Past due update....

Sadly I am not able to be back in Austin to make the bachelor auction work out. L
I am however continuing my support to such a wonderful cause and will be there to cheer on my teammates in October.

am

Limits...

Hi everyone!
I hope your summer is going great!
Mine has been wonderful in Houston thus far, teaching again has brought me back this amazing high that I missed all of last semester! It has also made my schedule overflow and my rest hours have had to go to training for the longhorn. I have reinjured my back and will be taking it cool from now on... actually I have decided that I am going to gracefully bail out of the Longhorn training with TNT. As we know sometimes my wanting to do things blinds me from being rational about actually having the time and energy do do them. My family is convinced that is me trying to over compensate from breaking my neck and not being able to participate in sports for so long... they are probably right. But right now the end of the race for me needs to be my health, my career and my dissertation- 2 chapters left!
I have also reconciled with the fact that wherever I get the job offer is where I am heading next, now I am praying extra hard for the position at A&M Corpus Christi so that at least I have the other 1/2 of the Medina family around me and it is only 3 hours from Austin! Besides being the perfect position academically, they have a tri group and even though I will not be able to do a half ironman (yet!) I can continue training for Olympics/ Sprints (like the couples- be it with Wendy or Tom). I am keeping the bachelor auction on and will just be donating the money raised for TNT to LLS- The cause still has a special place in my heart and I hope to never loose touch with the extended family I have made through it!
My page will still be up as I hope to one day do another event with TNT !

I want thank you all for your continued support in my endeavors.

lots of love,
Ana-Maria Medina

After the Cap Tex Olympic Tri

So I did it!
I completed the Olympic Distance Triathlon in 3:35, yes I should have been less time but I had the best time!!!!!!!!!!!!!! and crossing through the finish line I was crying from happiness of knowing that all things are possible! Including finding a cure to cancer!
so,

Thank you for all those that donated with money or just support!

I wanted you to know how awesome this journey has been and how rewarding emotionally and physically.

Together our team raised 900,000 dollars for cancer research! that is an amazing amount of money going to a great cause!!!

As some of you might know I am continuing this journey ... yup, some might say I have gone mad but I am going to participate in the Longhorn 70.3, a 1/2 Ironman!!! held in Austin this October !!!!!!!

So next up:

1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike and a 13.1 mile run!

http://www.ironmanlonghorn.com/longhornraceinfo.html

On a personal note, through the last 4 months I have met so many amazing people that have been affected by cancer that to not continue raising funds would be selfish. Yes, when you train for endurance events you have a minimal social life, and your sore 90% of the time, but to say that at some point when I was able bodied and young enough I did events to raise funds to help people LIVE, is well worth it.

Once more, I am doing the Longhorn for my gramps, Vincent Medina Sr. who passed away in November from cancer. being able to do things like this keeps his memory alive in our family and I really do feel a continued presence of in my life. I am going to raise $3000 minimum.


Since raising 3000 again is quite a feat, I am in the process of planning a Bachelor Auction for mid August/ early Sept (Date: TBD but the venue is Sky Lounge). I am currently looking for donations for the raffle we will have at the event and/or date spots for our bachelors and the highest bidder. In exchange any business that donates will receive free advertising, free admission to the event as well as recognition for your help in finding a cure for cancer. If anyone you know might be interested all I need is a picture of your logo with a link to be posted at : http://bachelors-4-lls.blogspot.com/

Now, I know most of you don't live in Austin but as soon as I get the date I will mail it out and if you get a chance to come visit! I hope to see you all there!!!

I thank you in advance for your support, and really appreciate your generosity!!

TO SEE UPDATES PLEASE CHECK: http://ana-and-team-in-training.blogspot.com/

If you would like to make a tax deductible donation to the Longhorn please visit:
http://pages.teamintraining.org/ctx/Longhorn08/AnaMariaMedina

THANKS FOR YOUR SUPPORT!!!!!!!!!!!!



$1000 Helps the LLS fund a researcher to find a cure.

$500 Can provide patient aid to a person with a blood cancer for one year.

$100 Provides a patient with transportation to/from a cancer center

$80 Can provide bone marrow typing for a family member of a leukemia patient

$40 Will pay for the cost of a patient's chemotherapy drug co-payment.

ALMOST THERE... and already planning on the 1/2 IRONMAN!

hi! Everyone, next week at this time I will have completed my journey with the TNT Cap Tex Team! I can only imagine what that is going to feel like- exhaustion from the event, :( that is it all over and :) for what is coming! I love my team and on this weekend the 6th month anniversary of my gramps passing away I can see how far my family has come to overcome the sadness and how much TNT has helped.

