I overtrained yesterday. Ouch! I am sore! I was scheduled to run 5 miles on Tuesday but my daughter had a sports award ceremony that lasted until almost 10pm. Way past my bedtime to start running at 10pm! So I decided I could "make up" for Tuesday on Wednesday. I "ran" 5 miles in the afternoon and rode my bike 10 miles in the evening. No problem sleeping last night :) My training is really going to start kicking in gear now...I have no choice. I signed up for this damn Marathon! What was I thinking!
As promised, I am sharing David's story today. I started working with David a few months ago and was really impressed with his friendliness and positive attitude. I had no idea, until recently, about his life threatening experience.
David is 42 yrs old. "It was really strange - one Saturday, I was running stairs and doing burpees as part of training for the Crossfit Games, the next I was jaundiced..."
David has an ask for today...please sign up to be an organ donor.
David's Story
I came down with symptoms (jaundice, malaise) in mid
January 2011. Was diagnosed with "
autoimmune hepatitis causing acute liver failure".
I was discharged and stable at the end of January (it's
safer at home than in the hospital), stayed stable for a few days until the day
after that big snowstorm that closed LSD.
That night I fell into coma and was revived/woken up the following
Wednesday - missing the Super Bowl. The
cause of the coma was a sudden worsening of the liver decomposition which
caused a buildup of ammonia, which caused the hepatic encephalopathy and
coma. And waking up like that is really
frightening. No idea where you are, no
idea what's happened, having arms and legs secured to the bed so you don't
thrash around, all sorts of tubes in your nose and mouth. Not being able to speak (because of the
tubes) or really communicate.
I was two weeks in the intensive care awaiting a new
liver. Since my condition was acute, the
protocols for obtaining a new organ are slightly different - my "waiting
list" is not the traditional one that people think of. But it also meant someone had to die to give
me another chance. I remember lying in
the hospital, waiting. Each time I'd
hear an ambulance hurry up to the ER, I'd wonder if my chance at living was
happening below.
That's the hardest part:
My family's happiness that I'm still here is mixed with the unfathomable
sadness and loss another family has had to overcome.
To deal with that, I'm being the TRANSPLANT
ROCKSTAR. Being as healthy and as fit as
I can be. I owe it to Anne, my wife, my
parents, and my donor's family and memory.
I call him "SAM", short for "Good Samaritan" . So I make sure I follow every rule, exercise
and hydrate properly, follow and maintain a healthy diet, schedule and keep
every appointment, take all my meds exactly as prescribed, and live life with
attitude.
And this is an ongoing story - and one with a victorious
ending!
Please donate and sign your organ donor card
NewbieMarathoner
