When I set my alarm last night for five o'clock in the morning, 2-3 hours before I normally wake up, there wasn't a moment of hesitation. I had something wonderful to look forward to! Deep Water Conditioning at 6AM.
A Southern California native, I've been swimming since I was a toddler. My first swim lessons were at the community plunge in Sierra Madre, where the cold water of the swimming pool was often the only relief from the sweltering summer heat and smog-choked air of the late-1950's. I can still recall my eyes burning, my throat constricting from the deadly combination of pool chlorine and smog.
Throughout my life I've continued to swim on a regular basis. I've swam in countless community and back-yard pools. I've swam across lakes in California and New York. I've swam in the Pacific Ocean, the Atlantic Ocean, the BahÃa de Banderas, the Caribbean, the Gulf of Mexico, the Gulf of Aqaba, the Mediterranean Sea, and the Red Sea. And while I may not be the most athletic on dry land, in the water I possess unbounded stamina and agility. In my early 50's, I could swim laps in an Olympic-sized pool for an hour straight.
And then I moved to De Pere, Wisconsin.
De Pere, next to Green Bay, Wisconsin. Where community pools operate only in the summer. Good thing for summer, right? But Wisconsin summers are plagued with rainy days and dangerous thunderstorms that shut the pools down. Of the 365 days in a year, the sun shines in Green Bay for only about 187! Planning time for swimming can be frustrating . . .
When I was first diagnosed with colon cancer in November 2011, I had recently lost nearly 80 pounds -- with a goal to lose another 50 -- simply by power walking and/or swimming daily for an hour. Once I arrived in Wisconsin in June 2011 for a new job, it all came to a screeching halt. Mine was a difficult adjustment, learning / accepting Wisconsin culture. My new co-workers turned out to be demons from hell. And then came the cancer diagnosis, the surgery (to remove the tumor and 1/3rd of my colon), a botched port surgery and emergency surgery to remove it, the months of chemo, and then a botched mesh surgery to repair the hernia created by the colorectal surgery. Over the course of 2-3 years, and with my oncologist telling me not to worry about it, I put back almost every one of those 80 pounds.
If you have to ask how I gained back those 80 pounds, you've never visited Wisconsin. Where do I start to explain . . .?
The meat! The dairy! The cheese! The cheese curds! The fried cheese curds! The Friday fish frys! The hamburgers! The French fries! The onion rings! The broasted (i.e., "deep fried") chicken!
The bacon! The brats! The bacon! The brats! Entire grocery aisles filled with nothing but bacon and brats!!
Uncle Mike's Bake Shoppe -- the New York chocolate chip cookies with caramel and sea salt, the Door County cherry pies, and the award-winning Kringle!!!
Catching my breath . . .
The local breweries and beer!! The local wineries and wine!! The supper clubs!!! The family restaurants!!! The all-about-food festivals!! The all-about-beer-and-wine-and-food fundraisers!!!
The food in Wisconsin, while not exactly exotic or exciting, is good old-fashioned, down-home cooking, yum-yummy-fat-full delicious!!
The primary social activity in Green Bay, Wisconsin? Meet for a meal -- breakfast, lunch, or dinner -- but meet for a meal.
Since my Stage IV-A metastatic colon cancer diagnosis on January 5, 2017, I've radically changed my diet. No more of those mouth-watering, soul-soothing, delectable goodies I just listed. I'm now 100% organic, 90% plant-based; any flesh (chicken, pork, lamb, beef, fish) I consume is 100% organic. I've lost nearly 40 pounds in two months. I feel fabulous!
That's right! Even with Stage IV-A metastatic colon cancer, I feel fabulous.
January and February were not so fabulous. It was so cold it was impossible for me to go outside, even to take my Dexter Doggie for a walk, (1) because it was so freakin' cold, and (2) because the chemo gave me serious neuropathy on my face, feet and hands -- all exacerbated by the freakin' cold weather.
Combining a Wisconsin "frozen tundra" winter with chemotherapy totally, totally sucks! Chemo dramatically diminishes quality of life (click here for a post I wrote about my side-effects). It's easy to feel overwhelmed, indulge in a pity-party, sink into depression. Very, very easy.
Or, you can pull yourself up by the bootstraps, put on a bathing suit, and go for a swim!!
And here's where the story becomes amazing.
I do not remember how, but I found out about LIVESTRONG. LIVESTRONG has three priorities:
When I was first diagnosed with colon cancer in November 2011, I had recently lost nearly 80 pounds -- with a goal to lose another 50 -- simply by power walking and/or swimming daily for an hour. Once I arrived in Wisconsin in June 2011 for a new job, it all came to a screeching halt. Mine was a difficult adjustment, learning / accepting Wisconsin culture. My new co-workers turned out to be demons from hell. And then came the cancer diagnosis, the surgery (to remove the tumor and 1/3rd of my colon), a botched port surgery and emergency surgery to remove it, the months of chemo, and then a botched mesh surgery to repair the hernia created by the colorectal surgery. Over the course of 2-3 years, and with my oncologist telling me not to worry about it, I put back almost every one of those 80 pounds.
