Training update, ouch

So with the travel out east, I haven't been keeping to the TNT schedule, sorry to say. And, of course, I am heading out this weekend, too. My cousin is getting married this weekend...yes, married! I am just about to leave for the airport.

But before I left I wanted to say thanks to everyone that has supported my fundraising efforts, and has asked about Eric. You are truly wonderful friends, and I can't thank you enough.

I promise that I'll get back on my training regimen once I get return. I just hope I haven't lost too much ground! The team is riding 25 miles tomorrow! I have yet to ride more than 15 at any one time. Yikes.

I am going to take on my first Sprint Triathlon the following weekend. I don't know why they call it a Sprint Tri...there's no way that anyone can sprint that long (500 meter swim, 20 K bicycle, and 5 K run). But I think that'll give me a good idea on how much more I need to put in to my training.

See you when I get back.

update from AJ

I am never as good as AJ in giving updates on Eric. Here's the latest:
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Lot's of news from Yale this week:

Eric had his right hand amputated on Monday, and all ten toes amputated on Wednesday. He is no longer able to count any higher than five.

While certainly a bit gruesome, (not to mention a big fat drag), having gone through these procedures brings him closer to going home. Having both procedures done in the same week means they will heal at the same time. We are in the business of looking on the bright side.

And Eric, Mr. Bright Side himself, has continued to have an incredible attitude about all this. When I heard they were doing his toes, I called him to make sure he was okay. (One minute it's all hurry up and wait, then next they're carving him up like a Christmas turkey.) Anyway, I ask if he's okay, and he tells me he's excited. Excited, for Christ sake. My brother is the only human being on the planet who can muster enthusiasm for losing his toes.

Continues to show improving kidney function and breathe on his own, so it's now a matter of waiting for everything to heal. We're all hoping he can conduct his healing a little closer to home. Yale is helping Eric to work toward that.

So what's left?

They're going to do a skin graft and some reconstruction on his right
stump to make it smooth and pretty. Possibly as soon as next week.
Here's what they're going to do: They're going to open a flap of skin
on his belly and sew his stump inside. They leave it there for a
couple weeks and it will grow all kinds of fresh tissue and blood
vessels. After a little red button on his stomach pops up (sorry),
they'll remove his hand and lay some fresh skin on top. It's quite a
world we live in. Somebody should sell tickets.

He still has the tube from the vent in his neck. Once they're sure
he's all done with surgery (for the time being), they'll remove that
tube.

Then we all get to wait for his feet (specifically, his heels) to
heal. Latest word from the foot doctor is "months."

He may have some surgery on his left hand to repair some nerves.
Should know about that next week, too.

He's going to continue with physical therapy. They're working with his
left hand to get it back to full functionality, and they're doing some
exercises with his legs so the muscles don't atrophy.

...So What About Philly?

What a remarkable experience! The Society's Team In Training does an absolutely fantastic job. I can't wait for September to come, just so I can join my team in the revelry I witnessed here. Elisha's team is filled with a mix of people of different backgrounds and different goals, but one purpose. They really gelled and seemed to really want to spend their time in Philly together.

The days leading up to the race were filled with pre-race meetings with the TNT leadership and the triathlon race officials and other logistics. It was really interesting to see over 300 people, with their bikes and other gear, descend on the hotel. The hotel was...ahem...a little overwhelmed, shall we say? Some how, the hotel assigned our room to another guest while we were in the room!

Race day was a marvel to watch. I positioned myself so I could see Elisha and her teammates come out of the transition zone for the bicycle and the running elements. Elisha looked like a pro!

The bicycle route laps 2X around the course. Elisha went by at such a blistering pace on the second lap that I almost didn't see her!

And her running was fluid. I moved from my first spot after cheering for the TNT teammates to get ready to watch Elisha near the finish line. I though that I'd move up the course about a half mile from the finish line to cheer her on. At least that was my plan.

As I headed up the course, I was keeping an eye out for her other TNT teammates. And who should come running by me with less than a 10th of a mile to go? Yep. Elisha.

Her goal was to finish in less than 3 hours. Done. Her goal was to finish in the top third in her age group. Done. My goal was to be there to cheer her on to victory. Done.

My Travel Out East

Sorry that I haven't put out a post recently. But I went out East to visit Eric and followed up to watch Elisha participate in the Philadelphia Triathlon.

I got to Connecticut on Wednesday morning to see Eric right before he went under the knife. He was scheduled to have work done on his feet that morning. He had work done on his hand earlier in the week (Monday). As we drove to the hospital, Eric's wife, Sue, was filling me in on how things were going. The good news was that he was breathing well on his own and the kidneys were functioning very well. Things were going so well that they now could address the "collateral damage."

