May - "Opening Day"

I sacrificed a scheduled Mt Adams training yesterday for "Opening Day" here in Seattle. Par our typical weather pattern (due to the mountains) it was indeed our usual chilly gray early May Saturday with spectacular clouds, which only added dramatic tones to the day. We were lucky escaping most of the rain, but wondered if the Team up on the trail were so lucky. UW won the rowing class with Syracuse in 2nd, followed by Oxford, England in 3rd. The turn-out was huge for a grey day, and the most amazing shot of the day went to the five 40+ ft mono hulls that came gracefully heeling thru Montlake Cut, down the narrow path of the log-boom, dramatically flying their breathtakingly colorful spinnaker sails the whole way ! What a spectacular site !!


Just a thought I'd like to share...
I live life. I always have. But I now celebrate Life. I now look to the future and my heart flutters. Truly. I will of course continue to make post's about my "mini"-adventures & my training for the Mt Adams summit-bid. And I will continue to cherish your interest and support, and endlessly thank you for it. However, I've recently come to a kinda unexpected observation, & realization.... Looking to the left-hand column, at the counter below, you'll see twelve thousand hits. Who is kidding who ? Thou honored, I need not tell you I certainly don't have 12 thousand friends. Apparently this site is also key-worded to "Transplant". Therefore I can only assume that some of those 12 thou out there are more than likely hovering in that same awful, utterly dark and daunting place I was 2+ yrs ago. I acutely remember that utter fear, and the desperately endless searches for ANY bits of post-transplant information.....any glimmer of hope for my future..... It is for these kindred souls that I will occasionally continue to reflect upon and refer to "transplant" issues. Make no mistake, I am most definitely not dwelling on that nightmare place I've since evolved from. I simply feel it is necessary to give another that Priceless glimmer of hope... Thank you for understanding this....

Progress..

Training. Hmmm...its coming along. Just back from our 4th (?) elevation-gain hike this afternoon. Am now up to 27.6 lbs (argh...) on my back, and gaining just under 2000 ft in 2.7 miles. A moderate feat for some. I've just switched to my larger backpack and am surprisingly pleased with how it feels on my back. It is an Italian bag with brilliant padding in all the key areas. I last used it in Istanbul & Turkey. The actual packs we will be using however will be donated, along with some key high-alpine gear including ice axes, crampons, expedition sleeping bags, down parkers, helmets, expedition tents, ropes, etc... I'm climbing with some pretty spectacular women, and am truly honored to be in their company. I am also adding a link to a new & seperate TSNW Adams Climbing Group web-page that one of our climb members, Nancy H, has been so kind to create & maintain. It is still in the beginning stages, however between this blog & her site there will be current updates, as well as added informational bits.....

http://www.tsnwmtadamsclimb2010.blogspot.com/

Have bounced off several of you about my sleeping-pad options. Comfort will be a huge issue, especially to be in good shape for the summit bid, so would like to go a bit cushier than normal light-weight expedition. However, am leery of air-filled, as at 12,000 ft un-insulated "air" quickly turns ice cold. Any other priceless climbing tips or ideas are greatly welcomed, so please don't hesitate to gimme a shout, 'kay ? I will also be sending out a neat flyer about TSNW & our climb in the next week or so. Please look for it. AND....Thank you so very much for your interest and your support. Cheers.

Overdue...

I know. A new posting was painfully overdue. I keep trying...but I always seem to get side-tracked. And it certainly doesn't help that my wireless Internet connection at home is on the fritz as well.... Training is going well...mostly. However just when ya think everything is as it should be, something comes along & reminds me that all is not quite normal just yet. Shortly after my last posting we were out on our 2nd training hike (we also train doing laps on the Howe St. stairclimb). Not far in from the trail head I turned to take a picture of our group in this stunningly moist and moss-dripping Pan's World that we were trekking through. As I turned to right myself forward again, in mid-step I backed into...or rather stumbled onto, 2 quite large rocks. I went down. Hard, lacking any degree of grace. Mostly annoyed as hell, I got up to carried on, brushing the whole damn thing off. An 1/8th of a mile later, in the damp drizzle (yes, we hike in rain here) I felt my lower leg was curiously wet. Needless to say what may have been a cut & goose egg for most ended up being, much to my own amazement, a lot bigger of a deal for me. I totally would have brushed it off if it hadn't been for an RN from SCCA (Seattle Cancer Care Alliance) hiking on our climbing team. She deals w/ Transplant patients, & knows my recent past history.


