Bad Episode!

Twenty-four hours after my return from Ireland to Victoria, I was in pain. I didn't recognize the pain. It was new and different. I tried to ignore it, sometimes a very powerful pain control method. I went to bed at the usual time but awoke at 2 am with unforgiving and constant pain. It was so severe that bouts of nausea would sweep over me and I would struggle to get to bathroom in time.

By 9 am I decided it was time to seek help and Louise took me to emergency. Once again, words can't express enough praise for the kind of loving care that our doctors and nurses are able to show in ER. Our much maligned health system has consistently taken care of me with great compassion. I was quickly out of pain with an unprecedented and almost overwhelming dose of IV morphine.

A CT scan revealed that I had acute appendicitis and would have surgery as soon as possible. A merciful surgeon came to reassure me I was on his list and he would get to me by midnight.

Sure enough, at 11.30 pm, I was lying helpless and vulnerable on the operating table. By 1 am I was back in the recovery room and slept until 4 am. On waking, I decided I would demonstrate independence as early as possible in the hope of early release! I was so successful that I was home at 9 am!

I am now two weeks into recovery. All dressings are gone. I had no stitches. I was simply taped together! I am itching to get back to exercise. As the appendix had ruptured by the time the operation took place, I had to take heavy doses of antibiotics to ward off peritonitis. Lassitude and weakness are always the result, but I am now starting to feel as if I can get back to normal very quickly.  What joy to be alive, well and without pain!  

Summer is in full swing. Every day is long, warm, bright and perfect!

Here are two pictures from an Irish ditch! A superb place to party!

 

Ireland

An idyllic country scene close to my home

On May 13, I arrived in Dublin by air from Toronto. I rented a car and headed for the beautiful city of Birr in the middle of the country. I stayed with my brother and sister-in-law in their very old and beautiful townhouse, three floors of elegance and style. A young nephew was also kind enough to accompany me to Birr and the four of us had a good time together, walking, reminiscing and relaxing.

Two days later I drove to Co. Wexford, where I was born, and stayed with a beautiful cousin and her family. From there I was able to visit with many more relatives and catch up with their stories. The weather was unusually kind to me and we enjoyed lots of sunshine and very little rain.

I had a chance to review some family history documents and gather some information that was new to me. For a long time now I have been gathering information about our family history.


During my visit I was struck anew by the heart-aching beauty of Ireland, the fascination of its complex human history and the natural friendliness of its people. I feel very lucky to have been born in such a wholesome, safe and healthy environment. I give thanks frequently for the loving care of my parents.


I returned to Victoria on May 28. Summer appears to be well under way! Hooray!

Health Update

The results of my PET scan on May 5 show stable disease - no growth of tumours and no new tumours. My immune system continues managing to contain the cancer. How perfect is that?! For 16 months now I have been enjoying this respite. Every good day is a bonus. I feel on top of the world and fully in it. On Tuesday I travel to Ireland, land of my birth. This will be such a happy visit! Peace and love, Nigel

Beautiful Bonaire!

After the rigours of the Boston Marathon, I headed straight for Bonaire, a small island in the Southern Caribbean and a diving Mecca, to recover from the excesses of marathon running. I have family there, with a beautiful, welcoming and comfortable home. I spent the week relaxing, walking, doing yoga, swimming, eating and drinking like a king and diving every day.

The extraordinary thing about Bonaire diving is that the entire shore is a reef so one just walks or jumps in, and the dive begins immediately. There is no need for unpleasant engines or boats. The pleasure begins as soon as one is in the beautiful clear and warm water. 

In addition the reef is one of the healthiest and best protected in the world. Coral, fish and all kinds of sea creatures are abundant. It is a veritable wonderland, filled with colour, intriguing shapes, varying light, endless variety and some of the strangest creatures that exist on the planet! Just as we exited from my final dive, we saw a large octopus, slithering about on the rocks in the shallows, almost too close to us, in search of its favourite molluscs. It is able to change colour to hide almost anywhere. It is definitely one of the stranger creatures on earth!

