Guest Blogger: My sister, Merlin

I am humbled by the kind words of my sister:

Lisa has graciously granted my request to be a guest blogger. I wanted to get my few cents in because I am so exhilarated by what she is doing...and also because her blog needs a counter to Lisa's trademark undersell. Don't be fooled, readers! We know Lisa is a *STAR*. I hope you will allow me to toot the horn for my too-humble-to-do-it-herself sister.

Having run a marathon myself, I can assert that this is a tremendous undertaking...and I was 13 years younger when I did it than Lisa is now. For every bit that one isn't athletically inclined, one must pull from other internal and external resources to get through the training. Lisa won't mind my noting that she is not the spawn of Bruce Jenner + Flojo.

So how did she do it? Lisa is able to fasten herself unshakably to her commitments, even unnervingly so. (This is a great advantage, by the way, when you're her sister and she's committed to being a great sister to you!) She protects her own goals with a fierceness the outside observer might miss because she doesn't make a loud fuss about it. Such it has been with her fitness endeavor. When Lisa told me she was running a marathon in Paris, I knew it was a done deal. I knew there wouldn't be any, "Well, I tried and it was just too hard" or "That first 5-miler showed me how stupid this idea really is." Lisa wasn't going to let the coldest winter in 10 years, a paucity of running experience, demands of a new job, a real estate empire behaving like an unruly teenager, a Hopalong Cassidy ankle, or slim knowledge of carbs vs. proteins get in her way. No excuses, no complaints, no reconsidering. Perhaps Lisa didn't write about her inner tenacity because she takes this supernatural ability for granted. But if I could banish discouraging thoughts from my mental sphere the way Lisa can, I'd be buying a whole lot more lottery tickets.

Other resources...Lisa has such a sincere and endearing way about her that she is excellent at recruiting others to get on board with even "impossible" ambitions. (Really now, who could not be won over by her smiling gamely in her homemade FIT BY 40! t-shirt?) So she of course found a great organization to train with, and then wowed them with her ability to drum up pledges. Thank you from me to Lisa's Team-in-Training coach, teammates, and everyone who ran with her during her training. Thank you to all who showed support for Lisa with words of encouragement, running advice or gear, and donations to LLS. When I look at the long list of donors on Lisa's blog sidebar, I feel how loved she is by so many people, and it makes me happy.

Whatever Lisa has written about being slow, 26 miles is not a lazy man's walk to the corner store. That's the beauty of the marathon distance...you can't achieve it on a whim, or somehow fake your way through. To make it so very far requires the runner to be authentic, to show the thing in herself that is real. That’s why people don’t look pretty at the end of the race. Along the way, they surrender the pretty self for that which is beyond the self. And that is what Greatness looks like. I know it’s worth going all the way to Paris to see.

I love you, Lisa.

Sources of Inspiration II

I was only a child when my beautiful first cousin, Julie Marks, passed away from leukemia. Because I was too young to understand what the word "leukemia" meant, I remember my mom just telling me that she was sick. Though Julie was "sick" throughout her high school years, she never let her diagnosis slow her down. She had made plans for the future and they did not include fighting a disease like leukemia.
I will always remember Julie's amazing smile and this special twinkle she had in her eye. Where she gathered the courage and strength to fight this disease for over three years is unknown to me. How could such a young lady be so strong? At the age of 15-16-17, I know I didn't have that.

I am running in Paris to honor Julie because her bravery and courage touched and inspired more people than she would ever know. From the doctors at the hospital, to her classmates, to her family, and neighbors, Julie was a hero to many. Though Julie has been gone for many years, she will never be forgotten.

My Sources for Inspiration

It is fair to say that I would not be where I am today without the inspiration of something much greater that me. That inspiration to train for the past 6 months and attempt a marathon has come from the need to help find a cure for Leukemia & Lymphoma. Leading up to the race, I want to feature my personal Honored Heroes on my blog because theirs are the stories of strength that have fueled my legs up the hills of Georgia.

My first Honored Hero is Matt Cwiertny. Matt was the younger brother of my high school friends, Christine and Eric Cwiertny, and though I never personally met him, I often checked his blog throughout his courageous fight against lymphoma. His story touched me because it reminded me how quickly and aggressive blood cancers can be. Christine shares the story of her brother that she lost way too soon:

Matt Cwiertny was a 23 year old graphic designer for Marshall Advertising, who loved Galaxy soccer, the Flight of the Conchords, The Dandy Warhols, Jack’s Mannequin, and Supercross, when he started getting extraordinarily high fevers, his blood pressure dropped, and his blood counts cratered. It was only after he went into respiratory failure that his doctors learned he suffered from Epstein Barr induced Hemophagocytic Lymphohistiocytosis (EBV-HLH), a blood disorder affecting only 1 of every 1,000,000 persons. While EBV-HLH is not cancer, it acts and is treated like a cancer. The disorder destroys healthy blood cells, and is treated with chemotherapy, and a bone marrow transplant, if necessary. In addition, EBV-HLH often induces lymphoma, which it did in Matt. One month after his EBV-HLH diagnosis, Matt learned he was also battling NK T-Cell lymphoma, one of the most aggressive blood cancers there is.

During the course of his 17 months of treatment for his EBV-HLH and NK T-cell lymphoma, Matt spent 180 days in the hospital, underwent 12 rounds of chemo, 300 blood tests, 12 MRIs, 12 Cat Scans, 8 Pet Scans, 6 bone marrow biopsies, 4 spinal taps, and a stem cell (bone marrow) transplant. Throughout it all, Matt kept up a positive attitude, spent time with his family and friends, made many new friends (Zia and Fathead of The Dandy Warhols; Andrew McMahon of Jack’s Mannequin; Keith Slettedahl and Adam Merrin of The 88), and helped and counseled others seeking bone marrow transplants or wrestling with cancer diagnoses.

In December 2008, Matt received his bone marrow transplant. While it temporarily put him in remission, his lymphoma returned in February 2009, and in June 2009, Matt learned it had moved to his brain in the form of an inoperable brain tumor. After chemotherapy failed to put him in remission, Matt began radiation treatment. Before finishing that treatment, however, Matt was readmitted to the City of Hope in late September 2009. At that time, Matt was in a weakened state, with his EBV levels extraordinarily high and infiltrating and debilitating his liver and kidneys. Unfortunately, the doctors were unable to administer any treatment that could reverse the affects of the EBV and its impact on Matt’s vital organs, and at midnight on October 3, 2009, Matt passed away with all of his family surrounding him.

During his illness, Matt was a huge supporter of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society through the annual Light the Night walks. While undergoing chemotherapy, Matt walked in both the 2008 and 2009 Light the Night walks, raising over $6000 dollars. In all, his family and friends raised over $50,000 during those two walks to benefit LLS. In addition, Matt directly benefited from the good works of LLS by receiving Rituxin, a drug partly developed through LLS funds that was used to kill EBV in his B-cells, as well as a gas stipend to help fund what often became daily trips to the City of Hope for treatment.

Matt would be honored to know that he is one of Lisa’s honored heroes for her Paris Marathon run. The Cwiertny family is grateful for Lisa’s support, and for keeping Matt, his story, and memory alive. Merci Beaucoup and Bonne Chance, Lisa!