The last few weeks have been tough, i sprained my back again and was in sooo much pain I couldn't get up from the floor! My wetsuit almost became permanent :S I had to get that treated and it is getting better, I WILL be ready for sunday and I WILL complete the event. :-) I may not wear the wetsuit just case it gets fussy and then I can't take it off!! how sad would that be!?

so... I am guessing you guys have read the title and now what my next adventure will be: LONGHORN!!! 70.3... YUP!

I am all in, although my first months of training I will be in Houston I will come back to join the team in Aug!

I Hope to have y'alls continued support! I am planning a Bachelor Auction here in Austin and I hope you can all attend! http://www.bachelors-4-lls.blogspot.com/
If you would like to donate any goods or services to the event, it will be appreaciated!
thanks a ton!

Sorry this is short, but lots of things to take care of!

love,
am

Time flies!!!!

17 days till the big event! I can’t believe it is so near!!!

This weekend is the rookie and it should be a pretty fun event! Fast- it is a super sprint – 300 swim, 11 mile bike and 2 k run- so it shouldn’t take long at all! Mom and Dad are coming out to support but Angela and Jon are headed to on our friend’s engagement party in DC- Richard is getting married!!! To an amazing girl!!! Woo Hoo.. I wish I could make it but I know the importance of preparing for this event!
I also know that there thousand of people that are in hospitals and do not have the option to participate in events like the Rookie, so I appreciate it even more! I know grandpa is proud of me!!

I am also happy to update that I am super close to reaching my monetary goal of $3000!!!!!!!!!!
We have reached 2652!! That is an amazing amount of money that is going to an incredibly worthy cause! We are helping save lives!!! If you want to donate you can do so at : http://www.active.com/donate/tntctx/tntctxAMedina
The finish line for me is two weeks away and I hope that we can reach the 3000 goal!
For those that have donated! Thanks again!

I will keep you updated on the next two weeks and I promise to blog after the event!!
Nerves are here, y’all keep me in your thoughts!! I am finishing this race with each of you in mine!!

CORPUS CHRISTI TRI

My 1st Tri in Preparation for the big one....

Saturday night after making sure that all the light in my car worked I headed over to Suzie’s house from where we would leave Friday morning to head to Corpus Christi. 2 days later we would be participating in the 25th Corpus Chriti Tri!We watched Juno, ate chips and salsa and had a beer- tapering had begun. :) I am not sure Corona and chips and salsa are part of tapering, but it was our firt time ever to tapper.

Hahaha

Friday at 5:30am we were out the door and on the road. Amazingly the trip went by very fast and Bianca clued us in about directions to Texas A & M Corpus where I had my informal interview with Cristina. She was awesome and the Uni was really cool, but being far from Austin is not something I am ready to do in the near future…

Without getting into the surreal moments that took place that weekend I am going to skip to Sunday 4:30 alarms start going off and I am up like a hyperactive sun!

We eat some power bars, check and double check out stuff and head out to the playa with all out stuff. People are already there!!! It was a small tri but to my surprise there were a bunch of pro’s. I think we might have been the only tri virgins in the whole place!!!The few people I spoke to had 10 or more tri’s under there belt with a few ironmen walking around. We kept going… We got colored on and set up our transitions, my family arrived and we took some pics and then put on wet suits and got ready for the swim in the sea…

We were both in the third wave and I have to say I was nervous!! I found five dollars floating in the water!!! I had heard of jelly fish and currents and the uneasiness of the swim, the fact that for an easy 200 meters you could see people walking with the water to their bellies meant that something was hard. The shot gun went off and I started to run in, I felt it get deep to swim, did four stokes and had to stand up again, running again, then once more in the water ended up going to the right and the swimming started. The fist leg against the current was not too fun, the second across it was better and coming back in to shore was a blast. My transition went smooth but when I got on the bike and I had to clip in on a hill I screwed up because my gear was not in the easiest so I lost some time there, then the road was ahead of me …. I sang. Heading in to T2 was good too, I was not dying and I hadn’t killed myself in the previous sports because I wasn’t sure how it would have turned out… live or not live.

I started the run and the rest is history.

