Author: Gayle

My performance on training hikes is much better. I threw up on the first hike so improvement is easy to attain. Seriously though, I’m doing fairly well. Saturday Nov. 12 I met Coach Tom and 3 of my Climb2Cure team mates in the Bluehills of Milton, Ma. We hiked uphill and down covering about 6 miles in 4 hours. Not record breaking time, however I felt much stronger. The extra hiking I’ve been doing at Wachusett is clearly helping.

Sat. the 19^th we went to Mt. Monadnock in Jaffrey, NH. Coach Tom invited several of his friends and it was a gregarious group. Prior to starting the hike Tom christened me with my trail name; Bic. Huh? He explained it stands for “Because I Can”. Okay I’m good with that. I hike because I can. I fund raise because I can. I’m leaving cancer behind because I can. Several people called me Bic during the day and I was oblivious. This trail name thing is going to take some getting used to.

Back to the hike. I wasn’t sure I was ready for this. I’ve hiked Monadnock in the past and it is a bit of a challenge. We went up one of the steeper trails. I was just fine. I’ve never been a fast hiker, but I was able to poke along at a steady pace and summit fairly easily. We covered 6-7 miles and I was surprised that I didn’t struggle. I’m very encouraged to take on bigger challenges.

There is still much to do. Let’s not get over confident, Monadnock is a far cry from Kilimanjaro. My cardio and leg strength are surely improving, but I’m still weak. I am a long way from my fundraising goal of $10.000. and I don’t know how I’m going to pay for all the equipment I need. I’m going to do the best I can every day; Because I Can.

Why am I doing this? Climbing a mountain in Africa I mean.(Climb2Cure) Because it works. We’ve all heard of Susan G. Koman and the Avon 3-day walk for breast cancer. The Koman organization has, to date, invested more than $2.6 billion in groundbreaking research, community health outreach, advocacy and programs in more than 60 countries. Their efforts helped reduce death rates from breast cancer by 37 percent between 1990-2013.

High profile events attract attention and provide an opportunity to raise awareness. Hopefully, when the devastation of blood cancers becomes well known people will be motivated to donate money for research.

Why am I doing this? Because it happened to me. I was healthy and active. I ate well, enjoyed plenty of fresh air, didn’t smoke. I went from vigorous to near death in the space of one month. No exaggeration, it was a close call. It happened to me. It could happen to you or someone you love.

Why am I doing this? Since enduring the brutal treatment protocol for Acute Myeloid Leukemia I am distraught at the thought of someone else going through that. It is particularly heartbreaking to think of a child suffering through the chemo regimen and dealing with the long term effects.

The survival rate for adults diagnosed with AML is 26 percent. The protocol for AML is exactly the same as it was in 1973. That’s right not a single advancement in over 40 years. We have to do better than that. It comes down to research and that costs money.

Why am I doing This? Because people still die from Lymphoma. That’s supposed to be the treatable blood cancer, but it is still misdiagnosed. We need to raise awareness of blood cancers within the medical community.

I’m climbing Kilimanjaro for selfish reasons too. I’ve always wanted to try it. There is a chance that AML will come back. Since my treatment I am at a higher risk for breast cancer. I will be damned if I end up laying in a hospital bed regretting what I might have done. Some people think it’s a little too early for me to attempt this, but I feel like it’s now or maybe never.

Well, I met the Climb 2 Cure team Oct 29^th for a training hike. We met at the Blue Hills in Milton. Not the whole team. Our coach Tom and team members Brian and Christine were in attendance. I was nervous about my condition. Would I be able to keep up with the group? The answer is no, emphatically no. I was winded within the first couple hundred yards. My legs felt weak within 30 minutes. Halfway through the hike I vomited. Yup, emptied the contents of my stomach trail side. If my hiking companions noticed (and I’m sure they did) they didn’t say anything. Perhaps I should say that I had a respiratory infection and that was my first day on the antibiotic. I’m fairly certain that’s what caused the stomach upset. I nearly cancelled on the hike, but if I cancel every time I’m sick or taking a new pill there will be no training.

After I tossed my cookies I felt light-headed for a while however the mental fog lifted and I made it through the hike. We were out for approximately 3 hours. So while I wouldn’t consider the hike to be excellent, it’s done. I hiked uphill and down for 3 hours while I was sick as a dog. Now I know yours truly has a lot of work to do. Honestly I thought I would be a little stronger. I’ve been riding my bike and walking. I knew I wasn’t in great shape, but holy guacamole I didn’t expect to be that weak. Still I did it and that’s something.

The week following the team hike I ran on my treadmill Mon., went hiking for over 3 hours at Wachusett on Tuesday and did 2 little hikes Fri and Sat. I plank every day, a little longer each time. I’m trying by God.  I’ll hike with the group again on Nov.12^th.  Hopefully things go a bit better. Time to go hop on the treadmill.

 

 

After the hike ….

I’ve thought about climbing Kilimanjaro over the years, but I couldn’t find anyone else interested in it. I went so far as to check expedition prices and ask friends if they would go, but no takers. Then I got leukemia, Acute Myeloid Leukemia, and thoughts of hiking anything evaporated. I was in the fight of my life. I received a Bone Marrow Transplant in Sept. 2015 and began the long slow healing process. After being treated for Acute Myeloid Leukemia walking up the stairs was a challenge. It was many months before I started to feel like my old energetic self again. Slowly I regained my strength; today I am fairly healthy although my immune system is compromised.

I started looking for ways to give back. Something I could do for other people suffering with Leukemia. One day in early Aug. 2016 an ad popped up on Facebook, Climb 2 Cure, a fundraiser for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. I clicked on the ad and they were climbing Mt Kilimanjaro as a fundraiser! That was it! I immediately started looking for more information. I floated the idea with my husband and sister. Neither one was enthusiastic. I asked doctor El-Jahawri her opinion and she said I could try it. I asked my nurse practitioner Julie what she thought of the idea. She was skeptical to say the least. My immune system is still compromised and I’m weak. My initial enthusiasm started to wane.

The cost of the expedition is $5-6000.00. It will require many hours of training and a commitment to fundraising. I would be spending a great deal of time away from my husband Steve. He spent a year taking care of me. He did everything for me and now I’m going to take off hiking and fundraising every spare minute?! I would be splurging all of our vacation funds on me. Would it even be possible for me to summit Mt. Kilimanjaro? Could I raise the funds? I was losing sleep over this. I set a deadline for the decision. By Oct 1 I would be in or out.

Sept 24^th I met the Climb 2 Cure Massachusetts team. They seem like a great group of people although quite a bit younger than me. Could I keep up with this group? Throughout Sept I grilled Steve. “Are you sure you would be OK with this? If you tell me not to go, I won’t. I’ll be spending all our vacation money on me. Are you absolutely sure?” I queried my doctor and nurse again. Same split decision, but Dr. El-Jahawri said something that resonated with me “…there is a point when fear and precautions can actually take away the joy of life, which is the whole point we did this transplant…”. Yes, exactly! If Steve’s OK with it and my doctor says I can try it than I will.