I guess I’ll keep things in chronological order and start with status of treatment #6. I did get in a nice 25-mile ride on the weekend prior to treatment and then the treatment itself was, as usual, uneventful. So there’s actually not a whole lot to say about it which is nice. Our game day decision kept the drugs and dosage as is for now but we’ll come back to that same decision for treatment #7 that is scheduled for September 7th.
The physical affects of treatment #6 were as per usual so last Thursday/Friday were a bit of a challenge. The pick me up that helped me drive through that though was that the long awaited weekend for the LiveSTRONG Challenge event in Philly had finally arrived.
I took Friday off from work so that Amy and I could get over to the event site and take care of registration while getting into the whole LiveSTRONG vibe early. I was like a kid on Christmas eve. Another Mintz’s Mentschen team had convened for this year and with our new cycling jersey design sporting the “3rd time is a charm” theme I was ready for what I like to call a lovefest. The abundant positive karma that converges with our team and these events makes it impossible to not get excited. And for me it’s yet another opportunity for 15 minutes of very surreal fame. With team members that included some of my closest friends from high school…. Well, you get the point. An incredibly emotional and humbling experience for me.
A couple of quick statistics…. My fundraising total was $5,175 and our Mintz’s Mentschen team raised over $27,470 for this event alone. Total monies raised by over 5,000 participants was over $3 million. This is the largest annual LiveSTRONG Challenge event that even exceeds the event held in Austin (Lance’s home town). Mintz’s Mentschen has existed since my diagnosis in 2008 and our 4-event total is now over $100,000!! I have no words to express my gratitude.
The weather was nice on Friday and since that is the toughest post-treatment day for me I needed to take a couple of zofran to get through the day. It didn’t matter really because we were having fun already as we were engulfed in the LAF yellow and black. Amy and I picked up Erin in Trenton on Friday night and prepped for the walk/run events that were held on Saturday morning. The weather was nice and I spent the day taking pictures. 
On Saturday night those of us that fundraised over $3,000 were able to attend a recognition dinner. Dhani Jones (Cincinnati Bengals) and Lance Armstrong spoke. Dan Nies, Bob Wiener, and I attended the dinner with our lovely wives.
And then the cycling event was on Sunday. AND IT RAINED!! For those in our group that trained for the very difficult 100-mile route it may have been disappointing but we all still had a very fun day. Most importantly everyone stayed safe by riding shorter routes and there were no mishaps on the wet roads. Bob Wiener, however, did hold to his plan and was the only one that rode as far as 70 miles. Such a stud. I was feeling quite badass myself with the cooler temperatures and I went for the 20-mile route. With re-routing due to road construction the actual distance was 24 miles and I could easily have gone farther. Finishing side by side with a posse of 6 close friends is an indescribable feeling that was only exceeded when I crossed the finish line and entered the cancer survivors chute where I was given a survivors rose. No words… only tears of thanks for all of my blessings.
Please know that the Mintz’s Mentschen group doesn’t fold up shop when the LiveSTRONG event is finished. If you’d like to ride with us just let me know. We’d love to have you with us.
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