Why I do this

Last Wednesday at Ironteam track practice, Frank our honoree captain asked me to write my personal story as to my connections to Leukemia and why I joined Team in Training back in 2003. That night when I got home I jumped on my computer with the intent on banging out a two paragraph summary of my two connections. Christy, a childhood friend of mine who was diagnosed with Leukemia in 1978. She fought the disease for 3 years before she went into remission, but ultimately passed away from her recurrence of the disease just before she graduated from High School in 1988. And then I wrote about my Uncle Ken and how he was diagnosed with Lymphoma and went through a year of treatments including a bone marrow transplant which involved 40 days in an isolation tent, and is now healthy and has 9 plus years of remission under his belt. I ended the summary by saying:

"I have seen life with Leukemia before and after LLS. I have seen the profound effect Team in Training and LLS has had in the world. This is why I do it and I am very proud to be a part of the good work that they do."

The next day I went to track practice for the Peninsula Run Team where I coach when I learned that an honoree on a previous team, Travis Wallace, who not only was 8 years into his own remission from Leukemia but also became a father for the first time in February, was diagnosed once again with Leukemia at the age of 29. This hit me pretty hard because I got to know Travis and I liked him and his wife Amy a lot. When I started posting this blog I thought it might help me feel better somehow if I put all this down, but it really hasn't had any effect. Then I thought that maybe if I posted this as a reminder to everyone that there is still work to do until a cure is found, but just about everyone who reads this fully understands that. I guess this has been inside of me since Thursday and I haven't said a word and I needed to vent it somewhere. Why not here?

If I lived to be 1000 years old, I'll be damned if I ever understand things like why men flew planes into the World Trade Center in the name of God, or why good people who live the right way become gravely ill. I am OK with not knowing why these things happen, partly because doing things like TnT helps me believe that I might be part of the solution. And partly because a higher power has a plan for everything and I have absolutely no control over that.

Sorry about being so somber, sometimes I have to vent, that's just how I roll. I promise to lighten it up next week.