OK. SO BEFORE WE BEGIN THIS JOURNEY TOGETHER, YOU MUST KNOW SOME THINGS ABOUT ME. I AM NOT YELLING AT YOU! I AM VISUALLY IMPAIRED, AND NEED TO TYPE IN BIGGER, MORE BOLD FONT TO SEE.
MY NAME IS KATHLEEN WRIGLEY. I AM 39.5 YRS OLD. A YOUNG-ISH :) MOM OF THREE (QUINNY, ALMOST9; PATRICK 7 & HARPER ALMOST 2). I AM A RUNNER. IT'S MY THERAPY. MY "ME" TIME. MY INDULGENCE. I HAVE RUN A HANDFUL OF FULL MARATHONS, GOBS OF HALFSIES, AND LOADS OF OTHER RACES THROUGH THE YEARS.
I WON'T BORE YOU WITH ALL THE PARTICULARS, BUT I AM JUST 4 MONTHS OUT OF TWO BRAIN ANEURYSM SURGERIES (CRANIOTOMY SEPT 1 & COILING (VASCULAR SURGERY) OCT 20). I WOKE UP FROM MY CRANIOTOMY WITH BLINDNESS IN THE RIGHT FIELD OF VISION IN BOTH EYES. I CAN'T BEGIN TO DESCRIBE WHAT I SEE LOOKING OUT OF MY EYES. BUT, SUFFICE IT TO SAY, I'M GETTING ACCUSTOMED TO THE MOTION SICKNESS AND NAUSEA I EXPERIENCE FROM THE BLURRED, DISTORTED, SPOTTY, LIGHTENING FLASHES THAT CAN BEST DESCRIBE HOW I SEE OUT OF THE RIGHT OF BOTH EYES. IT'S DISTURBING, BUT BELIEVE IT OR NOT, MY BRAIN IS ADAPTING TO IT. NOT EVEN THE BEST DOCTORS CAN TELL ME WHAT HAPPENED OR WHEN THE SIGHT WILL RETURN, OR EVEN IF IT'LL NORMALIZE. THEY ALL SEEM TO AGREE ON ONE THING: IT'LL TAKE TIME, UP TO A YEAR OR MORE TO SEE HOW MUCH SIGHT I RECOVER, IF ANY. SO, I WAIT. AND, I PRAY. AND, WAIT AND PRETEND TO HAVE PATIENCE.
OTHER THAN MY SIGHT, I FEEL GREAT. REALLY. MY NEUROSURGEON SAID I NEEDED TO WAIT 3 MONTHS FOR MY BRAIN TO HEAL, BEFORE RUNNING. I DUTIFULLY DID "MY TIME."
WHILE WAITING AND HOPING, I DECIDED TO JOIN THE RANKS OF ALL OF YOU AND PARTICIPATE (AS OUR FAMILY DOES EVERY YEAR) IN THE FARGO MARATHON. AT FIRST, MY HUSBAND AND MOM TALKED ABOUT WHAT AN ACCOMPLISHMENT IT WOULD BE TO TACKLE THE HALF MARATHON. OF COURSE, 13.1 MILES, FOR ANYONE, IS NOTHING TO SHAKE A STICK AT, SO I AGREED. IT WOULD BE A HEARTY GOAL FOR ME. BUT, THE STRONGER I FELT, THE BIGGER MY ASPIRATIONS BECAME AND THE MORE I WANTED TO PROVE TO MYSELF AND TO EVERYONE THAT I AM INDEED "FIXED." THAT MY ANEURYSM IS FINALLY CURED (AFTER 5 YEARS AND THREE SEPERATE SURGERIES)!
I KNOW I HAVE 26.2 MILES IN ME. SO, LIKE SOME OF YOU, I AM NOW A BEGINNER RUNNER. I AM STARTING OVER. I NEED TO BUILD A BASE, WHICH I RECENTLY BEGAN TRYING TO DO, RUNNING 2 MILES, THEN 3 MILES, AND NOW I'M UP TO 5 MILES. MORE ON THE SPECIFICS OF THOSE HUFFING AND PUFFIN MILES LATER. I KNOW 5 MILES IS A FAR CRY FROM 26.2, BUT THAT'S WHY THEY CALL IT "TRAINING!" BABY STEPS...
