Almost there...............

Well everyone, I am leaving to do some final training at altitude, and then for the climb! I am so ready, pumped and stoked. This has been the “prize” that I have been working towards this whole time! It is going to be so rewarding, and make everything I have endured worthwhile.
In addition to everything else, three people have needed to drop out due to health issues. Don’t worry they are all doing better. But the new additions to the team are Sean Swarner, who is another cancer survivor and a mountaineer who has done five of the Seven Summits including Mt. Everest. Check out his website at seanswarner.com.
The other addition is Tony DiZinno. DiZinno is a mountaineer as well. He climbed Denali, one of the Seven Summits. Both of these guys are great additions to the team, but won’t replace the team members who have dropped out. David, Jen, Marcus, don’t worry. You’ll come on the next expedition. While we are going on without them, they will always be with us in spirit, especially David who has done so much to help me. Thanks David.

The other day, I was coming out of the grocery store and outside there was a man in a wheelchair selling pencils and American flags. He was pretty bad off; he was paralyzed and had to use a blow tube to control his chair, he only had one leg, his teeth were rotting and he had big thick glasses that were held together with some dirty white tape. Despite all this, he smiled. When I asked him how he was doing, he said, “I am blessed.”

This really got me thinking. If this guy lives his life and still sees himself as blessed with all of his problems and the tribulations that he faces day to day, then my life seems like a piece of cake. I really don't have it too bad, even though some days, I wonder what I am doing trying to climb Mt. Whitney. Some days, giving up seems easier than training so hard every day. But then, I just think about people I have met, like this man or the countless people I know that have been touched by cancer and it helps me push through. Knowing that other people are suffering is not what helps me get through the rough days. It is knowing that the work I am doing will contribute, in some small way, to cancer research so others, especially kids, won’t have to endure what I have.

If I can inspire one person—just one person, by the way I’ve turned my medical challenges into a positive force, then I, too, am blessed.