Conclusions:
I could have has faster times but it was my fist and I rather make sure I could survive it, I did!
I won 3rd place in my age division and I have a medal to prove it!
I need to practice more on my bike- not spin.
About four years ago I did a 5K, in this event I did a 5k and after a swim and a bike I beat the old time!!! finally I loved it, and I am not longer a tri virgin... Let the whoring begin!!

For results check: http://results.active.com/pages/searchform.jsp#hot_links

Wet Suits ... Barton Springs

Hey All!

Just wanted you to know I have updated the blog with pics! Proof I am training hard core.

http://ana-and-team-in-training.blogspot.com/

Thanks to everyone who has donated!!!! We are almost there!!! I will be doing my fist tri- a practice run- in Corpus the 27th. It is a spring 1000 meter swim, 30km bike, and 5km run. It will help me get ready for the real deal!!!

The last weeks have been intense with training! I have also had to go to the doc since I was having some pains!!! I thought they were from old age; turns out I sprained my back a little but through a therapy called airrosti it should be good to go after five pt sessions. The great things training goes on as usual and I have already felt the benefits after one session!!!! Plus my doc is a cutie!!

Through all this doctor stuff, I have had a lot to think about and the reality is, I am training for someone else’s life. Yes, it is for gramps but the money I am raising is going to help someone out there. I am an advocate for someone that didn’t choose to have cancer. We, the team and those who donate, provide HOPE for patients and their families. That HOPE is wrapped up in new treatments, support groups, connecting patients with someone who has gone through the same diagnosis....this list goes on. Colleen wrote us an email today that said “When I first started working for TNT, I went to a remembrance ceremony at a local Children's hospital. There was a mother who had lost a child to leukemia at the entrance to the door that passed out a small card that said this”:

What Cancer Cannot Do Cancer is so limited
It cannot cripple love, it cannot shatter hope.
It cannot corrode faith, it cannot destroy peace.
It cannot kill friendship, it cannot suppress memories.
It cannot silence courage, it cannot invade the soul.
It cannot steal eternal life,It cannot conquer the spirit.

I thought it was worthy of sharing! As I head into the final SIX weeks of training, the motivation that knowing I am training for someone else’s life, works wonders!!!!

So, as you know we have our open water suits! Well, some of us on the team went to Barton Springs early in the am for a swim! It was awesome!!!


Also, just a reminder that the deadline for donations in May 10th.


http://www.active.com/donate/tntctx/tntctxAMedina


Thanks for all your support!!!



Love, Am

1ar Open H20 Swim

April 1st Update

Today 11 years ago I broke my neck! I am lucky to be alive but more so I am lucky that I have the health to train for an Olympic Distance Triathlon to raise funds for Cancer Research !!!! WOO HOO

I feel that this tri is bringing so many amazing things my way that it is almost impossible to put them into words. Although I am sore most of the time I can feel myself becoming more fit and I know I will be able to complete this endurance event!!!

This week we start open water swims! :) Lets see if I can do straight without the lane markers!! hahaha

I am still short on my donations so if you can donate 5, 10 bucks it would be greatly appreciated! Every amount counts!!!

http://www.active.com/donate/tntctx/tntctxAMedina

ohhh! Austin people we are in the process of planning a fundraising party so keep up with the group so you can find out the details!


I hope everyone is having an amazing start to April!!!!
much love,

am

Bike Pedals and Donations

HEY ALL! I know this update is way past due, I have been keeping busy and it was my birthday! :) I took the weekend off work and spent it with friends and family. I did train every day but thursday :D

Thursday I had dinner with friends –see pic- at Dave and Busters! It was super fun!!!
Friday I went out shopping for GEAR! I got my bike pedals- I have only munched it once and I feel pretty good about riding to work and back :D, a tire pump since you are supposed to check your tires before riding, each time… some gear and some other random stuff I found interesting :)- triathlete mag included. Hahahaha

Act it+ Belive it = Be it.

Practices have gone great and today I was able to make it to CORE and Swim at Dick Nichols! It was great to see everyone! I also was able to see some of the team this weekend at the recommitment party Saturday… Our coaches Lauren and Matt threw the party at their house, not only was it really sweet of them but hey even had games and prizes which shows the effort they put forth! Beyond catching up with some of the people I didn’t know that well, I got to see how amazing Anne is in person without sports gear on, this other girl who I can’t remember her name- we know me- and well everyone’s beauty inside and out in a non-training setting. They are, and I promise you guys this, some really great people on my team. This goes beyond them participating in a fundraiser but they are just down home good people that sacrifice their time and bodies to be able to help out others. AMAZING HUH?? Oh! And Colleen sang happy birthday to me on the slide, which is really sweet because she remembered and nice gestures like that should not be taken for granted.

