Video Blog Update

A video update from Brabbs-land.

10K is over, Time to race through treatment

On Sunday Ocean and I competed in the 10K Big House Big Heart run that finishes in the University of Michigan football stadium.



Although there were not 110,000 people in the stands I feel like over the last number of months we have been getting enough hugs, phone calls, emails, facebook messages, blog comments, tweets, and even old fashioned letters that would fill that stadium.

I am so thankful... for the awareness of Multiple Myeloma that is growing due to my diagnosis. Better than the awareness is the opportunity we have received to reconnect with so many awesome and caring people whom we have met and shared experiences with during different stretches of our lives. Not to mention all the cool new people we are meeting along the way. We feel so lifted up and empowered to take on the Myeloma with an army of loving support.



The biggest take away from running the 10K was the importance of having a loving community nearby. I was blessed with the opportunity to run the race with three guys I lived with during my final year of college. We were able to run the race at a pace of 8:42 with three strollers carrying a total of four kids; one being my son (Ocean) who is 3.5 years old, over 40 pounds and probably a little over-sized for the jogging stroller.



At the end of the race I was greeted by my wife, daughter and father who were sporting their shirts that said: "My [Husband/Daddy/Son] is my Hero".



Inside I did everything but cry. I felt so loved at the end of the race and it numbed all the pain from the race. It will be that same love that will get us through this next part of the race and we are so thankful to have you by our side.

Thanks everyone!

Phil

Time to work on my Kick!

(Phil speaking)

I think about my cancer about .00138% of the time, which is probably aboutt 1 minute every 13 days give or take some math. The reality is that the cancer is present in me roughly 100% of the time looking to find its way in my body, primarily my bones. 

If you have been following along you know that three years ago (Aug 2006) while living in Charlotte, NC we were caught off guard by a Pulmonary Embolism in my right lung, which can be very deadly. The following year after a return to Ann Arbor I had two more blood clots, one in my left leg and a second in my right. Two years after the PE (Aug 2008) we learned that the recurring blood clots in my body had a partner in crime called Multiple Myeloma, a cancer of the plasma cell that originates in the center of your bones. And now three years later (Aug 2009) we have learned thanks to some help from our peeps down at UMAS hospital in Little Rock that the cancer isn't smoldering, but actively spreading. What's with the month of August anyways?!?! Can't we just reserve this month for the good news of the birth of Phil??? ;)

I have heard it is good to keep your mind off of your disease so you can continue to live your life fully and I guess that is what I have been doing naturally. I mean who starts a business during the worst economic times just months after they find out they have a serious cancer stewing around? I think it's in the core of my DNA to keep dominating because it's all I have ever known.

So what about dominating cancer? Well, since the blood clots and the diagnosis I have naturally not thought about the health issue staring me in the face, partly because I still feel great! The reality is that over the last year the cancer went from just over 10% in my bones to 30%, so it seems to be doing just great too! 

I am sensing that it's time to kick it....what do you think? I have been much more conscious about eating colorful vegetables, which is harder than you think for a vegetarian with the assortment of carbs that flow through a supermarket. Cassie has been a champ though and I am eating better than ever! So the diet is where it needs to be and I have returned to dominating water which is really crucial in keeping my kidney from getting wrecked by the excess protein (and potential calcium) floating around in my blood stream. 

Sooooooo....to start kicking it, I am going to go back to my roots and work on my kick. Not my football kick, but my running kick. Thanks to my running buddy, I have been consistently running one day a week. To put my feet to the fire I officially signed up for the Big House Big Heart 10k run on 10/4, which  may be my last weekend of my treatment free self!  I still have the belief that my disease can be supernaturally dominated and we have a couple of months for that to happen!

If you ever want to go for a run, just give me a ring! I have a lot of work to do....and I can't do it without the influence of others. Thanks!!!!