can You Rub My Feet”.

If I could read minds, hers might have been saying “Sure Dad, just what I was dreaming of ..... to rub your stinky feet ! What daughter wouldn't relish that opportunity !

Family and friends whose calls, notes, emails and visits seemed to arrive when I needed a boost. And because of extreme generosity my son stayed in college and we kept our home as we tackled mounting medical bills.

The Docs, Nurses and the Medical Staffs ................ all part of the team helping me fight.

Strangers, most of whom I will never meet, lacing up their own shoes to walk, run or Relay raising funds for Cancer Research, and support and awareness.

Without all of this, I may never have gotten off the couch much less “Run Through Cancer”

This past November ten months after re-connective surgery I ran and completed my ninth JFK 50 miler.

I'll be back here to Relay Next Month. I hope to see many of you and invite all to walk / run a lap, maybe two ......... or perhaps fifty with me so we can all fight cancer together.

God Bless Go Mount

PS> Sorry to say that the Mount Women Lost the Game