This page is my training log, my storyboard for the Team in Training ride. As you may know, I am training to do a 100mi bike ride in Solvang, CA come March of '07 (known as the Solvang Century) to raise money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. In this page, I'll put the details of the path, the training and my thoughts/details leading up to the Solvang Century.
I hope that you enjoy my log and come back often, and most importantly, I hope that you will join me in the search for a cure and help me reach my goal: raising enough money to help fund a research grant to beat Myeloma, Leukemia, Lymphoma and Hodgkins disease.
Sincerely,
Jeremy Yeung.
The Story: Part I:
Before you read this, I apologize for its length, however, I hope you'll read all of it as it's a story that my family and I have lived through =).
In February of 2005, my father, Benedict, was attending a lunch meeting with one of his clients. Nothing out of the ordinary for him, just another day on the job, until he left.
As he was leaving, heading back to his car, he felt a sharp pain his back, it became completely locked up and he was unable to move. He had to be taken to the emergency room, and right away, x-rays showed that one of his vertebrae, the T-5, had collapsed on him, causing a lot of pain in his back as well as pinching the nerves that were enclosed.
After a day or so in the hospital of the doctors running tests and trying to figure out why his T-5 had collapsed, they discovered that my dad had multiple myeloma. My family's initial reaction was ok, what is multiple myeloma, what do we need to do to get rid of it, and how long will it affect my dad (thinking it was just a sickness, or a temporary type of thing). Then the ball was dropped on us. Multiple myeloma is a cancer of the plasma cell that is incurable, but treatable. From what I was told and from what I could gather, it is essentially a form of blood cancer that affects the production of antibodies. We were told one of the characteristics is an abnormal amount of plasma cells which in turn leads sometimes to osteoporosis, particularly in the hips, back, ribs and skull, which was most likely the cause for my dad's T-5 collapsing (more information here).
The initial reaction to the news was shock and devastation. Here was my father, in shape, exercising at home 3-4x a week, rarely sick, playing golf 2-3x a week, quitting smoking, running a successful business, learning how to play the guitar, one son just getting into college and one son just about to get out of college... a point life most would say could be seen as sitting on top of the world... and he has multiple myeloma, an incurable cancer that showed up with no previous symptoms or signs of less than great health until his back collapsed. He was (and still is) the strong father figure in my life, the one who always fought through adversity, the one holding strong through all of life's challenges, always looking to advance in some way, the problem solver and the man I always expected there to be there, well... forever... and in February, he looked nothing like himself. In a matter of hours, he couldn't really move, he was on a morphine drip, bed ridden, and for the first time in my life, he looked scared. I didn't know what to do but to just sit there and hope that everything would be like everyone told me... that everything would be ok.
From there, he was quickly transferred to the City of Hope where he began 2 strong sessions of chemotherapy which left him sick, in pain, no appetite, no energy, constantly tired and sleeping, and unable to stay awake while we visited him on occasion. That was only the visible part. On the inside, his body was being torn to pieces, the chemo killing his good cells along w/ the cancerous ones. His red blood cell, white blood cell, and platelet counts dropped to less than 10% of normal levels, making him extremely succeptable to getting sick (hence when we visited, we were required to wear facemasks and latex gloves, and him not being able to leave the room). It was during this time I utilized my netflix membership and brought him a dvd a day =).
The good thing was, after the first session of chemo, the cancerous cells had been reduced to a low enough level where he could undergo a new procedure called a "Tandem Autologous Stem Cell Transplant" where his own stem cells were extracted from his body and frozen, during which time, he underwent the second and stronger session of chemo that killed all of his blood cells, at which time, his stem cells were re-inserted into his body in order for him to rebuild his blood counts. The procedure was finished mid-december 2005, and amazingly, he was able to make it home for Christmas dinner.
Once home, then began the process of getting everything back up to the speed of life. My father spent the next 5 or 6 months getting a lot of rest, doing a lot of testing to check on blood levels, and building back up his endurance to the point where he could stay awake and relatively active for an entire half day... then an entire 3/4 of a day... and finally a full day. In June or July (my memory fails me) my dad grew extremely tired of being home along all day, and so we added a 5th member to our family to keep him company at home. At about 10-11 lbs and a foot and a half in length, Pepper, a german shepherd puppy with probably too much energy, came home to become my dad's new favorite son =).
Part II to follow...
In February of 2005, my father, Benedict, was attending a lunch meeting with one of his clients. Nothing out of the ordinary for him, just another day on the job, until he left.
As he was leaving, heading back to his car, he felt a sharp pain his back, it became completely locked up and he was unable to move. He had to be taken to the emergency room, and right away, x-rays showed that one of his vertebrae, the T-5, had collapsed on him, causing a lot of pain in his back as well as pinching the nerves that were enclosed.
