Luca Campana

Hey guys. I want to tell you a little bit about Luca. I met him last Saturday, and am so excited to be doing this triathlon to help him and others just like him.

On Tuesday, April 8th, 2008, Luca had his tonsils and adnoids taken out at Texas Children's Hospital.
Although he is a little young for this surgery, the doctor's felt that it was definitely for the best that they came out, especially since it seemed to be causing his lymph node to swell as well. Luca spent the night just to be on the safe side for his age, and was expected to fully recover in a few weeks.
On Thursday of the following week, Sharon and Falco deciced to take him back for a checkup, as his Lymph node seemed to be getting larger, and he had little bruises all over his body. It seemed that anywhere he had been tickled or held, he had bruises, so the doctors decided to do some further bloodwork.
The crushing news came at around 9:00pm on Thursday night when the pathologist called Sharon and Falco and gave them the initial diagnosis that Luca had (T Cell -ALL), or Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia.

He was just admitted back to the hospital on Monday. He woke up ~9:15 feeling like he was going to throw up and had a fever of 105.1.

Even with everything he has endured in the past year, he still has an upbeat attitude and is the cutest kid ever!

ReCap of the Past Few Weeks!

"You don't drown by falling in the water. You drown by staying there." ~Unknown

I know it has been awhile since I have updated, so here ya go!

Team in Training has gotten much more intense over the past few weeks. Saturday practices are now 2 hours or more, and we are still swimming as a group on Wednesdays. I am trying my hardest to make it to every practice, but with the hectic work schedule, it proves to be quite difficult at times. Hopefully for the next 6 weeks, I will be able to make every single one!

A couple Wednesdays ago we had a 30 min continuous swim, without touching the bottom of the pool or holding onto any sides. It was extremely challenging for me, however, I know it's not nearly as hard as chemo must be! After the first few laps, it actually got a little bit easier because I was able to get "in the groove" and finally felt like I had the strokes and breathing down. This is awesome! Then, when we were done, I learned that there was one girl on our team that swam 3 times the distance that I did! Granted, she was on swim team in college, but it is absolutely amazing how much effort and focus and training it takes to truly become good at something I thought I could do all along!

We also have been doing "bricks" on Saturday mornings. We have been practicing out at Bear Creek and have been biking for 4 miles, than running for 1 mile, then biking, the running, etc. Try doing this for 2 solid hours! It has been very exhausting, but I know it will all be worth it! I have also been running at Memorial Park almost every day. If you ever want to join me, I'm always up for workout buddies! :)

We had our first open water swim this past Saturday. It was an entirely different experience than what I ever expected. We have been swimming in a 50 meter pool before, and when you jump into the lake, it is very different! Not only did we have our wetsuits on, but you literally could not see 2 feet in front of you. How the heck am I supposed to swim when you can't see? I also learned this week that "sighting" is something I am really going to have to practice. The hardest part for me so far was trying to get in the groove and get my swim on, then breaking it after just a few strokes because it felt like I was swimming with my eyes shut! Every time I popped my head up, my legs dropped down and it slowed me down too much and it takes more energy than it should to get going again, only to pop my head back up to see where I am going! And if you think you can swim straight in a lake, I challenge you to jump in a pool and try to swim to the other side in a straight line with your eyes shut. Eeeek! They say that if you get off course, you could end up swimming hundreds of meters farther than you should, just by veering off to far to the left and to the right. This is going to take a lot more practice on my part!

Here is a photo from this past Saturday of me right after our swim in the lake. That is my awesome mentor, Mark, and Luca, with his mom and older sister. Luca is our team's inspiration. He has been fighting his battle with cancer, and on Sunday he was admitted back into the hospital. His battle is now with the effects of the treatments after his fight with cancer. There is a cure out there waiting to be discovered that would have prevented him and his family from the emotional and physical pain that comes from cancer and the related effects. When I am discouraged, overwhelmed, or frustrated, Coach Jay reminds us to take a few minutes and to reflect on what we are doing as a team to raise money for a cure and for the families of all those fighting this battle. It's like the saying on the back of our shirts, "If you think a triathlon is hard, try chemotherapy." Please keep Luca and his family in your thoughts and prayers! It was really inspiring to finally meet him this past week.

Also, I am SO proud of all those that have donated to this great cause and helped me out thus far. I have raised almost $2,000 and have another $3,000 to go. I NEED YOUR HELP!

Why I Am Going to TRI.

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." ~Mark Twain

So I decided to do this triathlon as a way of keeping up my exercise and looking at the bigger picture in things. I feel like my life is so much different than I could have ever imagined 6 months ago... however, I need to keep my head held high and remember that things could be worse and to be appreciative for what I have... 2 legs, 2 arms, a healthy pair of lungs, etc. It is just so scary to think how things can take a turn for the worse and how our day-to-day trials and tribulations are miniscule in the grand scheme of things. One day we can think we are perfectly healthy, and the next day find out from a doctor that we have cancer or some other life-changing disease.

