Wednesday, October 28, 2009

In the Face

Well, I am sort of out there in the "face" world now.  I asked Matt to link this page to his Facebook page so I am curious how many people will see it.  I have been sort of wondering how many people are seeing it anyway.  There is probably some way of putting a counter on the page, but I'd rather see donations as a way of counting visitors :)  Including donations by check, I am up to 1% of the way to my goal.  It is a little intimidating to imagine reaching all the way to $30,000.  I think the loftiness of the goal hit me when I read that Christopher Reeves' son is trying to raise $26,000 for his charity.  Of course on the other side of that is reading an article about a country singer who was given a $50,000 car as a birthday gift from his buddy.  I know.  It is all relative, it just makes one wonder.
I've been working out all these different possibilities for achieving the goal.  Only 300 people/businesses at $100 each; 600 people at $50 and so on.  Sometimes I really don't like focusing on this aspect of the whole thing and then I think, this is why I'm doing it in the first place.  I need to keep sight of the fact that I am trying to make a difference in the lives of people whose lives have been impacted by this terrible disease.  11 million people in the United States have been diagnosed.  Another 6 million people are believed to be living undiagnosed.  Diabetes kills through heart disease, stroke, and kidney disease.  20,00 cases of blindness result from diabetic retinopathy and 60% of all non-traumatic amputations are the result of diabetes.  Think about the impact on those lives.  I know I think about them a lot because of the possibilities that they will affect my wife, Molly.  My niece was diagnosed at a very young age - she is almost 8 now.  The results of her diabetes will be even greater because of the changes her body will experience as she grows.  It can be depressing, but I do believe what I can do and you can do does help.
I think about the daily hassles of finger pricks to check blood sugar (4 or more times a day), insulin injections (4 more sticks a day), or problems with insulin pump sites.  Even the hassle of where to put the insulin pump when dressing up is a  real pain.  Sometimes it is the little things that send folks over the top.
I've got no other way to say it, please help.  We can't all do big things, but we can all do a little.

Saturday, October 24, 2009

Thanks, Dr. Devlin!  I really want to thank my dentist, Dr. Chris Devlin for his donation and also for helping me to not be afraid to go and see him.  A few years ago, I was needing medication just to call the dentist.  Now, I don't necessarily look forward to the experience, but I do enjoy going to the office.  I don't even need to have anything to relax before the visit.  As a result, my visits are pleasant and without incident.
I feel much better and actually got on the bike this morning.  I coughed a little when I picked up the tempo, but feel as though a run is coming in the very near future, like tomorrow.  What a relief!  I'm looking forward to comments and questions and have opened up the access so that you can comment, so no matter how small, let me know you are out there . . . if you are :)
Thanks again to Dr. Devlin.  I will be seeing you soon !

Thursday, October 22, 2009

Moving along

Well, things seem to be moving along.  I've got a little financial support from friends and am over 1/1000th of the way to my goal !   I have sent quite a few business letters out and have only had one return, albeit a negative response.  Kind of a bummer, but I am motivated to beat the bushes more because of it.  As part of my day on May 21, I will be visiting several of the district's schools.  I really hope that I am able to verbalize the impact that diabetes has on folks, both the person with the disease and the families.
Because Molly is such a great patient, I often take for granted that things are easy for her.  When her blood sugar is high and she feels that she has done everything right, it is frustrating for her.  This, in turn, affects everyone around her as she seeks to get the balance right and to fight off the physical and emotional manifestations of the hyperglycemia.  She is a great inspiration to me.  Don't tell her, though.  :)
It is strange to think about the nearness of the run day and how far away it is.  I really have a lot of training to do and a ton of fundraising.  I spend a lot of time preparing mentally already as well as spending time writing letters and telling people about the event.  I must admit that I love many of the responses I get.  For some reason people think this is a crazy thing to do.  I keep thinking about the short term inconvenience I am causing myself to try and let people know about the awesome impact diabetes has on its victims.
See you on the roads, trails, and hallways !

Thursday, October 15, 2009

Rats, no - Pigs

Well, I suppose it is good to get right to it.  I am pretty sure I've got H1N1.  I've been in bed for a couple of days now and finally have an excuse other than laziness.  I can stay awake for all of an hour or so before I need a nap, so things are looking up.  Why is it that doing a long run always looks the most appetizing when you can't do it.  I am looking outside a the rain thinking how good it would feel to be taking a jaunt in the woods, but obviously am not going to be doing for a while.  No worries, though.  It is a long time until May.  I have been watching some videos on YouTube of ultra-runners doing some of the awesome events out west.
I've been getting a lot of letters sent out to businesses and am looking forward to sending more.  Thanks to Corey and Jess, and Bob and Maure, and Bill for their donations so far.  30 grand seems like a lot of money, but I know it is doable.  I also am looking forward to breaking 100 miles.  The thing that is daunting to me is not the distance but the duration of being awake.  Especially right now.  There are a lot of people who do it, okay maybe not a lot, but some so I know it is possible.  I am counting on those around me to keep me pumped overnight. One really helpful guy, you know who you are Bass, has graciously offered to move 1/4 mile ahead of me and taunt me.  That way, I will be angry enough to make it through the night.  Now we all see how you are, buddy :)
I have been so happy with the response of my friends as I have been working on getting things settled.  It doesn't hurt that they think I'm "not all there" but are very supportive anyway.  Thanks, folks.
I need to get back to sleep now. I've been up for nearly two hours, a record.
Tell your friends.

Monday, October 5, 2009

Mega

The MegaTransect was, once again, a fantastic experience.  It was at least as hard as any other year, certainly more technical in several areas.  I finished 97th out of the 700 or so starters, and was about 1/2 hour faster than last year (6:22 this year).  We camped out in the rain this year so that we had the total Mega-experience.

Thanks to Tom Rodgers for a lot of encouragement during the run.  I am certain that I would've been quite a bit slower without his words - kind and otherwise :)
I shamelessly shared my JDRF endeavor with several people and hopefully will hear from them as the year goes on.  I had a nice ride on the bike trainer this morning and am encouraged with the desire to get back out on the road and trail.

Thanks to all of the volunteers from the MegaTransect.  It is a premier event and it is because of the fine work you all do.  Congratulations!

Friday, October 2, 2009

It's up . . . I'm running !

The JDRF called this morning to let me know that the donations website is up and ready to go.  I registered for the State College walk as part of the M&M team.  However, my run will start about 29 hours before the rest of the walkers.  My plan is to begin at 6 AM on Friday and go until noon on Saturday.
To make a donation, please visit http://walk.jdrf.org.  I really hope you do.  I can't say I wouldn't love to run 100 miles or so just for fun, but I would much rather have a good reason to do so.
Tomorrow is the MegaTransect.  Looks like the weather will cooperate for most of the event.
See you on the trail!