Beyond all this…. I was able to meet THOMAS! He was there and he is as sweet and smart as you can imagine. I talked about Spain and traveling with his father and I feel fortunate to have him as one of our heroes.I couldn't bring myself to ask his father about the treatment or how he was doing. He looked happy though- he was smiling.

The next couple of weeks I am planning on stepping up the game- The Capital of Texas tri is in 61 days!!!!!!!!!!!!! I would like to finish it in less than 3 hours! Let’s see how it goes :) I know I have your support and I thank you for it.

I would like you to know that we have already reached 55% of our monetary goal. THANKS TO ALL OF YOU WHO HAVE DONATED!!!!That leaves 1325. I ask that you encourage those around you to donate 10 dollars to The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. All we need is 133 people to donate and WE WILL BE THERE!!! That is OUR finish line---


Mine and Gramp's is on May 25th– he is totally going to be next to me-- when I test the past 5 months of training at the cap tex tri- the 1.5 km swim, 40 km bike, and 10k swim !!!
THANKS!

Update on Thomas from his Dad

"Hi everyone. I just wanted to up date you on Thomas and his trip to Orlando. He had a great time while he was there. He enjoyed Disneyworld especially Pirates of the Caribbean. He did say that all the walking made him tired and made his feet hurt, so he and another kid went to the First Aid building and were given cots to take an hour long nap. After that, he was ready to go again. That evening he said he and the kids sat in the hot tub at the hotel for about three hours. I’m not exactly sure if that is a good thing, but at least he had fun doing it. His last day was the best he says. He woke up late and had to hurry to make the bus to the Astros Training camp. While he was there, the kids got a chance to meet the Astros, eat ball park food, got an autographed Astros Hat and autographed balls, and enjoyed a game between the Astros and the Indians. The only low point according to Thomas was when he went to the bathroom. The Astros were losing by four runs at the time, and while he was in there, the Astros hit a homerun! It didn’t matter, though because Thomas said he had such a great time while he was there. He was even interviewed by a Houston TV station. If you go to http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/ you can see his interview. Search “Sunshine Kids” and you should get a picture of an Astro kneeling down talking to a kid in a red chair. Click on the picture to watch the story. I was excited to learn he was going to be on TV. Imagine my horror when I noticed he is being interviewed in the same shirt he was wearing when he left! Either the hotel they stayed in had room service to do their laundry or he has been wearing the same shirt for three days. I’m going to assume the former. While Thomas was gone, Lisa and I had time to spend together alone and with Bella. After we dropped him off at the airport we actually got a chance to have a quiet meal together and then see a grown up movie! We ate at Astor’s Ethiopian and then saw “Juno” at the Alamo Drafthouse. The next day we enjoyed a trip to the San Antonio Zoo with Bella. She had so much fun and remembered so many things from our last visit. She especially enjoyed seeing all the animals with babies! After the zoo we rode the train around Brackenridge Park and then went to the Riverwalk for a "touristy" boatride. We then had dinner at Mi Tierra at the Mercado. We were exhausted when we got home but is was great to do something with just the three of us. Bella has been such a trooper through all of this. She deserves some individual attention, and we were glad to have the chance to give it to her. Thomas went to the Dr.’s office yesterday (Friday) and his counts are great. We will be going to the Capitol for a picnic today (Saturday) which is one of the things on his “List of things to do when my counts are good.” Monday he will have day surgery to get a Bone Marrow Aspiration to make sure those cancer cells are not in his marrow. A portion of his marrow will be sent to the Mayo clinic for a specialized test which will help determine what treatment Thomas will get in the next two years. He will start more chemo on the 17th to keep him stabilized for now until Dr. Sharp comes up with a plan. Because Thomas is a rare case and is responding so well to treatment, we are hoping we can find a less toxic protocol to continue on that won’t have as many potential pitfalls for Thomas in the future. We hope you are all doing well. Take care and enjoy the day. Gary"

Fundraising info:

$1000 Helps the LLS fund a researcher to find a cure.
$500 Can provide patient aid to a person with a blood cancer for one year.
$100 Provides a patient with transportation to/from a cancer center
$80 Can provide bone marrow typing for a family member of a leukemia patient
$40 Will pay for the cost of a patient's chemotherapy drug co-payment.