I had a hard time hearing that my dearest and closest friend was about to lose his feet afet already losing his hand on Monday...And here was Sue so matter-of-fact about the whole thing. I was panicked to see him...I rally didn't know what I'd say or do. But Sue reminded me how awesome Eric really is and that this surgery was a good thing. "Heck," she said,"I was told he was dead five weeks ago. So losing a hand and his feet? That's nothing."

I was still a little nervous walking in to the room. But as soon as I walked in, I saw my best friend. That's who I saw.

He looks great. And more importantly, he is great. He was in absolutely fantastic spirits, even cracking some jokes about trying out as a left-handed relief pitcher. (Eric's a huge Major League Baseball fan).

I visited him again on Thursday, before heading out to join Elisha in Philadelphia. I couldn't help but marvel at his strength and resolve. I know that I would have been a ball of mush...heck, I am a ball of mush (mentally, that is...we'll save the physical jokes for later).

As I left on Friday, I started crying. Not out of sadness nor sympathy. But out of admiration and love. Eric really is a remarkable man, and he is surrounded by a remarkable family that loves him very much. And a friend, too.

Happy Father's Day

I hope your Father's Day was special. We had a great day at Casa Del Condor.

The kids surprised me with breakfast in bed. They created a restaurant called "the Cabin," and showed up next to my bed with a menu of pretty much everything in the pantry! It was just incredible.

We had just a wonderful day, and capped it off with an impromptu "bonfire party" in the backyard. My brother, Greg, showed up with his family and we invited our neighbors over for s'mores.

Needless to say, my training took a back seat this weekend. Got a couple of runs in thanks to my neighbor. Thanks, Frank (he says, tongue firmly planted in cheek)! But other than that, I kinda laid low.

Elisha's triathlon is this coming weekend. So, I am heading out tomorrow with plans to visit Eric. I hope to get there on Wednesday and spend few days with him before cheering Elisha on in Philadelphia.

So, how's Fred

AJ recently sent an update on Eric:
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Mr. Eric is doing really well. Surprisingly well. Remarkably well.
He's out of ICU and in a regular hospital room at Yale. That means
visitors! If any of you are able to visit the boy, I know he'd be
thrilled to see you. And if you can visit around mealtime (9, 12, 6),
you can help feed him. It's a lot fun. He likes it when you make
airplane sounds with the spoon.
He's been off the vent for several days and is breathing like a champ.
His kidneys are working better, and they are starting to make some
noise about stopping the dialysis to see how he does. That would be a
HUGE step. If he's able to get off the dialysis, it opens up a lot of
options as far as doing rehab a lot closer to home.
He still has pneumonia (no visitors with colds, please), but seems to
be responding to antibiotics. They are comfortable with his slow
progress.
He's been working with Occupational Therapy on his left hand. He can't
feel his fingers, but can still lobster claw to pick stuff up. He can
feed himself a little, but it's difficult. They think the nerves will
return in time.
Right hand and toes are still toast, but the doctors want to wait as
long as they can before doing anything. They want to give his body
every chance to recover and leave as much of him intact as possible.
The biggest concern right now are his heels. Apparently, he can walk
around fine with no toes, but not having heels is going to cause a lot
of headaches. There's reconstructive surgery they can do, but it's not
great. Those of you using Jedi healing powers (or prayer, whatever),
please focus on the heels. We need some good voodoo on them feet.
All in all, he's doing great. Not to say he doesn't have a long way to
go, but he's doing as well as can be expected right now. The doctors
keep him very busy poking at him most of the day, but I think it's
safe to say he's starting to climb the walls. Anyone in the vicinity
of New Haven should drop in.
Sue bought him a CD player to help pass the time. I sent him some
books on CD and Sue brought him some music. Many of you have asked me
what to send. Here's your chance. The boy needs tunes. His favorites
are Kiss, AC/DC, Rob Zombie....no, that's me. Sorry. He actually likes
classical and jazz (yawn). Send it to the house and we will arrange
delivery.
I can't thank all of you enough for the cards and letters you've sent
him, and the kind e-mails you've sent me. It's meant a lot to both of
us. So thanks. Way to step up. I didn't know you had it in you.
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I am going to head out to see the old man next week. Hopefully I come back with even more good news!

Pigs do fly...I've seen 'em

I am truly humbled by your generosity and kindness. So many of you have sent me note of encouragement and support...they mean so much. I think of them often. I especially love the note I got recently:

"WOW! When I opened your letter I could have sworn I saw a pig fly by my window!"

I still laugh about it. Mostly, because it is so true...sometimes I can't believe I'm doing this!

But seriously, I can't thank you enough for your charity. Between the garage sale, Fun Run, guest bartending, and direct gifts, we have already raised over $3,000!

Also, Gordie at Piper's Pub has invited us back for another guest bartending night, and we're planning a progressive dinner party with some of the restaurants on Big Beaver for later this summer. I really hope you can join me.

