windwalker
I need an Adventure
- Joined
- Dec 28, 2006
- Messages
- 6,477
My report is not about me, it's about the courage of my lady Erica.
Erica had a rough year. She was hospitalized for chest pain which turned out to be artery spasms, she is on a med to control this. She also developed high blood pressure, med for that also. Then she had a melt down in a tooth bridge which resulted in an abcess, a root canal and a new bridge. She also has developed a problem with a bunion that has become sore and painful for her.
She signed us up for the Goofy last January before all these problems raised their ugly heads. We did the Marathon last January and the Flying Pig half in May before her problems started.
We are having to forgo the Minnie this year so we can get her bunion fixed and I need some dental surgery. I know a waste of good disney money.
I wanted to give y'all the back ground information so you would know what Erica had against her going into this adventure.
We had a super time meeting everyone at the Expo and then at the Pop gathering. John and Karen thank you for the bags, you guys are aces. I got to finally meet some of my walking and running buddies.
Saturday morning we woke at 2am and had a muffin and coffee along with a big glass of water. The Bus was waiting when we walked out to the bus stop. Once we got there we found a WISH group gathering by the water table and camped out with them. Then we made our walk to the starting corrals.
We started off with and stayed with Lily for a while, then we ran into Robert and Linda. The half was pretty uneventful and we finished with time to spare.
The next day we woke again at 2am and had our muffin, coffee and water again. Once again the bus was waiting for us. The temp was 62 degrees so we were very comfortable waiting for the start.
Once we got started I could feel a minor soreness in my achillies and calves but actually felt pretty good. We had a nice group of WISH athletes with us but we spread out pretty quick.
The marathon was pretty much one foot in front of the other and enjoy the day untill about 15 miles when it really started to get hot. At about 17 miles Erica was starting to feel the heat and was feeling dizzy and her stomach was hurting. We stopped at a water station and let her rest a minute and I poured cold water on her.
About 18 and a half miles she started feeling dizzy and sick to her stomach. She staggered onto the grass in the shade of an overpass. She told me to go on and laid back on the grass. I sat there with her and she laid with her eyes closed for about ten minutes. Then she got up and said lets go. I guess she had dug down and found what she needed to continue. The look in her eyes was no longer a look of defeat but a look of steel and determination.
She had found the courage and will to continue. We went on to the finish without stopping again. I was feeling the deep tiredness and the heat but it was just a let's just get it overwith feeling. I knew that my princess was going on the strength of her will alone. We crossed the line with 9 min 33 seconds to spare. She earned her medals. She was to exhaused and her feet were hurting to bad to even stop for the picture at the end, so we went back to the room for rest.
There was no end of the courage out there on the course that day. Nancy, John, Pat, Vic, Jeanne, Cam, Lily, Robert, Linda, Donna and so many many others went one on one against the bad distance and gave it their all. Each and everyone of you are heroes.
The WISH team on the sides encouraging us and handing out goodies was beyond wonderful. This wasn't a race it was an adventure and we did it together.
Thank you Erica and all the WISH team for letting me share this awesome day with all of you. It is a memory I will cherish always.
Inspired Panda
Erica had a rough year. She was hospitalized for chest pain which turned out to be artery spasms, she is on a med to control this. She also developed high blood pressure, med for that also. Then she had a melt down in a tooth bridge which resulted in an abcess, a root canal and a new bridge. She also has developed a problem with a bunion that has become sore and painful for her.
She signed us up for the Goofy last January before all these problems raised their ugly heads. We did the Marathon last January and the Flying Pig half in May before her problems started.
We are having to forgo the Minnie this year so we can get her bunion fixed and I need some dental surgery. I know a waste of good disney money.
I wanted to give y'all the back ground information so you would know what Erica had against her going into this adventure.
We had a super time meeting everyone at the Expo and then at the Pop gathering. John and Karen thank you for the bags, you guys are aces. I got to finally meet some of my walking and running buddies.
Saturday morning we woke at 2am and had a muffin and coffee along with a big glass of water. The Bus was waiting when we walked out to the bus stop. Once we got there we found a WISH group gathering by the water table and camped out with them. Then we made our walk to the starting corrals.
We started off with and stayed with Lily for a while, then we ran into Robert and Linda. The half was pretty uneventful and we finished with time to spare.
The next day we woke again at 2am and had our muffin, coffee and water again. Once again the bus was waiting for us. The temp was 62 degrees so we were very comfortable waiting for the start.
Once we got started I could feel a minor soreness in my achillies and calves but actually felt pretty good. We had a nice group of WISH athletes with us but we spread out pretty quick.
The marathon was pretty much one foot in front of the other and enjoy the day untill about 15 miles when it really started to get hot. At about 17 miles Erica was starting to feel the heat and was feeling dizzy and her stomach was hurting. We stopped at a water station and let her rest a minute and I poured cold water on her.
About 18 and a half miles she started feeling dizzy and sick to her stomach. She staggered onto the grass in the shade of an overpass. She told me to go on and laid back on the grass. I sat there with her and she laid with her eyes closed for about ten minutes. Then she got up and said lets go. I guess she had dug down and found what she needed to continue. The look in her eyes was no longer a look of defeat but a look of steel and determination.
She had found the courage and will to continue. We went on to the finish without stopping again. I was feeling the deep tiredness and the heat but it was just a let's just get it overwith feeling. I knew that my princess was going on the strength of her will alone. We crossed the line with 9 min 33 seconds to spare. She earned her medals. She was to exhaused and her feet were hurting to bad to even stop for the picture at the end, so we went back to the room for rest.
There was no end of the courage out there on the course that day. Nancy, John, Pat, Vic, Jeanne, Cam, Lily, Robert, Linda, Donna and so many many others went one on one against the bad distance and gave it their all. Each and everyone of you are heroes.
The WISH team on the sides encouraging us and handing out goodies was beyond wonderful. This wasn't a race it was an adventure and we did it together.
Thank you Erica and all the WISH team for letting me share this awesome day with all of you. It is a memory I will cherish always.
Inspired Panda
She is one of the happiest people I have ever met.
We'll miss you in May, though!