Missing Practice

So I can honestly say that today I missed my fist practice on accident. Yes, I had missed practices before with the group for “reasons” but this morning I literally slept in. I do remember waking up at 4:50 and looking at my watch and thinking “ok, in 10 minutes”. Well the ten minutes turned in to an hour and some, and by the time I got up I am sure everyone at practice was swimming to their hearts content. I did feel shyt for a sec but turned around hugged Tequila (my dog) and got some shut eye. The practices have actually really been wearing on my body. Sore wise it sucks, but the whole point of me blogging on a Thursday is that part of my reason for sleeping in was that I made it late to bed. I had an amazing surprise yesterday- Jen, one of the loves in my life- and I will explain why - came into Austin and I got to see her. It was only about a two hour visit after track practice and after a long hello full of kisses and hugs and me saying “touch my legs look how hard they are” and her “yeah, I have been going to the gym too, look at mine” … talking about Cadiz, and her having an opportunity to go back to Spain, the peace core and a myriad of other things, she told me she had recently gotten a chance to read through the blog and the triathlon mission I have embarked on. Let me just say that Jen is a shy person when you meet her and for the whole trip in Spain I was lucky if I got a tad bit of affection- we all know I always show and verbalize that I care- to the point I might freak my teammates and coaches out because I say goodbye with “love you” for the simple fact that I actually do, not the way I love my mom or my dad, but a very singular way- the way I love them- it always surprises me that the more I love the more I want to love, it is an amazing feeling. Nonetheless, when we finally got back to the States, besides Amanda and Sarah (my other loves- I love all my past student but they are the ones I stay in more contact with), I have been fortunate to stay in touch with Jen, know how she is and see her every time possible. Well last night while we sat on the sofa at Gingerman and contemplated my wearing long socks with shorts and how they made me look like a grandpa- coincidently being my grandpa’s socks- she told me the story of her being faced with cancer. Not as a patient, but as a spectator and the hopelessness one feels and how she was behind me and rooting. Of course, what she didn’t realize as she told me is that her story has just added more fuel to my fire, seeing her have to look away because she just might cry, (as I openly did) reminds me that this is probably one of the most worthy causes I have been involved in. Cancer took her 17 year old cousin from her, way to early. Although she had previously been diagnosed she was in remission and she was able to go on a trip to Las Vegas with other cancer patients. When she came back home on a routine check up she had what she believed was a pimple above her eyebrow, it wasn’t – it was a tumor. Jen, told me about the day they called and they said come to the hospital. And she thought that she had done this every month and that her cousin, at seventeen, would not go away. She was too young. Jen told me about her mom saying to her “go talk to her” and her thinking she is asleep… but going just the same because she felt she had to. That time her cousin did wake up, and Jen told her she had to fight, get up, get going. And her cousin smiled and looked at her, said she was fine she would be fine. Jen was happy, elated almost, because when things like that happen, when they, the patients you love ,look at you, as my grandpa did, and say- yea, we will be fine- you believe it. Her cousin passed away shortly after.

I guess this is a reminder; you have to treasure life as much as possible. Say I love you as much as possible. Make every moment count.

Thanks Jen, for being part of my life. I LOVE YOU!

Thomas update and Recommitment

Hey guys!

Recommitment is around the corner and I need to have most of the donations in by them! If you have not donated I ask, that if it is possible, you donate! You will be helping save lives! This money goes to finding the CURE for Cancer!!For those of you who have THANKS!

http://www.active.com/donate/tntctx/tntctxAMedina

Please forward the information to your family and friends! :D

You can also check out the blog:http://ana-and-team-in-training.blogspot.com/

Here is the latest update on Thomas:

"Great news! The shot Thomas received 11 days ago to help boost his white count has finally started working! He actually has a little bit of an immune system now (although it is still formally characterized as “severe neutropenia.”) One of the side effects Thomas experienced the last time he got this shot was pain in his legs, due to the activity in the bone marrow. So, his legs started to hurt a couple of nights ago, and his response was to laugh with glee and say “Yea! My legs are really hurting so my body must be making neutrophils!!” --- Just one example of the strange, strange life of a cancer patient. His platelets have fallen again, and he will receive another platelet transfusion today, but his hemoglobin is hanging in there. All in all, things are looking up. He is off the blood pressure medication and the IV antibiotics seem to be working on the blood infection. We are hoping to get to go home tomorrow with him taking oral antibiotics. It’s looking like he will still be able to go on the trip to Orlando next week with 5 other cancer patients here his age, as well as one of the oncology docs here, and some nurses. I’m having a difficult time with the idea at the moment, but I’m sure I’ll feel better over the next few days as his immune system gets stronger. As for the next steps in his treatment, he will have another bone marrow aspiration around March 10 to make sure he is still in remission. (I can’t imagine anything surviving the chemo he has had over the past 3 months!) Anyway, the results from the bone marrow will be sent to the Mayo Clinic to look for any signs of residual disease, which will help the doctors determine how the rest of his treatment should proceed. We know there will be more chemo, we just don’t know if it will continue to be as aggressive as it has been. "

