"I Will Ride 500 Miles, and I Will Ride 500 More"

            Greetings and a Happy New Year to everyone!  (The title of the blog post comes from a song by The Proclaimers.)  Where to begin?  It's been a long time since my last post, but in the interest of brevity, I will stick to the main points and current news.  First, I celebrated my 4th 2nd birthday on Dec 21, meaning the 4th anniversary of my transplant.  My health was excellent in 2015 - I don't recall being sick during the entire year.
           

Caught this Musky on a fly rod in Wisconsin, October 2015 

            After the Christmas holidays, just last week, I was in Houston for my 4 year checkup, and the news was again very good - clear CT scan and normal bone marrow biopsy.  I'm told that the longer I stay in complete remission, the lower the probability of relapse.  Dr. Hosing actually told me that from her viewpoint, I did not need get annual bone marrow biopsies or CT scans anymore, unless something in my blood counts changes or I develop other symptoms.  Which means, among other things, that I may not be going back to Houston for a while, maybe never.  I tracked Dr. Keating down at his office that evening around 5:30 to thank him in person again and to say so long for now.  It was a huge milestone in my cancer story.  Most websites still say there is no cure for CLL, but a successful bone marrow transplant definitely walks and quacks like a cure!  I'm inexpressibly grateful to the Lord, my doctors, my family, my friends.

On the Missouri River with Dad, October 2015

              I have been spared, but in 2015 cancer continued to devastate.  I lost several acquaintances last year to various forms of cancer.  One colleague at IBM was diagnosed in June with stage 4 pancreatic cancer and died within 5 months.  One of my best friends had a close colleague taken in November.  St. Jude's hospital in Memphis continues to be filled with young cancer patients.  So I will continue to put my recovery to good use by completing endurance events and raising money for the fight against leukemia and lymphoma.  Last year I executed the "Triple Play", the half-marathon, double century ride, and hike in Yosemite, and raised over $30,000.  I spent time during the holidays thinking about what I might do in 2016, and what came to me is to commit to completing 10 century rides, for a one thousand mile odyssey.   Why?  Well, I like to push the boundaries of what cancer survivors can do, and I want to inspire others - to ride, to walk, to run, to give.
           
             So 2016 will be all about cycling.  I have already ridden 4 times since mid-December, 2 rides of 25 miles and more recently 2 rides of 50 miles.  I will keep track of my training miles too, as I suspect that I will log another thousand miles or more in training.  I have scheduled 8 rides so far:

April 3 -       "After the Bridge Run Ride"       Charleston SC
April 14 -     "Tarwheel Century Ride"            Elizabeth City, NC
May 1 -        "Raven Rock Ramble"                 Raleigh, NC
May 14 -      "Tour de Cure" Day 1                 Raleigh to Sanford, NC
May 15 -      "Tour de Cure"  Day 2                 Sanford to Raleigh, NC
June 5 -        "Fletcher Flyer"                            Fletcher, NC (near Asheville)
July 16 -       "Velo 4"                                       Wake Forest NC
October 2 -   "Bike MS Ride"                           New York City

There are two more rides that I need to schedule in the 2nd half of the year, and I will as soon as the various rides have dates selected and I can finalize the calendar.  I am very excited about this challenge, as it will sustain my focus and interest for the better part of the year - I am glad that you will be with me along the way!  Warm wishes for 2016!    




              

               

           

One Week to the Tour de Cure!

Meadow at Mile 24 Along the Neuse River Trail

Happy Mother’s Day to all!  

