Rough Weekend

This past weekend was a rough one.  I headed up to the mountains for work late on Thursday night.   Thursday is my prophy day and despite several reminders on my phone I completely forgot to infuse until about 30 minutes before my work shift.  I was in a hurry and of course, it didn't go well.  Not sure what the issue was but I missed twice.  Being desperate and running out of time before work I decided to try for a huge vein on my right arm which meant infusing left handed.  I haven't tried left handed since college but I nailed it!  I was hoping that was the end of the issues for the weekend but early Saturday morning, I abruptly and unintentionally dismounted my snowmobile.  I smacked my thigh and shin on the handlebars of the sled.  I felt okay initially but as the adernaline of the minor crash wore off, I knew I had a few bleeds.  Worked finished up and I immediately reinfused but the damage was done.  I had to skip training the rest of the weekend and even missed work.  I'm feeling much better now despite some nice bruising and being a little sore.  I'm heading back up to the mountains to work again this Thursday night and hopefully I'll be able to stay on the sled.  Training will resume and hopefully there won't be any set backs.  Once again, check out the donation page for my climb if you can.  Despite my minor incident and bleeds, I have it good.  Others with hemophilia really need your help!  Thanks for following my blog and keep checking back for more updates!

Click here for the climb donation page!

This is why I climb.

Yesterday, my mentor and friend Laurie Kelley posted a gut wrenching and painful story of a young boy named Brain with hemophilia.  He lives in Zimbabwe and his story, and those similar stories I have heard while in Kenya make it more and more apparent that we need to help.  Most of you know me as an athletic, active and adventurous person with hemophilia as a minor side note, but this story will show you what hemophilia really is.  I am simply posting Laurie's words and pictures below.

Brian had tears rolling down his cheeks when I asked him to simply lift his arm. He "lifted" it by his shoulders; he cannot hold a cup to drink from. His feet look like balloons. Four of his fingers are grotesquely swollen. I told him we had money to give him, $100--a fortune to him! Some nice man from the States donated it, and Brian promptly looked down at the photo of Jim Morrison (which I had just been admiring). I told him, No... not that guy! We all laughed. Save One Life donors: we ensure your donations get to the kids!

Today at 3 pm, just before heading to the airport, one more African child with hemophilia to visit at the hospital. Imagine my shock: Brian has perhaps the worst care of joint damage and bleeding I have seen in 16 years of traveling to developing countries... he's age 13, weighs only 50 pounds, cannot walk, is an orphan, lives 4 hour bus ride away from the hospital......and he's wearing a Doors t-shirt. He stole my heart.

This is why I want to climb the Seven Summits.  Yes, I want to see if I can, see if I can push myself as far as possible but the main goal is to somehow make a difference in the lives of people like Brian.  Please if you can, donate to my climb.  Any amount helps but mainly, please spread the word.  Send this link and story to family and friends.  And most importantly, if you really want to make a HUGE impact in the life of someone with hemophilia in a similar situation go to saveonelife.net and become a sponsor!  I put the links below for both!  Thank for all of your support!

Click Here to Donate to My Climb!

Click Here to Become A Sponsor!

Ongoing Training and a Donation Page!

On Thanksgiving Day I started my new job at Keystone Resort in Colorado as a snowmaker!  It's an absolute blast and I couldn't have picked a better job to help me with my climbs.  I spend all night running around the mountain adjusting, setting up, and moving all the snowmaking equipment.  Not only is it physically demanding but I work in cold weather and at elevation.  When I get off work at 9:00 A.M. I throw my skis on a knock out a few runs before bed.  I have been loving it and with the lack of snow in the mountains so far this year, I will probably be working there until right before my climb.

On the climb front, I am happy to say that my fundraising page is setup!  Please follow the link below and donate if you can.  Any amount helps tremendously!

http://www.saveonelife.net/seven-summits-quest.php

Working at Keystone!!

I have been trying to figure out how to optimize my training regimen and figured, why not work in the mountains then I could train everyday!  I applied for a bunch of jobs at Vail Resorts and finally got a position at Keystone Resort.  I will be making snow!  I'm really excited for this position because I will be working on the mountain 4 days a week.  Hopefully I'll have some good stories to tell you all soon!

Training Postponed

After that wonderful training run on Monday, the reality of having hemophilia jumped back into the forefront.  I'm not exactly sure what happened but I ended up with a pretty intense bleed at the base of my neck.  I don't know exactly how it happened, I thought maybe I slept in a strange position but by midday Tuesday, it was clear it was a bleed.  I infused but I'll need to rest for a few days before I get back at it.  I'll keep you posted about training when I am healthy again, which I hope is soon!

Best song to end a run!!

Went out for a couple mile run this morning and was dragging a bit at the end until I heard this song!  Might not be everyone's taste but it really got me going!  Definitely going to use it skiing the moguls this season too.

More real by the second!!

Today I purchased my plane tickets for my travel to South America! I still can't believe this is happening! January is right around the corner so training is about to get intense! I'll keep you posted but it looks like another 14'er is in my near future!