It has been more than a week since my last blog. I have been pretty busy working at the gym and working out. –As you can tell my dissertation has not been getting the love it deserves… :S. This past week I only met up with the team Thursday for the swim- got to meet Jeff, he isn’t new but being placed in the same lane I actually got to talk to him. He is a great guy- good swimmer- no ladies, not a crush… :D I also made it to bike practice Sunday where Lauren gave the “mission moment”. She spoke about her mother’s battle with cancer and how she felt hopeless in helping her thus her joining TNT. It was really sweet, I mean, Lauren is super sweet and is always motivating everyone giving a smile and helping us remember that we can do it! Even if our legs, as mine our today, are sore, and core and a run seem more like torture than happiness and smiles…… And it is true, because when you think about it these working-out pains are just making up feel better in the long run, and it is a small comparison to what cancer patients go through every day. We just have tough it out with hope that we will make it happen.

Both of those words (tough, and hope) were used Saturday at the Obama rally, yes I stood for three hours in anticipation of this amazing man… and it was totally well worth it. He is amazing, and I really believe that because he is tough and not afraid of changing things he will take this country down a different, a better path.

On a different note, or returning to the working out part of this blog, I have to say that I am sore because Saturday I did the 5 mile loop with Sam- he said he couldn’t run but HE CAN and he made me work extra hard- mostly because I couldn’t let him show me up like that hahahaha, and I needed him to see that the SUPER Shake he made for breakfast was really what made the difference!- Saturday morning my bike and I still having this love/hate relationship we seem to be stuck in, went out on the Veloway and failed the hill the fist time. I have to give my Coach Ken kudos for his patience and his motivation; he stuck with me the whole ride. I was even going to quit after the second turn – I didn’t make the hill that time- since they were getting on Mopac and just the thought of enduring that ride after my fist time there seemed impossible. Well he kinda just nudged me into it and I did it ALL. Can I just say that my fist experience on Mopac was with Krista, and the second with Ken, and they are married and our coaches and I just have to sometimes try to wake myself up because they are both sooo amazing and the fact that they found each other brings me so much faith in the fact that love is out there and sooo possible!
Ok, so now I really have to get going because I am heading to the library :D amen!
Tomorrow before core and swimming :D

So I hope everyone is doing great! I want to update you guys on Thomas- he and his mother wrote-

“Hi everyone, this is Thomas. I hope you’re not worrying about me, because I’m doing fine. Thanks for your support. Thomas

(A man of many words…..)

This is Lisa. We’re still at Dell. Thomas’s immunity is still at Zero, and his blood pressure and oxygen levels are still inconsistent, so we will be here until he has a decent immune system and these other issues resolve themselves. He only has to wear the “senior citizen” oxygen mask when he sleeps now. The good news is he is off all the heart electrodes and able to move around more. We will do another check up on his heart in a month to make sure everything is OK, and he will be on the IV antibiotics until Friday for the blood infection. Yesterday, they unhooked Thomas from his IV pole for about 30 minutes and we all went outside to enjoy the beautiful weather. We enjoyed the “healing” garden here at Dell. Just below our room, there is a park with a walking labyrinth, statuary of children, some fountains, a maze, and some lovely sitting areas. I guess if we’re going to be in the hospital, this is a nice one to be in, esp. when the weather is nice. Thomas is in better spirits now that he can move around more. He is making bionicles (boy's toy - like a model robot) right now, and even played his guitar some this morning. We will go outside again in a little while. This has been a pretty traumatic episode, and we’re looking forward to getting it behind us. Your prayers and support have made all the difference – Thanks so much! Much love, Lisa”



Please don’t forget to donate and forward the info to those you think might be able to!
XOX
am

UPDATE ON THOMAS MOLINA

Hey All,
I got an update from Colleen about Thomas so I thought I would share. It is good to be reminded why I was up at 7am and suffered through a spin class!!!

