Danielle's 5K Report

We wanted to let you know that the 5K was a huge success!! Here's a quick rundown of the events: First and foremost, we all ran the ENTIRE thing with no walking!!!

Ellen, Seth's girlfriend, finished first amongst John's Team and even got a ribbon!! She is a runner by trade. She even came back and ran the last 1/2 mile with Seth and I again after she had already finished. Nathan was a speed daemon as well and finished an impressive 2nd on the team. Seth and I finished together although I have to say that we would have finished quicker had it not been for my um, eh, minor puke break about 200 yards from the end. Oops. Apparently speeding up during the last 1/2 mile just doesn't work for me! No worries though, I actually felt great afterwards and still finished with a bang. I was super thankful for my great team who stayed behind to give me some pats on the back.
After the 5K, my parents joined us for the Family Fun Walk which was a 1.8 mile walk through the beautiful Sarah P. Duke Gardens. We all had a wonderful time. They had a record attendance with over 3,000 people for the walk! It was inspiring to see all the teams and especially all of the survivors. And John, as the honoree, we got you a shirt like ours -- we're putting it in the mail!We won't have our team total for a few weeks so I don't know specifically who donated but we thank all of you who did from the very bottom of our hearts!! You helped make this a huge success! Thank you so very much!! John, you have so many people who are rooting for you and who love you!!!

Frank Tisch Angels Among Us 5K

Congratulatons and thanks to you all for participating in the Duke Brain Cancer 5K! You all look so fresh at the finish, judging from the photos. Looks like the distance (after a suitable recovery period) was no problem for you. Danielle, I am very impressed by your "guts" in the last few hundred yards. Ellen, congratulations on being team champion. Congrats to all of you for finishing the distance. I wish could have been there too. Maybe next year!

Thanks also to Nathan, Seth, Larry and Nita for being part of a team in my honor. I am very proud of you!

5K World Record

OK, I looked it up. The record is 12:37.35, run in 2004 by Kenenisa Bekele of Ethiopia. The woman's record is 14:16.63 by Meseret Defar in 2007, also of Ethiopia. This information is from IAAF (Intl Assoc of Athletics Federations) web-site. They ought to know.

Now you really have something to shoot for. Good Luck!!!!

Karen's Birthday

Happy birthday to Karen! Her Friend Mitzi and her family made dinner for us so I didn't even have to cook: shrimp pasta and garlic bread. Yummy and healthy. We are feeling strong. Karen's ankle is recovering from her fracture and is almost healed. She does have a little soreness but she's close to 100%.

Best of luck to those of you running the Tisch Duke 5k Saturday. Go John's Team. I will be with you in spirit, for sure. The world record for that distance is something just under 13 minutes. Go for it!!

Martha and Greg are coming to visit us Saturday. Karen and I can't wait!

Colnago Cap

I forgot to post the best photo of all of my new Colnago cap. Why, because Ashley is in the photo.

My Hair (Revisited)

Ashley offered and I accepted to take the bull by the horns and take control of my uneven hair. Ashley grabbed Dan's electric hair clippers and fashioned me a new look. I am really pleased with the way it turned out. This may be a whole new look for me. Karen is very impressed as well. It takes years off. Judge for yourself.

Thanks, Lil A. I love you.

Also, to Greg and Martha: Thank you for the cool Colnago cap (see the pic). It fits my new hair-style to a T. BTW: the Paris-Roubaix winner was the Belgian, Tom Boonen, in a sprint over Fabian Cancellera (sp?).

My Hair

I am feeling great. Thank you all for your concern. I have begun to notice a little hair loss. I knew this was bound to happen. It's right on schedule and signifies the Chemo is working. Another encouraging sign!

I have been doing some spreadsheet work for Karen this evening. I should be getting paid for this. Karen will, so that's great. I enjoyed doing this for her.

Chemo/Radiation - Week 3

"I stand for the sunny point of view - stand for the joyful conclusions"
W. Whitman

I am watching "The American Experience" on PBS about Walt Whitman. Excellent!

I am now into week three of Chemo/radiation. It's going well for me. I still have a full head of hair.

I hope the training for the Duke Run for Brain Cancer 5K is going well for my team. I think of your training often. Please ask for any training tips. The goal should be to finish and to enjoy yourself. Always listen to what your body is telling you. It is very wise.

"I sing the body electric. The armies of those I love engirth me, and I engirth them."

WW

Subscribe to "John's Trophy Run"

If you would like to receive e-mail notification of updates to this blog on the day that new entries are made, you can now do so by entering your e-mail address in the form to the left.

Thanks to all of you for all that you are doing to support John and Karen and to help John win this battle.