If you have to ask how I gained back those 80 pounds, you've never visited Wisconsin. Where do I start to explain . . .?
The meat! The dairy! The cheese! The cheese curds! The fried cheese curds! The Friday fish frys! The hamburgers! The French fries! The onion rings! The broasted (i.e., "deep fried") chicken!
The bacon! The brats! The bacon! The brats! Entire grocery aisles filled with nothing but bacon and brats!!
Uncle Mike's Bake Shoppe -- the New York chocolate chip cookies with caramel and sea salt, the Door County cherry pies, and the award-winning Kringle!!!
Catching my breath . . .
The local breweries and beer!! The local wineries and wine!! The supper clubs!!! The family restaurants!!! The all-about-food festivals!! The all-about-beer-and-wine-and-food fundraisers!!!
The food in Wisconsin, while not exactly exotic or exciting, is good old-fashioned, down-home cooking, yum-yummy-fat-full delicious!!
The primary social activity in Green Bay, Wisconsin? Meet for a meal -- breakfast, lunch, or dinner -- but meet for a meal.
Since my Stage IV-A metastatic colon cancer diagnosis on January 5, 2017, I've radically changed my diet. No more of those mouth-watering, soul-soothing, delectable goodies I just listed. I'm now 100% organic, 90% plant-based; any flesh (chicken, pork, lamb, beef, fish) I consume is 100% organic. I've lost nearly 40 pounds in two months. I feel fabulous!
That's right! Even with Stage IV-A metastatic colon cancer, I feel fabulous.
January and February were not so fabulous. It was so cold it was impossible for me to go outside, even to take my Dexter Doggie for a walk, (1) because it was so freakin' cold, and (2) because the chemo gave me serious neuropathy on my face, feet and hands -- all exacerbated by the freakin' cold weather.
Combining a Wisconsin "frozen tundra" winter with chemotherapy totally, totally sucks! Chemo dramatically diminishes quality of life (click here for a post I wrote about my side-effects). It's easy to feel overwhelmed, indulge in a pity-party, sink into depression. Very, very easy.
Or, you can pull yourself up by the bootstraps, put on a bathing suit, and go for a swim!!
And here's where the story becomes amazing.
I do not remember how, but I found out about LIVESTRONG. LIVESTRONG has three priorities:
- Free one-on-one support to cancer survivors, caregivers and loved ones.
- Development of community programs to address the day-to-day concerns of survivors.
- Partnership with institutions and policymakers to change the way the world fights cancer.
LIVESTRONG at the YMCA in Green Bay is free. The program lasts 12 weeks, and culminates with a graduation ceremony! The instructors are trained in cancer survivorship, post-rehabilitation exercise and supportive cancer care.
My first LIVESTRONG meeting was yesterday morning. Three instructors work with our group of about 10 adults living with cancer. Our leader, a certified personal trainer and darling young man in his 20's, is a cancer thriver himself, diagnosed with leukemia when he was just 13 years old!! His caring, passion and enthusiasm for us is encouraging and uplifting!
In addition to providing this class and support community, the Green Bay YMCA includes free use of all their facilities while we participate in LIVESTRONG at the YMCA!! What a generous gift!!
Turns out there are several YMCA locations in the Green Bay area -- and one very close to my house. And all have pools. And all have free swimming classes. I can actually attend 2-3 free swimming classes nearly every day of the week! An amazing, amazing blessing; I am grateful beyond words!!
Turns out there are several YMCA locations in the Green Bay area -- and one very close to my house. And all have pools. And all have free swimming classes. I can actually attend 2-3 free swimming classes nearly every day of the week! An amazing, amazing blessing; I am grateful beyond words!!
You already know how much I love to swim!
In the water, I feel light and agile, unable to feel the extra 92 pounds I still need to lose to reach my goal weight.
In the water, my worries slip away, down into the pool drain, and out to sea (or I guess it's out to Lake Michigan, here in Wisconsin).
In the water, I'm a kid again -- I'm playing Marco Polo, I'm splashing and diving and swimming away to escape being tagged.
In the water, I don't have cancer, I don't have a by-the-end-of-this-year death sentence.
In the water, I'm baptized into new life, new hope, new possibilities, new opportunities -- F--K the by-the-end-of-this-year death sentence!!!!
In the water, I'm totally free and completely healed!!
Our Deep Water Conditioning class lasted 45 minutes. Then I got into the big pool and swam 5 laps. I didn't want to overdo it. I worry about the chemo port, which bothers me frequently.
After an hour in the water, I made my way to the jacuzzi and let the warm water sooth my twitching muscles. I love that muscle twitch after a good water workout!
Then I headed to the sauna for 15 minutes. Yah, the sauna! At the YMCA!!!
It was a delicious way to start my morning.
So, so grateful for LIVESTRONG at the YMCA!!! Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!
Want to know if there is a LIVESTRONG at the YMCA in your community? Click here for more information.
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