I hope everyones' week is going great!


Hello everyone - Here's the latest on Thomas. He had two really bad days on Thursday and Friday last week. The chemo caused a great deal of inflammation in his eyes and although we had special steroid eye drops to give him, he was still in pain, and could not open his eyes for most of those two days. He also had an upset tummy during this time, and just felt crummy overall. His ANC (immunity) was at 29 on Friday. Anytime you get below 500, it's about time for isolation. He did get a shot to help his white count recover, but it will take until the end of this week for it to kick in. Also, on Friday, he got transfusions of IVIG and platelets. It was a long day. Saturday, he woke up and his eyes didn't hurt anymore, so the weekend went much better even though he was in isolation. Yesterday, the ANC count literally read 0% - a new record for Thomas. So for now, he's studying for tests, playing guitar, reading, and playing video games. This also means Bella gets to take a bath the minute she gets home from school, and there's lots of hand washing going on around here. Please pray that he will not get any infections - this would not be good, and would mean a lengthy stay at the hospital for sure. His platelets were still very low yesterday, so he will probably get another transfusion tomorrow. The good news is his red cells are not that low, which means he has some energy and feels good overall. Yea! He is SO ready for the upcoming trip to Orlando!

1, 2 and then comes 3

So the third week of training is done! This week has been intense. I started working at 24 Hour so I got to start working out there too! :D I have worked out every day! But before getting into this weeks events…. Last week ended on a high with a great Veloway practice on my super bike. I made it up the BIG hill with some help and motivation!!! (Girls, I got to talk to ‘Mr. Tri-Dreamy’ but he is very very spoken for soooo I am moving along the dotted line I call my romantic life :D ).

The Veloway practice was actually one of the best ones yet since we learned a lot of practical things- how to drink while riding, how to turn, how to shift gears… all the necessary things to actually make it through the ride : D

This week’s practices have also been amazing! I finally did 25 minutes straight at track practice and this Sunday we I got up to 36! It has been incredible! Swimming has been awesome! And I have also started spin with Rob at 24HF! I am pretty sure I lost five pounds of water in 60 minutes of intense biking! Hahaha….

Also, through the gym I have met some other tri people and they love giving pointers! Perfect for me since I am a real newbie! I must say the gym job was a great idea and the people I have met there have also been super cool! Plus I am learning a lot! And I get a lot of perks! :D

Monica also came into town and after morning swim Thursday I went to San Antonio, we went to the Rodeo and it was a lot of fun!

Today we had our Mission Run, this consists in all the teams (marathon, tri and bike) meeting up and doing a silent mile in honor of our heroes. Tom was there (we are lucky to have him on our tri team) and there were some other survivors. Out Tri Manager Colleen mentioned Thomas Molina, a young boy currently in treatment.

His mom wrote us a letter Valentine’s day:

“Hi everyone. We got home from the hospital yesterday afternoon. Thomas received the same chemo drugs he had last week, and again, he did fine and did not experience any fevers. Whew!! He was given IV benedryl this time along with each treatment, so he was pretty groggy and slept most of the day. The treatments from last week have also hit his blood counts by now, so he was fatigued from a low hemoglobin. His white cell count (immunity) is so low at this point (below .5), it can't even be counted, and his platelets (for blood clotting) are also very low. He did get a transfusion of red blood cells yesterday, which helped him to have more energy, and he will receive a transfusion of platelets tomorrow at the clinic and also a shot of neupogen which should help his white count recover eventually. Since the chemo he received this week won't hit him until middle of next week, Dr. Sharp said to plan on isolation for the next 7-14 days. Thomas is bummed about having to be in isolation, but has already made a wish list of things to do once his counts recover. He wants to go have lunch with his friends at Small Middle School, go to the rodeo, have a picnic on the grounds of the Capital, and go walk around 6th street. He has also been invited by the staff at Dell Children's Hospital to go on a trip to Orlando with 4 other cancer patients, some doctors, and nurses for 3 days in early March. They will go to Disney World and attend the Houston Astros spring training. I'm sure he will have a great time. I think that's about it for now. Have a wonderful Valentine's Day, and know that you are in our hearts, and thank you for keeping Thomas in yours.”

The letter really touched me and it makes me feel really special to partake in helping him get better- in any way possible. During that mile I thought a lot about grandpa, I always make a point of wearing something of his during practice. It is a way of feeling him there with me, and that is nice. After they had some nice treats and we got to mingle. Let me just re state how awesome my teammates are! I promise I will have pics soon!

