Rain, Wind, and Hills: Marathons and Cancers #5
Today I am grateful for a good night's rest and a safe and comfortable home to have it in. I am also grateful for the writing process and the reflecting I am doing this week.
In 2010, Darcy and I ran the Fargo Marathon, again finishing side by side. We started out in rain and finished in windy and warm conditions as we ran into the Fargo Dome. It was a spring marathon and we decided to take the fall off from marathoning that year. Unfortunately, cancer didn't take it off. Mary Jo was diagnosed with a primary lung cancer in June and underwent surgery and chemotherapy. Part of her lower right lung was removed and doctors were optimistic. The chemo was added insurance.
By the time 2012 rolled around, I was a little nervous. There had been cancer diagnoses among my sisters and I in 2004, 2006, 2008, and 2010. A pattern was developing. Thankfully, 2012 came and went cancer-free, as did the next several years. Years of survivorship added up, as did ongoing gratitude.
Darcy and I did each face some health issues over those years that impacted our marathons. In September of 2013, I had surgery to remove a benign growth in my lower abdomen. The medical professionals were never overly concerned about it, as the traits didn't indicate anything suspicious. But when you have some tests and scans, and then have tissue removed, until you hear all the reports and get reassuring news, the thought of more cancer lurks.
Because of that surgery, our plans for the Des Moines Marathon, the one we had chosen for that fall, changed. We dropped down to the half marathon in Des Moines and then set our sights on the Seattle Marathon in early December. My sister Leonice and sister-in-law Annie joined us for a nice weekend in Seattle, but the marathon itself was challenging for both Darcy and I. Leonice and Annie have been faithful fans and helpers for us at more than one marathon. Thanks you two!
We both finished the hilly Seattle course, but it was slow going for both of us. Then, I slipped in the hotel shower after the run and ended up with a cracked rib that slowed me down for a few weeks. I was so grateful that was after the marathon and not before. Health issues and slips threw us some curves, but we kept our streak of annual marathons going.
Darcy had two bouts of pneumonia, one in June of 2015 and the other in December that year. They kept him from running for weeks at a time, but didn't impact our marathons. Then, the weekend of the Mankato Marathon in October of 2016 Darcy ended up really sick and couldn't run. I was so disappointed for him, worried about him, and it changed the feel of that marathon for me. I finished, but several things were missing, not the least of which was peace of mind.
Darcy ended up with pneumonia for the third time and further testing revealed a benign hamartoma in his lower left lung. He had that removed in early 2017 and we both made it to the start and finish lines of the Twin Cities Marathon last October. There was plenty of rain and many hills, but we persisted. By then, cancer had come calling again among my sisters.
My sister Leonice was diagnosed with endometrial cancer in the spring of 2017 and underwent surgery, followed by chemo and radiation. Half of the Holthaus sisters had now undergone chemotherapy. She was in active treatment for her cancer when we ran Twin Cities. She was on my mind a lot, as were all of my sisters and all that cancer had done to us and taken from us. Mary Jo continued to beat the odds and was seven years out from her lung cancer diagnosis. It had been 13 years since Zita's diagnosis and nine years since mine.
Darcy and I waited in the rain before the start:
Smiles on our faces, both healthy again. One of the things I love about Darcy and I and our marriage is the shared hobby of running. We have logged many road miles together and those miles have made us individually and collectively stronger, and not just physically.
Cancer and other health issues have left their mark. Rain falls. Wind blows. Hills rise ahead. People age. Our bodies betray us more often than they used to, but they still come through for us in amazing ways too. For as much as cancer has impacted our family, we remain very fortunate to be a group of 13 siblings with an extended family well over 100.
I think more now, as we age into our fifties and sixties, about who will be the first of the siblings to pass away. It is a tough question to consider. Will it be from cancer or something else? We don't know the answer to that. And yet, we do know a few things. Each day is a gift. Gratitude is always possible. Love runs deep. Mindfulness matters. Faith helps.
In 2010, Darcy and I ran the Fargo Marathon, again finishing side by side. We started out in rain and finished in windy and warm conditions as we ran into the Fargo Dome. It was a spring marathon and we decided to take the fall off from marathoning that year. Unfortunately, cancer didn't take it off. Mary Jo was diagnosed with a primary lung cancer in June and underwent surgery and chemotherapy. Part of her lower right lung was removed and doctors were optimistic. The chemo was added insurance.
By the time 2012 rolled around, I was a little nervous. There had been cancer diagnoses among my sisters and I in 2004, 2006, 2008, and 2010. A pattern was developing. Thankfully, 2012 came and went cancer-free, as did the next several years. Years of survivorship added up, as did ongoing gratitude.
Darcy and I did each face some health issues over those years that impacted our marathons. In September of 2013, I had surgery to remove a benign growth in my lower abdomen. The medical professionals were never overly concerned about it, as the traits didn't indicate anything suspicious. But when you have some tests and scans, and then have tissue removed, until you hear all the reports and get reassuring news, the thought of more cancer lurks.
Because of that surgery, our plans for the Des Moines Marathon, the one we had chosen for that fall, changed. We dropped down to the half marathon in Des Moines and then set our sights on the Seattle Marathon in early December. My sister Leonice and sister-in-law Annie joined us for a nice weekend in Seattle, but the marathon itself was challenging for both Darcy and I. Leonice and Annie have been faithful fans and helpers for us at more than one marathon. Thanks you two!
We both finished the hilly Seattle course, but it was slow going for both of us. Then, I slipped in the hotel shower after the run and ended up with a cracked rib that slowed me down for a few weeks. I was so grateful that was after the marathon and not before. Health issues and slips threw us some curves, but we kept our streak of annual marathons going.
Darcy had two bouts of pneumonia, one in June of 2015 and the other in December that year. They kept him from running for weeks at a time, but didn't impact our marathons. Then, the weekend of the Mankato Marathon in October of 2016 Darcy ended up really sick and couldn't run. I was so disappointed for him, worried about him, and it changed the feel of that marathon for me. I finished, but several things were missing, not the least of which was peace of mind.
Darcy ended up with pneumonia for the third time and further testing revealed a benign hamartoma in his lower left lung. He had that removed in early 2017 and we both made it to the start and finish lines of the Twin Cities Marathon last October. There was plenty of rain and many hills, but we persisted. By then, cancer had come calling again among my sisters.
My sister Leonice was diagnosed with endometrial cancer in the spring of 2017 and underwent surgery, followed by chemo and radiation. Half of the Holthaus sisters had now undergone chemotherapy. She was in active treatment for her cancer when we ran Twin Cities. She was on my mind a lot, as were all of my sisters and all that cancer had done to us and taken from us. Mary Jo continued to beat the odds and was seven years out from her lung cancer diagnosis. It had been 13 years since Zita's diagnosis and nine years since mine.
Darcy and I waited in the rain before the start:
Smiles on our faces, both healthy again. One of the things I love about Darcy and I and our marriage is the shared hobby of running. We have logged many road miles together and those miles have made us individually and collectively stronger, and not just physically.
Cancer and other health issues have left their mark. Rain falls. Wind blows. Hills rise ahead. People age. Our bodies betray us more often than they used to, but they still come through for us in amazing ways too. For as much as cancer has impacted our family, we remain very fortunate to be a group of 13 siblings with an extended family well over 100.
I think more now, as we age into our fifties and sixties, about who will be the first of the siblings to pass away. It is a tough question to consider. Will it be from cancer or something else? We don't know the answer to that. And yet, we do know a few things. Each day is a gift. Gratitude is always possible. Love runs deep. Mindfulness matters. Faith helps.
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