Back in September of 2009 I had my first physical in about ten years. I weighed 245 pounds my waist size was 38 inches and my cholesterol was 235. Coming from a family with a history of high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke and diabetes; I knew I was asking for trouble. That night I went for a walk around the neighborhood and began to think about the people I hold closest to my heart; my wife, my son and my daughter. I thought about the repercussions not only to me, but to my family if I continued to let myself go. The more these thoughts continued to go through my head, the more depressed, scared and angry I became. Something inside me finally clicked and at that moment I decided that I would begin to take better care of myself; not just for me, but for my family. It’s so easy to tell yourself I’ll start tomorrow, and when tomorrow comes you continue to push it off. So I decided to start right then and there and I ran the rest of the way home. I was shocked that was able to run the 1.25 miles back to my house. I was dead tired, but I did it. I continued to run each night and soon I began to extend my runs. In December of 2009 I ran my first 5K and soon afterwards thought; why not try running in a half-marathon? So in March of 2010 I ran in the NYC Half-Marathon (Yes, I was one of the lucky ones chosen via lottery). For as far as I had come, the thought of running in a full marathon was really just a pipe-dream. I really didn’t think it was something that I could accomplish. That was until I read about Alzheimer’s Association and Team Run to Remember.
My Uncle Louie is suffering from the advanced stages of Alzheimer’s. It started about seven years ago. Uncle Louie was driving home from a friend’s house; a place he’s been to hundreds of times. The road he normally takes was closed and he was detoured to some side streets. He became disoriented and quickly became lost. The family didn’t hear from him for several hours until they got a call from the police saying that they found Uncle Louie in a mall parking lot in northern Jersey about 20 miles from home. From that day everything began to go downhill for Uncle Louie, he began to forget people’s names, he would not make sense when he spoke and he started to need help doing simple tasks like getting changed and going to the bathroom. But what really hit me hard was when Uncle Louie lost interest in his beloved garden. Today Uncle Louie is confined to a wheelchair and he hardly speaks. He is fed a liquid diet via a tube connected to his stomach because he can no longer eat by mouth. His wife, my Aunt Iole, is his primary caregiver. She is always there for him and never complains. Although she tries to remain strong and upbeat, you can see the pain and stress in her eyes of having to see her husband like this. The family all helps out and pitches in whenever they can but the heaviest burden always falls on Aunt Iole.
While doing research on the internet about Alzheimer’s I came across the Alzheimer’s Association website and found out that they have a team that runs in the New York City Marathon. I thought to myself what better way to recognize Uncle Louie and Aunt Iole than to run the marathon in their honor. So I applied for and was chosen to run as part of Team Run to Remember. The training hasn’t been easy but it pales in comparison to what Uncle Louie and Aunt Iole go through on a daily basis.
I feel truly blessed to be a part of team R2R. What an incredible group of individuals; from the runners to the coaches to the support staff, all sharing a common bond and working tirelessly to bring awareness to our cause and hoping to one day bring an end to this terrible disease.
So here I am, 2 years later and four weeks from what will be one of the greatest achievements in my life; in honor of two people for whom I care so deeply. I just had my yearly physical and I now weigh 185 pounds, my cholesterol is down to 175 and my waist size is a 33. This marathon is for Uncle Louie and Aunt Iole, it’s for my wife and children, and a small part of it is for me too. When the motivation is there, anything is possible.
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