Ok, it is Saturday night and although the plan was to go out and meet Sam, I have to go work tomorrow and then practice so I decided to let you guys know how this adventure, I call life, is going.

Update Número Two

Ok, so before starting this latest blog I re-read my last one… and no… none of you have ever officially bought me a bear- hahahah what I meant to say is beer. So yeah, if you haven’t donated please recall that I have gone the dry route and every beer you would have bought me will now go to saving lives!

- Oh and my birthday is next month and I am trying to think of ways of making it a fund raising party- please respond with any ideas. :D

So yes, this is before Sunday, but I figure, what the hell I have a whole afternoon to kill- ok yes I have my dissertation to work on, and yes I have the article I have read over a hundred times and need to read and edit about a hundred more, but I must rather talk about this last week and about the training that has gone down. I will skip the details about every single practice but I will tell you this- when Thursday came around- my one and only rest and recovery day- I was sooo happy it was here!!!

The week physically/exercise wise was a great one. I ran, swam and rode my super duper new bike (financed my uncle and the parents)- I will tell you about my bike experience later- till my muscles were sore and the scale said 5 pounds less. No I promise, I am not ever going to look like an Ethiopian. I have had a whole lot more energy and my days have been more productive- this happens when you are up and swimming by 6am. One thing is for sure, for those who call me after 10: I am usually crashed out. So my life has had a turnaround for the good, working out, exercising, and managing time with precision….

I have also met some cool peeps that are training for the triathlon. I have to say, just for gossips sake and for all my girlfriends that are reading this- there is one guy that is outstandingly gorgeous and seemingly very sweet. I can’t verify on the sweet part because when I was introduced to him I almost passed out, and then continued to not be able to say anything, but smile and look at him with longing eyes. – sad, very sad, yes I know. Nonetheless I shall continue to look at him from afar until I have the courage to say hello. Hahahaha

So about the bike, as you can see in the pics it is awesome, but I don’t know how to ride it and in my attempt to change the years I, your dear young friend with the broken neck, almost munched it soooo bad. I thought mom, who was in the car behind me, might have a heart attack. Don’t stress though this Sunday we have a clinic that is going to teach me everything I need to know :D

So although I want most of my blogs to be perky and upbeat I have to make mention to the fact that Seth, our white cocker, passed away this wed. It was extremely sad for all of us since it was entirely unexpected. However, I have to say that I think he knew because that night he kept me up coming on to my bed and giving me kisses and then leaving to go to mom’s. I think he kinda liked the fact that I was in bed early because he got to come get some Ana time. I did go to run practice that night, and cried most of one of my laps (it was a night run with not much light) but decided that his going to the next level made it possible for him to run the race with me, just like grandpa and all those other people watching over me from above.

So, tomorrow we run again and Sunday I dominate my bike… who doesn’t have a name yet… any ideas?

Till next week,

Love you all, am

Team in Training KICK OFF

Yesterday was officially the first day of team in training, I am lucky that I had Amanda here and we got to share the experience together. It was absolutely amazing - no we didn't run or bike or swim- we became inspired. As corny as it sounds it was exactly what I needed from a first day meet up. The event took place in a gym and walking in there was a good crowd with smiles beaming from their faces and girls dressed in eighties wear.- loud eighties music in the background. Quite the spectacle. The energy was there. The laughter, support and caring from others was there also! It was fantastic!They introduced the meeting with the video about team in training (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xVfoeLqgsA8) and then we got to see some of our honored heroes. Amongst them was a little girl that was full or laughter, a mother, a young man and a girl that was a formal UT basketball player. The latter, actually spoke to us about how cancer came in to her life. She was absolutely amazing and brought me to tears more than a few times. At 22 she was misdiagnosed for four months, she finally had to check herself in to the hospital because she knew she would not make it another day- it turned out that the inability to breathe (the docs blamed it on austin allergies) and her swollen face (the docs blamed it on food allergies) was really because of a stage four tumor she had un her chest that was cutting off blood to an artery and pressing on her trachea. She made it through eight treatments of chemo after and is now a participant in team in training. She is amazing! It made me realize how amazing this organization is and how lucky I am to have come into contact with it. I also think that the 3000 goal is something that can be reached. If everyone that would buy me a bear while we are out - gives that money to charity we are set. I left the meeting invigorated and ready for our firts team run on saturday yes at 8am! I will definitely keep you updated on the progress of the workouts!!