Update from the Swicks

As you probably know, our daughter-in-law Danielle and her family are doing a 5K later this month for the Tisch Brain Tumor Center at Duke University. They have dedicated their efforts to John and, in fact, have named their team "John's Team". What a great family you are! Thanks to all of you from all of us in John's family.

Now, for the update:

Nathan has now joined "John's Team" and is training with Danielle for the run.

We all know how much Nathan and Danielle love Duke University, right? I think Danielle likes Duke less than KU! I just have to emphasize that both of them are doing a charity run for Duke Medical Center. The irony is certainly not lost on this crowd! :)

I suspect that their disdain for Duke fades a bit as they move away from Coach K's domain. It was not that long ago that Duke wrote Nathan's paycheck.

From a distance, Duke University looks awesome to me.

When a cure for brain tumors occurs, it certainly will not surprise me if it comes out of Tisch Brain Tumor Center. So, run, Danielle and Nathan, run!

Please keep John and Karen in your thoughts and prayers in John's third week of radiation/chemotherapy treatment.

2nd Week of Radiation/Chemo

I begin my 2nd week of radiation and chemotherapy today. So far it's gone very well with minimal side effects.
Yesterday I had a visit from a young friend. He is John McKenzie, 22. He is beating testicular cancer. I believe the next stop on his cancer journey is to be declared cancer-free. Thank God!
John is the son of our neighbors and good friends, Scott and Susan McKenzie. Scott is the attorney who prepared the durable power of attorney, medical power of attorney, and living will for us. Scott and Susans' wonderful family have been important allies in my battle.
It was very great of John to come by. I know he's very busy in architectural engineering at K-State (beginning his senior year soon). Expect big things from this young man. Still, John let me monopolize his Sunday afternoon. I had a great time.
We share a love of cycling. He and friends bicycled from San Francisco to Santa Barbara over Spring Break on the Pacific Coast Highway (Cal 1). They camped out along the route. They passed through Monterey, Big Sur, Carmel, Morro Bay. Beautiful!
John has plans to cycle a much more epic route immediately after his graduation, into and through South America, before beginning his professional career.
John gave me specific and important information about his battle with cancer. He gave me advice on he coped with the health effects of treatment, how he dealt with the fluctuations of energy, and how he maintained his fitness. I didn't realize until I spoke to him just jow important this aspect is.
Thanks, John, for being a role model and example of how to handle cancer with aplomb and dignity. I like the idea of having someone your age (less than half of my own) I can look up to.
By the way, The Paris-Roubaix Classic is on April 20th. If you're not doing anything that afternoon come by and watch it at my place (on Versus). The "Queen of the Classics" is the best one-day bike race of the year, especially with the 38 (?) sections of cobblestones that they call "L'Enfer Du Nord" ("Hell of the North"). If it's dry, the riders all become covered with dust. If the weather is wet the going really gets treacherous. These cobblestones are absolutlely medieval. Very cool bike race! Maybe George Hincapie will finally get this long-sought title. I'd love to see that.

John's Radiation/Chemo Day 3, April 2

I think I have administrator rights at last! Thanks to my patient brother-in-law, Greg.

I seem to be settling into the radiation and chemotherapy routine and tolerating both well. I read that the chemo effect can be cumulative (it builds as it goes). Karen and I are monitoring its effects on my system as slosely as we can (in a non-medical way). I am still a bit nervous about stepping up the chemo dose after the radiation is done in 6 weeks. Radiation is a piece of cake. I trust it's doing its thing.

I had a conversation yesterday with a radiology oncologist, Brian, in California. He is a good friend of my sister Mary Anne and her husband, Paul. He provided me with specific, useful information. he has added to my expectation for success. A brilliant mind committed to healing is a beautiful thing.

Short post tonight. I need some rest. I'll be blogging again soon. Keep the Faith. I am.

A Message from Danielle

In support of John's courageous battle, myself, my parents, my brother and my brother's girlfriend will be running/walking a 5K on Saturday, April 26th at Duke (I know, I know, rival school!!).

However, it is for a wonderful cause -- all of the proceeds will go to the Preston Robert Tisch Brain Tumor Center at Duke. I wanted to give everyone information on where they could donate if you would like. The following website will give you all the information you need: http://angelsamongus.org/modules/getinvolved3/index.php?id=3

Originally we were just going to enter as individuals but now that there are 5 of us, I have decided to create a team....we are now called "John's Team"!!! We would love so much if you could sponsor us in this race as all of the money goes to fund research at the Brain Tumor Center at Duke. If you donate on-line, just choose "John's Team" from the drop down menu of Teams. Let me know if you have any questions. Thank you so much for all your help!!

Danielle

Here's to John winning!!!!