I was sent back to the car all taped up & leg up in the air, as the rest continued to climb. Long story short: because I am still so immunosuppressed trying to control the GVHD (Graft vs Host Disease - see "medical links", below left) while trying to grow my new immune system w/ my donor Bruce's cells...the next day I had to leave work to go off and be "seen". As a very real precaution, due to risks I still need to manage, they wanted to put me on another dose of antibiotics....all for a lousy CUT ! Then they realized I've already been on this particular antibiotic, for 2+ years already. Strategy changed & topical antibiotics were used, dressings and all. Honestly, I simply would never have checked it out. So, life goes on. I'm now up to 21 lbs in my pack ( and huffing it a bit....) and gaining 1000 ft in less than 2 miles. Easier said than done I might add. However, I've done far more in the past. 18,000 ft when summitting Gokyo Ri in the Himalayas. All pre-transplant, of course. Stay tuned for more antics tho... I assure you there will indeed be more. And thank you for checking in.... Oh, P.S. On a side note: Blue Fin took 2nd place in our class (see link @ left) during the Blakely Rock Regatta this weekend out on Puget Sound.... blew 29 whopping knots, sailed a screaming 9.2, blew-out our Traveler, bolts 'n all, water in the cockpit, adrenaline-racked....& heeled the whole way !!

A Resurection, and a Challange....

For those of you who have visited here before, I welcome you back. It's been a while. For those of you who have just tuned-in, Welcome - please take a peek, you'll get the gist of it. This is the 1st new posting in quite some time, so please bare with me as I get into the swing of it, polish the place up a bit.

Briefly: Following a harrowing Bone Marrow/Stem Cell Transplant for an aggressive form of Myelodysplasia (MDS) transitioning into full-blown AML Leukemia in Nov 2007, I have recently been given the opportunity to join an incredible group to summit Mt Adams @ 12,267 ft in Washington State with an organization I belong to: Team Survivor Northwest. Mt Adams, a dormant Volcano, is the 3rd largest peak in the Cascade Mountain Range, which runs the length of the Pacific Crest from Baja, to Northern British Columbia, Canada. For a minority of some, this may seem like a day-hike. However for the team I am now a proud member of this will indeed be the Second challenge of our lives. However.....this particular challenge will be in Celebration of Life ! This monumental task holds a extraordinary significance...each of our team members are cancer survivors like myself - all in various stages of treatment, & recovery.

As I give little glimpse's into background information, I will also be posting segments when I can, updating you to our progress during our 6 month training (which has already begun). In addition to our training, each TSNW team member has committed to raise a minimum of $2000 to ensure that the Team Survivor programs - which have been so utterly crucial to my own survival - continue to nurture, cultivate & re-shape post-cancer survivorship with physical therapy, and actively challenging our bodies. Soooo truly instrumental in Recovery ! Please consider donating - at left - to support our Celebration of Life climb....and TSNW.

Last evening I sent out a mass group e-mail to all those that supported me during my darkest, most surreal days. Now I shout out to you all as the saga continues, however this time with a courageous attempt and in a triumphant tone (also known as Tenacity). So please, stay tuned.....

Transplant + One Year!

As of this Friday, November 14, it has been one year since Kristina got her transplant stem cells. And at this one-year point, sometimes referred to as her "new first birthday," it's a good time to take stock.

The news is much more good than bad, to be sure, and I know she believes that all of us have helped her a lot, even if all we did was send healing vibes. There are still challenges, but the good news for now is, there is also still Kristina!

She is now officially referred to as "in remission." This means that there is no sign of any disease or leukemia-related symptoms in her body, at all. Obviously, that's good. It's not the same thing as "cured," though. It means there is no disease being detected, and no leukemia symptoms going on right now. In other words, the disease could come back, and there are other things going on, not directly related to the leukemia.

On a related note, the transplant worked so well that she was born with B+ blood type and is now 100% A+, because that's what her donor is. Also, all the DNA in her blood is now his! This means that if she leaves blood behind at a crime scene or something, and analysts gather it for evidence, they will think her donor was there. Freaky, huh?

The thing is, there's this problem of GVH, or Graft Versus Host Disease. Basically, it results from the blood of one person being in the body of another, and the "graft" blood's defense system ironically attacking the "host" systems, thinking they are invaders. Kristina now has chronic GVH, and it crept back this summer. It got quite bad, and is now being treated with a bunch of meds -- and those meds are hassling her.

Her overall health is basically good these days, but she has to take steroids which make her face all puffy, hair grow on her face, make it hard to sleep, and leave her exhausted. She is also on anti-rejection drugs, as well as immune-suppressing drugs. The latter is because she needs the immune system of the donor's blood to calm down and stop attacking her body ... but that, in turn, means that she is vulnerable to bugs out in the world, as well as other people's sickness, and even their vaccines. Let's say you get a yellow fever shot; well, that's a live sample of yellow fever, and in theory, Kristina could get yellow fever from you.

This means she can't go back to work, is restricted on travel, has to watch what she eats, can't soak in hot springs, and so on. So this is a bummer. On the other hand, she is still alive and taking drugs! It's easy for me (and maybe us) to think of this thing as all over, but think about this: You can't travel, you're exhausted all the time, you can't just go wherever you want, and you live alone. That would get frustrating, right? Well, it does. So give her a call sometime, and if you live in Seattle, go see her. I guarantee she'd love to see you and/or hear from you.

Let's all hope thing are even better on her "second birthday."

Rest of the Photos Posted

Silly me, I forgot the transplant photos! Here they are -- also linked below.

Photo Links Added

Check out the links to the left showing some pictures from Kristina's life and various stages of the treatment. From the Himalayas to shopping for wigs!