On the edge of the reef, where the deep water begins, one often sees very large fish hunting for prey. All over the reef live a cornucopia of fish and other creatures that co-exist in relative peace. Of course, all creatures eat other creatures or plants in order to survive, just as we do. Sometimes one can even glimpse these violent moments actually transpire, the chase and the swallow. Some fish merely graze on the algae that grows on the reef. The more one learns about underwater life, the more enjoyable diving becomes. 

Learning to become relaxed and comfortable underwater is a lengthy process and it helps to have expert guides as I do. I certainly reached new heights, (or depths!) this time and I spent several hours in bliss in this alternate world. I have now done 40 dives and spent more than 30 hours underwater. It takes that long to learn how to be competent, to control buoyancy and be able to move at will up and down and side to side, in and out, using just one's breath and legs.

On top of Brandaris, Bonaire's highest point......

There are many more levels of expertise available to the diver and if I am lucky, I may be able to enjoy more training in the future. For now, I am happy that this week was just perfect! And now, I am homeward bound. Victoria, and serious matters,  await! On May 5 I have my next PET scan in Vancouver to see what the monster inside is doing. I promise to let you know. Peace and love, Nigel

On friends

We are blessed to have friends. When I decided to run Boston one more time, I mentioned it to friends. Slowly, the group going to Boston swelled. Some were already qualified to enter while others had to struggle to run a good marathon in time to enter Boston. Some tried but did not make it. 

While I lived in South Surrey I joined a running group called Peninsula Runners. There I met an extraordinary group of people from all walks of life, drawn together in pursuit of fitness and wellness. Some came and some left over time but a core group remained, even as they went through major transitions in their personal and professional lives. Running was the thread that held us together, the glue that bound us together.

In tribute to those friends who travelled to Boston together, and to those we met there, here is a ridulous picture taken as we finally reached the start line! All the suffering lay ahead!

Thank you to all of my friends. I owe you an endless debt of gratitude. Thank you for the support and inspiration. Thank you for adjusting your speed so we could be together!  Peace and love, Nigel

Race Day is here!

A shout of grace!

Monday, April 20 2015. Here it is! The wait is over!

While the weather for the preceding week had been bright and warm, the forecast for race day was ominous. We were promised rain, cold temperatures and a strong headwind. Often, if the forecast doesn't suit us, we criticize meteorologists. When we like the forecast, we think them very clever. This particular forecast turned out to be accurate in every way. 

As we huddled from the wind in the athletes' village, the rain started. I had bought layers of street clothing in a thrift shop the day before in order to ward off hypothermia before the start of the race! As we moved towards the corrals, we slowly peeled off layer after layer and volunteers stuffed them into giant plastic bags so that they would all be back in thrift stores again! For some reason, for which no one has yet taken responsibility, the four of us ended up at the back of all 30 000 runners, with a lone police officer behind us! This would make our work even harder!

Off we went, in wind and rain, and I quickly decided that there was only one way to get through this challenge. Head down, teeth gritted, start to run and run as hard as possible for as long as possible. No thoughts of the finish line. Just survival! 

One of my friends had a racing heart after a few kilometres and needed to stop to recover. Three of us were left. Imagine our joy when he showed up again at exactly the halfway mark, as we ran through the 'scream tunnel' at Wellesley College. After the halfway mark, two of us were feeling very strong and decided to run faster. I was not amongst them! Two of us again, and on we ran downhill and uphill, heavily dressed against the chill, fighting the wind and rain, and steeling ourselves against pain and fatigue and discouragement. 

The Boston crowds were extraordinary on the day. Despite the inclement conditions, they came out in thousands and thronged both sides of the course, screaming their support. This level of community involvement makes Boston absolutely unique amongst races. A million people came out, in foul weather, to cheer on the runners. Their cheers were elixir to the sagging spirit. The crowds thickened on uphill sections and near the finish line, just where one most needed them. 

Individuals in that huge crowd manage to personalize their cheers. If you are wearing your name prominently, you are certain to hear your name called out thousands of times! I wore many maple leaves and heard Canada urged on to greatness again and again! The gifts that onlookers give to runners are pure gold. 