WE'LL GET THERE. JOIN ME. YOU HAVE TIME. LET'S DO THIS TOGETHER. BABY STEPS. I'M NOT IN IT FOR A SPECIFIC FINISH TIME. I'M NOT INTERESTED IN RUNNING WITH A PACE GROUP. MOST OF MY TRAINING MILES WILL NO DOUBT BE ON THE TREADMILL, OUT OF THE COLD AND TO PROTECT ME FROM FALLING & GETTING HURT. HECK, I'LL, MOST LIKELY, NEED TO STOP AND WALK SEVERAL TIMES THROUGHOUT THE COURSE. BUT, THAT'S OK. THE BEST PART ABOUT RUNNING IS THAT IT'S YOUR PERSONAL RACE.
BY THE WAY, I MIGHT ENLIST YOU TO PULL ME INTO THE DOME AND ACROSS THAT FINISH LINE, BUT I WILL CROSS IT. I WILL GET THERE. AND, SO WILL YOU. ARE YOU IN????
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Kathleen...your an inspiration! I hope other decide to follow your lead that despite the obstacles we face, we don't don't give in to adversity. Your in my prayers and I'll be rooting for you all the way!
ReplyDelete"A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step"
- Lao-tzu
I'm in awe of you. I am a "young" 50ish person and I'm training for my first triathlon. My motto used to be...."run? Only if chased, and if he's cute, I'm not running"....so this is going to be a journey for me, and reading your story is very inspiring...I have family in Fargo and I'm going to make sure they're at the dome to push, pull or drag as needed :)
ReplyDeleteYOU GO GIRL!!!!!
You go girl! Best wishes for better vision in 2010 and a great inspiration! I had hoped to talked to you more at Dad's funeral in July but didn't get chance too. Read the great article of the journey in Area Moms magazine- unbelievable, and you walk it with such courage, faith and grace. Jill (Hennen) :)
ReplyDeleteHi Jill, Colleen and Joel! Thank you for posting a comment. I'm new to this whole blogging thing. I feel so...cool. OK. I won't go that far, but I do feel much more progressive than I really am, how's that? :) Thank you for your kind words, for "rooting for me," for your prayers, especially, and for thinking this is inspirational. I am not sure if I'm totally comfortable with the whole "you're an inspiration" thing, but thank you, anyway. I'm as regular as you. We all have our stories to tell. And, we all make choices, right. It's an honor to connect with so many fun, life-loving, spirited people, as you. This is my inspiration.
ReplyDeleteFOR READERS OF THIS BLOG: IF YOU KNOW SOMEONE WHO HAS SURVIVED A BRAIN ANEURYSM OR HAS DIED FROM AN ANEURYSM, PLEASE PASS ON THEIR NAME TO ME. I WANT TO REMEMBER THEM, WHILE I'M TRAINING. I'D LIKE TO KEEP A LIST OF NAMES WITH ME. I AM RUNNING FARGO TO RAISE MONEY FOR THE NATIONAL BRAIN ANEURYSM CENTER. THESE TRAGEDIES CAN BE PREVENTED. THERE ARE CUTTING EDGE TREATMENTS AND MORE RESEARCH TO DO, TO ENSURE THE VERY BEST CARE FOR ANEURYSM PATIENTS. THE CENTER IS IN ST. PAUL, AND THE INCREDIBLY TALENTED DOCTORS SAVED MY LIFE, WHILE THEIR STAFF AND NURSES TOOK EXTRAORDINARY CARE OF ME AND MY FAMILY.
ReplyDeletePLEASE CONSIDER MAKING A TAX-DECUCTIBLE DONATION TO THE NATIONAL BRAIN ANEURYSM CENTER, BY GOING TO THE LINK BELOW AND CLICKING ON THE "NATIONAL BRAIN ANEURYSM CENTER AND ST. JOSEPH'S NEUROSCIENCE FUND." BE SURE TO CLICK ON "IN HONOR OF" AND PUT MY NAME IN THERE (KATHLEEN WRIGLEY), SO THAT I CAN KEEP TRACK OF WHO TO SPECIFICALLY SEND THANK YOU NOTES TO! HERE'S THE LINK: … http://www.healtheast.org/foundation/foundation-donation.html
WITH A VERY GRATEFUL HEART, KATHLEEN