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.