Time is flying by….since my last update, I have ramped up my cycling over the last 3 weeks, starting with two 40-mile rides the first week, (one day in between), to two 50-mile rides the second week, and rides of 60 and 67 miles last week!  that will toughen up your kiester.  The Tour de Cure is less than a week away.  I rode a short 20 mile spin this morning before church just to keep the callouses firm - I will do a couple of back-to-back rides this week to get into final form for the 200 mile grind this coming weekend.  I’ve been doing most of my training rides on the Neuse River Greenway, a beautiful 33-mile long resource, safe from lunatic drivers on the highways who have anger management issues :-)

As soon as the bike ride is over I will begin training for the third leg of the Triple Play, an 18 mile day-hike through the heart of Yosemite - starting at 4,000 foot elevation in the valley, then soaring (on foot) 3,800 feet to the top of the cliffs at Glacier Point, then hugging the cliff tops until we descend again back to the valley along the John Muir Trail - it will be a happy reunion between me and that special trail, even if only for a few miles.  Altogether we will hike 18 miles, if all goes according to the plans of men ;-)

A heartfelt  THANK YOU!!  to those of you who have made a contribution to the cause of curing blood cancers.  There is still time to make a donation to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, the charity that I run, cycle, and hike for.  It’s a wonderful organization, committed to making deadly blood cancers a thing of the past.  Remember, leukemia is the #1 childhood cancer.  

Thanks for your support - here is the link to my fund raising page - God bless you and yours and have a GREAT Mother’s Day!!  Dan 

Dan’s Page:  

  http://pages.teamintraining.org/vtnt/Yosemit15/drooker

Rocked the Half Marathon!! Double Century is Up Next!

Hello Friends and Family!  Well this update is overdue but the big news is that the first leg of the Triple Play is successfully completed!  I “ran” the Raleigh Rock and Roll half marathon in 2 hours and 25 minutes.  I was able to run through the halfway point, but somewhere around mile 8 or 9 I found myself walking up some of the hills in downtown Raleigh.  I didn’t make a conscious decision to walk, my body just stopped running and started walking!  All in all, I think I ran about 10 or 11 out of the 13.1.  Not bad, all things considered. 

The inspiration dinner the night before the race was wonderful, and I was fortunate enough to be honored as the top fund raiser for the Team in Training!  All thanks to all of you!!! 

Well now my attention turns to cycling.  It took me a few days to work out the stiffness and soreness from the run, but by Wednesday I was back on my stairmaster, 40 minutes a day.  Today will be my first cycling workout since the Half.  I will be riding today with Rob Allan, a fellow Tour de Cure participant and my team captain.  The Tour is going to be upon me very soon – 3 weeks fro Saturday, so I need to train intensively.  I will keep you posted.  Thanks for all your encouragement and support!  GO TEAM!!  Dan

Approaching the Start

First Post of 2015

Cozumel, January 2015 with Renee, Rachel, and Alex

         
          Wow, friends and family, I'm not sure what to say about a 6-month hiatus from blog posting.  It's not that nothing has happened, and I'm not coming back to the keyboard because there's anything momentous to report.  It's just been too darn long and I have no excuses.  First, on the medical front, since I last posted in September, I've been to MD Anderson for my 3-year check-up, and everything checked out fine again.  Many of you know that, and I hope that those of you who didn't assumed that no news was good news.  I am now coming to the 3 year anniversary of the date when I was first told that I was cancer-free, about 4 months after my transplant.  For Richter's transformation patients, being alive after 3 years is something that only a small minority experience.  I am blessed to be here.  More than that, I am blessed to be a disciple of the Savior, Jesus Christ, whose resurrection we celebrate today.
            I have not been bothered by my Mycobacterium Avium Complex (MAC) which I was diagnosed with last July or August.  I've been training for a half-marathon which is coming up next Sunday (Rock and Roll Raleigh Marathon and half-Marathon), and while I still use the inhaler occasionally, I'm pretty fit for a guy my age.  I've committed to what I am calling the "2015 Triple Play" for my blood cancer fund-raising project this year.  In addition to the Marathon on April 12th, I am planning to ride in a bicycle event called the NC Tour de Cure, which is a 'double century', 100 miles on May 16 and another 100 on May 17th.  Finally, I plan to join another Team in Training (TNT) event in Yosemite National Park on June 13th, and complete a 20 mile day hike.  I'm doing the fund raising for these 3 events combined, so I have one web page and one goal of $30,000.  If you want to donate, the link is http://pages.teamintraining.org/vtnt/Yosemit15/drooker  As always, the donations go directly to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, which funds research dedicated to finding a cure for blood cancers.
             So for the last 2 months I have been training to some extent for all 3 events - I have advanced from a 3 mile jog up to a 7 mile run.  I will do one more run before next Sunday's race.  I expect to be able to run at least 10 miles out of the 13 on race day, and I am not hung up on 'performance' as some would like me to be.  I just want to cross the finish line before they pick up all the cones :-).
            I have also been walking the golf course once a week while carrying my bag to keep my 'hiking feet' in some semblance of readiness.  I have used my "Runkeeper" app while I play so I know that the entire course comes out to just under 7 miles, and that's with about 30 pounds of clubs and equipment on my back.
           Finally I have been riding my road bike at least once a week, usually for between 35 and 45 miles.  Once I get past the half marathon I will focus much harder on the cycling.
           27 people have donated to my cause so far, for a total of $14,550.  Every dollar helps, but I want to give an honorable mention to Eddy Tsang, who, for the third time, has donated $10,000 to a TNT event of mine.  I have known Eddy for almost 20 years now and while I can share many of his great qualities with you, his generosity speaks for itself.  Thanks Eddy!
           On April 24th I will be the keynote speaker, giving a survivor's perspective, at the North Carolina LLS Chapter's Annual Blood Cancer Conference.  Details here:    https://www.facebook.com/events/1406636796308021/