Saddle Sores

Once I signed up, TNT gave me a binder filled with our team and individual training schedule (the team schedule is in the link at the right, if you're interested...). I've been doing my best to keep to the schedule in the binder.

So, let's see:
The cycling is going okay. But I now know what "saddle sores" are! Holy crap! Honestly, I didn't know that I could get bruises there. I mean...really? Who'd a thought. I figured with all my extra padding, I wouldn't need to get some padded cycling shorts. I ordered two pair, so I can wear them both at the same time!

Our team rides, though, are really cool. We've gone to some places in the region where I've never been. And we've gone places where I've been, but never realized how beautiful they are. Seriously, there are some really cool places to cycle around here.

Kensington Park is just gorgeous. That said, can I suggest that they take out a couple of the hills. Some of us...ahem..."less ready" people could use a break now and then.

There is nothing like a ride around Stony Creek. The lake just glistened as I rode around there...calling me like a siren. No, thankfully, I didn't crash into the rocks like an ill-fated ship. But I certainly crashed when I got home.

And Hines Drive. I had never been there before. Wow. What a gem. I am envious of the westsiders that have such a jewel in their back yard.

Update on Eric

Eric's younger brother, AJ, is sending periodic e-mails. This is from last week. You gotta love AJ!
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Eric is doing really well. He's been off the vent for three days,
breathing on his own with no problems. He is eating real food, which
is very important to keep Mr. Eric happy. His spirits continue to be
good.

He is slowly coming to grips with how serious this all was. Doctors
keep coming into his room and saying, "Oh my God, your face looks SO
much better!" And, "Wow, I can't believe you're sitting up!" Eric
(thankfully) doesn't remember much about the first three weeks in the
hospital, so this is all very strange to him.

"Why do people keep telling me my face looks good?" he asked. "What
did my face look like?"

As gently as we could, we told him: "It was black, dude."

His kidneys continue to improve, but aren't yet functioning properly.
The docs are still confident they will be back online and fully
functional in time. Dialysis continues.

He has started physical therapy and is doing a lot of exercises in
bed. Not only does he have to regain strength and dexterity in his
left hand, he has to learn how to be left-handed. How fun is that?

The skin on his arms and legs has healed remarkably fast. He's still
bandaged, but not nearly to the extent he was a week ago. There's a
possibility of some skin graphs on his legs, but we don't know yet.

We are still waiting to learn the fate of his right fingers and toes.
One podiatrist came in a few days ago and said they were going to
amputate all his toes. The next day, another podiatrist (and the boss
of the first podiatrist) came in and said, no, we're going to wait,
some of his toes may come back. It's a bit of a roller coaster because
at least a half dozen doctors see him every day, and they all have
slightly different opinions on what's happening. Mostly, it's just
wait and see.

They are talking about kicking him out of Intensive Care. He could
either go to a step-down unit at Yale, or possibly a rehab facility
closer to his house. A lot of it depends on how soon they can get him
off dialysis, and if he can stay off the vent. I'll obviously let you
know if he's moved to a new room with a phone.

Finally learned the name of exactly what Eric has as a result of the
bacterial infection: disseminated intravascular coagulation (or DIC.
I've been telling him for years he's a DIC). If you're interested, you
can read all about this lovely disease on WebMD. Here's the link:
http://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/Disseminated-Intravascular-Coagulation-DIC-Topic-Overview

So it's all pretty much good news. There are going to be a lot of
little procedures and a lot of physical therapy between now and
getting the boy home, but he continues to move in the right direction.

Now I know why they call it a "Brick"

This past Saturday was one of our Team In Training group practices...a "Brick," they call it. Well, I've never heard of a brick, at least not in the context of training, that's for sure.

So, you can imagine what was going through my mind as I drove out to Kensington on Saturday morning. "Heck," I thought,"I'm fat enough as it is. They don't need to strap on any more weight!"

Thankfully, its nothing like that...its worse! We rode our bikes for 16 miles, and quickly followed that up with a 3 mile run. Okay, so "quickly"...hmmm...well...ahem. Let's just agree that I might need some poetic license liberties from time to time.

So, where does the brick come in? It's how your feet feel half way through the practice. And what your head is filled with to do something like this!

But seriously, I am part of a wonderful team, and I can't thank them enough for the support they shared as we made our way through our practice. Just think, we get to do this again next week, and the week after that, and the week after that, and...oh crap!

Fundraising Update

I am humbled and blessed with the generosity that has been shown to me as I try to acheive my fundraising goal of $3,800. So far, I have raised almost $900 toward the goal.

Thank you to those that came out for the Fun Run at Boulan Park and bought stuff at the garage sale last month. It really has helped to make a difference!

Tonight I am serving as a guest bartender at Piper's Pub. Piper's Pub is the newly opened restaurant at Sanctuary Lake Golf Course. The Course is located on South Boulevard, between Dequindre and John R, in Troy. All the tips generated will be donated to TNT. Hope to see you there!