Boston is an extremely challenging course no matter what the weather is like, as  there is an enormous amount of hill running and there are four long serious uphill sections between miles 16 and 21, the toughest of which is called Heartbreak Hill, as so many champions have stopped and quit at just that point! 

On the day, my friend and I paid no attention to the hills. All of our 5 kilometre sections took approximately the same time. Although Heartbreak Hill made me slow and ponderous, we quickly made up for it as we crested the hill and looked down at the history-filled city. I paid no attention to my watch at all during the race. The pace was in my head. "Run as fast as you can for as long as you can"! At 3 hours 48 minutes, we crossed the finish line, 12 minutes faster than our intention. What a glorious moment! And then the pain! 

We struggled from the finish line to the comforts of our hotel. The race was over but the bliss is longlasting! How beautiful it is to be alive - to feel joy, to feel pain! Life is sweet! 

Peace and love, Nigel

Race day approaches!

The momentous day is fast approaching! Tomorrow is the 119th running of the Boston Marathon, the world's most storied road race. In the lead up to the race, we have enjoyed sparkling clear cool weather in Boston. The forecast for tomorrow is rain throughout the race and a strong headwind and very cool temperatures! We will all need to be Boston Strong.

My friends have all arrived in town now and we keep gathering, to visit the huge expo, to see the finish line being completed, to enjoy the historic city and to eat together. We laugh, we joke, we tease, we reminisce about previous Boston races and others. We are like Spartan warriors combing our long hair calmly in preparation for battle!

The 30 000 runners will have a variety of reasons for competing - some heroic, many just run of the mill. With its strict qualifying standards, one has to work hard to get here. I have come simply to celebrate being alive. There is nothing to achieve. It will be a long meditation on the joy of being sentient, continuing to be a part of this very beautiful world.

I am the luckiest of people. Not only am I able and well enough to run for four hours and love every minute of it, but I have several good friends who have gone well out of their way, made special effort and arrangements, to run alongside me. This will be an especially joyful day! 

The city is ready now. For several days already all kinds of workers have been preparing the course and the elaborate start and finish lines. A million supporters will line the sides of the route and cheer for hours on end. Their shouts and cheers of encouragement are an extraordinary human effort to relate to others. Boston owns its marathon in a way that is entirely unique in the world. There is never a quiet moment along the road. One is never alone. It is a sight to behold for the runners as they get the odd glimpse of the snake of humanity behind or in front of them as they arrive at a point where it is possible to see the route ahead or behind. In addition to the clamour of encouragement from the sidelines, one can hear the steady patter of thousands of shoes hitting the road, in deep concentration, moving inexorably back towards the city centre.

This is my third visit to Boston. In 2004, I foolishly entered because I had qualified in my first marathon. I knew nothing and I made many mistakes! A highlight was hearing the legendary native Bostonian, Johnny Kelley, speak to us at the start line exhorting us to run our best race. He had run in 61 of them himself, even winning it when he was younger. He was 96 on that day. He died in October 2004 at the age of 97, a living legend who had seen the race evolve from an amateur's greatest challenge to the world's premier professional marathon - the end of an era.  The picture above shows the famous statue of the Kelleys on Heartbreak Hill. I ran Boston again in 2006 and had an excellent run on a fine day. I had no idea what lay ahead for me on my life path.

In 2010, I was diagnosed with a tumour at the back of my right eye. It was successfully treated with radiation and I got on with my life and my running. I clearly remember doing a very fast run before the day of the surgery, and a day after I got home going out to walk, but with running shoes on, and gently easing into my first postoperative run. In March 2012, I learned that the cancer had metastasized deep into my body, and my future would be very brief. Typically, people in that situation live from 2 to 7 months. This was a very heavy burden to bear.

And here comes the best part. It is now more than 3 full years later, and I have gone from being a registered hospice patient to running in the Boston Marathon tomorrow. With the support of modern medicine, supportive and loving family and friends, I have survived. This will be a special race indeed! Hip hip hooray! Thank you for this perfect day! And tomorrow!

If you would like to track my progress on Monday, April 20, go to the website www.baa.org and enter this bib number - 24248.  

Peace and love, Nigel