70 Days To Go!

70 days until Wine & Dine 2019 for St Jude!

(+75 days until Dopey 2020 for Autism Speaks)

I try to keep these short, but this one is an exception. Last week we celebrated our youngest son’s third birthday by having a big party with all of his friends, unlike last year. When he turned two last August, he had just finished chemo and we were getting ready for the big surgery to remove the tumor. Since his immune system was almost non-existent, he couldn’t have a “real” birthday party. Close family came to our house and we had cake and opened presents. We were all just thankful that he had made it to that milestone. I did manage to convince the local fire department to bring their new ladder truck to our house and surprise him. That made his day. He still talks about it sometimes.

To celebrate my son’s 3rd birthday in my own crazy way, I ran nine miles. And to do something different, I took an Uber nine miles from my house and ran home. Usually I just make a loop or two (or three) around my neighborhood. The trail I followed took me through some forested nature preserves, like in a previous Countdown post, but also under some major highways and through neighborhoods of both ends of society. Getting out of my comfort zone and seeing the world of others was good for my soul. It’s amazing what you miss when driving in a car, staying in your bubble and forgetting about the humanity all around you.

I met my goal of finishing nine miles in two hours, but I also experienced my first running injury. After my run, I started to notice a pain in my foot, so I sat for a while. When I got up the pain was so extreme that I almost collapsed. I could barely put any weight on it. An x-ray showed nothing abnormal, so the doctor thinks it is either a stress fracture too small to see, a dislocated cuboid bone (back in place during x-ray), or soft-tissue related. In any case, the course of action is ice and rest. So I won’t be running again for a week or so at least. We’ll see how it goes. I’m running a half marathon (13 miles) in 6 weeks.

Pictured below, in the far distance, is Medical City Children’s Hospital, where DS3 was diagnosed and treated. Our “home away from home” in 2018. I remember one of my first thoughts after the diagnosis was whether he would make it to his second birthday, or his third. Even though he defeated Cancer last year, we are still grieving our old life and future dreams. Sometimes the fear and anxiety of what might happen breaks my spirit. Until I manage to snap back to reality: he is here now. Thanks to people like those working at Medical City and St Jude Children’s Hospital.