Live each day to the fullest and be appreciative for everything you have. I couldn't imagine facing the challenge my friend Logan did when she was diagnosed and pulled through all her treatments and is now in remission. There are an estimated 138,530 people that were diagnosed with leukemia, lymphoma or myeloma in 2008, and every ten minutes, another child or adult is expected to die from one of those diseases. The pain and fatigue I experience during training and will endure during the race is very temporary. If so many have the strength and patience to fight their battle with cancer, then I should be able to fight my day-long battle too.

God bless!

Letters of Encouragement

One of my teammates posted this inspirational story from another Team in Training member and I would like to share it with you...

"Hey everyone, I just wanted to share with everyone something my cousin wrote about his brother who had Leukemia. Any time I don't want to work out, I think of my cousin and how grateful he was when he could jump around again.

Needless to say, the chemo slowed him down a bit. He no longer motored around the house at breakneck speed. More than likely you could find him laying on the couch, or in his bed. Sometimes you could convince him to go outside for a few mintus or go for a car ride, but most of the time he wasn't up for it.

We couldn't figure out what he was thinking sometimes. If he thought that sickness was just a childhood formality or if there was something really wrong. Spinal taps and IV's took the place of T-Ball and Spelling Tests. Cold hospital rooms for home.

His immune system was so low that he couldn't go to school, his classmates were suddenly dangerous. On occasion they would all load the bus and come to the house and stand out in the driveway and wave to him through the glass door. He wanted more than anything to run out there, but the door was always locked. He'd cry when he couldn't go outside, but it's almost like he realized that he couldn't.

He told us that he spoke to angels and sometimes they kept him awake at night. We never thought to doubt him because he described them in vivid detail. "Make the angels go away, I've got to get some sleep." He'd sit and tell me about his life and what he wanted to be when he grew up. Sometimes he'd tell me he wanted to be me when he got older, and the whole time I sat in amazement at his beauty and strength, wishing I could be like him when I was grown.

The steriods he was on to help build his immune system made him gain weight until he was twice as big as he used to be. Weak from chemo and unable to support his weight, he would have trouble walking and sometimes he couldn't walk at all. He wanted to run, he wanted to jump, he wanted to be a kid again but he was physically unable to. But his body began to fight back, the medicine began to take hold and his heart loaded him on its back and carried him.

I got home from school one day and walked in the front door to find my brother standing in the door way, jumping repeatedly. His face was as bright and full of life as it had been in 2 years and his laugh was uncontrollable.

"Chase! What are you doing?"

"Jumping!"

"What?"

"Weston, I can jump!"

It hit me then that it had been so long since he had even been able to walk that jumping was the most amazing thing he had ever experienced. But there was more to it that that. It was so symbolic of everything that he had been through because he found himself at a point where he could either give up, or jump head first into life and fight back and he chose to jump.

My baby brother beat cancer. He beat the hell out of it. And he taught my family and I more about life and about ourselves than we ever imagined we would know. Someone once told me that angels sometimes walk among us to show us how to live and I believe that with every inch of my heart because I have seen it and I have experienced it.

Life begins and it ends in the blink of an eye. What you do with the short period of time in between is up to you and only you. I pray that in every situation that you are faced with, you choose to jump into life. My brother taught me to jump, and now I have jumped, here's to you jumping as well. Maybe what you need is waiting for you at the bottom.

We'll meet you when we land."

First Practice...

"People do not decide to be extraordinary. They decide to accomplish extraordinary things." ~ Sir Edmund Hilary - the first person to reach the summit of Mount Everest.

Well, my first training session REALLY opened my eyes to this journey. I have always considered myself to be in pretty good shape, but I must not have realized that cardiovascular fitness is a completely different ballgame. Our first practice was at The Dad's Club where there is a 50 foot pool. After my first swim to the end and back, I overheard someone on the team say that the triathlon swim is equivalent to going to the end and back 15 times!!! I am now starting to worry if anyone has ever DROWNED in a triathlon... and if I am going to be the first!

Honestly, I got so very frustrated in the pool. I hate not being able to do what I am attempting... which is exactly why I am doing this tri. The MS150 was, by far, the most difficult thing I have ever done, but it was also the most inspiring and encouraging. The feelings and emotions overcame me as I thought I was on the verge of simply giving up my struggle, and then looking around me at all the MS survivors cheering us on as we rode through all the towns. My pain was only temporary, whereas theirs is not. And they never gave up their struggle and will fight to the end.

I know that the Nation's Triathlon will be just as amazing, as it is for such a great cause! I will have to continue to remind myself that if the person next to me can do it, so can I. And if those that are struggling with cancer every day can fight, so can I. So hopefully, this swimming business will get easier, cuz it is certainly no joke. This is going to be a HUGE challenge for me, but I am determined to do my best! All I want is to finish with a smile on my face! So wish me luck, cuz here we go!