            Well, the Triple Play and the Blood Cancer Conference are the "big things" coming up.  Every day is a blessing and the rest of the family is doing well.  I hope and pray that this post finds you well and I look forward to hearing from you via calls, emails, or comments here on my blog - Happy Easter everyone.  Dan

Wild Montana Skies

Wiith Kenyon at Rock Creek Tuesfay 

On the Clark Fork Friday 

Lung Follow-Up

Kenyon and (Joliet) Jake in my hospital room on June 11

Hello, and my apologies for keeping you in suspense for a month and a half, but it has taken a long time to solve the mystery of what caused my lung (choose your favorite word: infiltrate, nodule, mass, granuloma) _________.  I suppose now we can add "infection" to the list of choices, because the infectious disease (ID) docs have determined that that is what caused the mass to form.  By the time it was taken out, it was a bacterial infection surrounded by scar tissue and inflammation.  It took weeks to grow cultures from the tissue samples and identify the culprit - which is mycobacterium avium complex, or MAC.
The quick facts on this bacteria are that it is found everywhere and most of us carry it;  that only immuno-suppressed people like cancer, transplant, and HIV patients develop disease from it;  that it is in the tuberculosis family but is not contagious;  that it attacks the lungs by forming nodules;  that it is not easy to get rid of;  that it is curable in about 70% of patients;  that those who are cured relapse at about a 50% rate;  and that the development of nodules and other symptoms (bronchitis, shortness of breath, etc.) varies a lot from patient to patient.
The treatment is a very lengthy course of a 3-antibiotic combination which I will start soon.  When I say lengthy, think 1 to 1.5 years.  I think Dr. Kritz put the whole thing in perspective very well:  "THIS IS GOOD.  It's not cancer.  It's not tuberculosis or some other contagious disease.  It's not a particularly virulent disease.  And it's curable."
Since my surgery I have returned to my maximum intensity workouts on the Stairmaster and I am up to a 50 mile bike ride, so my health continues to be good despite all this, for which I am grateful to the Lord, from whom all blessings flow.  And you know, whatever our health situation, the Lord holds our futures - tomorrow, next year, eternity - in His hands - yours and mine.  That gives me peace - and not like the peace the world gives.

Fletcher Flyer Inspiration Dinner Speech

Hello, it's been a long time since I spent a Saturday morning at home - I've been either playing golf or cycling each and every Saturday since February.  One of the things I wanted to get done today is to get the video of my speech from the FF Inspiration dinner up on the web and I've done it - here you go:

Some have asked me this question, so as a footnote, when I gave that talk, I knew I had a mass in my lung.  Thanks to Rachel for shooting.  My incisions are healing nicely.  Taking it easy at home for a few days.   Happy Father's Day to HLR III and all the dads out there.  Dan