After a day or so in the hospital of the doctors running tests and trying to figure out why his T-5 had collapsed, they discovered that my dad had multiple myeloma. My family's initial reaction was ok, what is multiple myeloma, what do we need to do to get rid of it, and how long will it affect my dad (thinking it was just a sickness, or a temporary type of thing). Then the ball was dropped on us. Multiple myeloma is a cancer of the plasma cell that is incurable, but treatable. From what I was told and from what I could gather, it is essentially a form of blood cancer that affects the production of antibodies. We were told one of the characteristics is an abnormal amount of plasma cells which in turn leads sometimes to osteoporosis, particularly in the hips, back, ribs and skull, which was most likely the cause for my dad's T-5 collapsing (more information here).
The initial reaction to the news was shock and devastation. Here was my father, in shape, exercising at home 3-4x a week, rarely sick, playing golf 2-3x a week, quitting smoking, running a successful business, learning how to play the guitar, one son just getting into college and one son just about to get out of college... a point life most would say could be seen as sitting on top of the world... and he has multiple myeloma, an incurable cancer that showed up with no previous symptoms or signs of less than great health until his back collapsed. He was (and still is) the strong father figure in my life, the one who always fought through adversity, the one holding strong through all of life's challenges, always looking to advance in some way, the problem solver and the man I always expected there to be there, well... forever... and in February, he looked nothing like himself. In a matter of hours, he couldn't really move, he was on a morphine drip, bed ridden, and for the first time in my life, he looked scared. I didn't know what to do but to just sit there and hope that everything would be like everyone told me... that everything would be ok.
From there, he was quickly transferred to the City of Hope where he began 2 strong sessions of chemotherapy which left him sick, in pain, no appetite, no energy, constantly tired and sleeping, and unable to stay awake while we visited him on occasion. That was only the visible part. On the inside, his body was being torn to pieces, the chemo killing his good cells along w/ the cancerous ones. His red blood cell, white blood cell, and platelet counts dropped to less than 10% of normal levels, making him extremely succeptable to getting sick (hence when we visited, we were required to wear facemasks and latex gloves, and him not being able to leave the room). It was during this time I utilized my netflix membership and brought him a dvd a day =).
The good thing was, after the first session of chemo, the cancerous cells had been reduced to a low enough level where he could undergo a new procedure called a "Tandem Autologous Stem Cell Transplant" where his own stem cells were extracted from his body and frozen, during which time, he underwent the second and stronger session of chemo that killed all of his blood cells, at which time, his stem cells were re-inserted into his body in order for him to rebuild his blood counts. The procedure was finished mid-december 2005, and amazingly, he was able to make it home for Christmas dinner.
Once home, then began the process of getting everything back up to the speed of life. My father spent the next 5 or 6 months getting a lot of rest, doing a lot of testing to check on blood levels, and building back up his endurance to the point where he could stay awake and relatively active for an entire half day... then an entire 3/4 of a day... and finally a full day. In June or July (my memory fails me) my dad grew extremely tired of being home along all day, and so we added a 5th member to our family to keep him company at home. At about 10-11 lbs and a foot and a half in length, Pepper, a german shepherd puppy with probably too much energy, came home to become my dad's new favorite son =).
Part II to follow...
The Story: Part II:
Fast forward 4 months to October 2006:
My mom and dad go to a support group meeting for people with myeloma, a seminar type of thing where they talk about living with myeloma and things that you can do to help, and my parents came across the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and their Team In Training program.
The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) is the world’s largest voluntary health organization dedicated to funding blood cancer research, education and patient services. The society’s mission: CURE LEUKEMIA, LYMPHOMA, HODGKIN’S DISEASE & MYELOMA, and improve the quality of life of patients and their families. Since its founding in 1949, the Society has invested $483 million in leukemia, lymphoma, and myeloma research. Team in Training is a program within the LLS that trains ordinary people to do endurance events, whether it be marathons (or 1/2 marathons!), triathalons (and ironman challenges), and 100 mi bike rides. The mission is to bring together a team of people who want to make a difference and help raise money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma society.
So on October 14, 2006, I get a call at around 730 in the morning and it's my dad on the other line... Check your email, we've got a meeting to go support myeloma research, be there at 9am, it's 5 mi from your place.
I get there to find out that my parents had signed up to do a 100 mi bike ride to raise money for myeloma. My first reaction was... WTF? my mom can't ride 100 miles on a bike... not to mention last time we rode was 6+ years ago! However, I find out that it's a comprehensive training program, and I could tell immediately that my dad was inspired, so there was no hesitation when they asked me if I was doing the ride too. It was really amazing to see all the people there that were in support of people who have these diseases, and even more inspiring to see people with these blood cancers who's lives were touched (not to mention all of those w/ blood cancers who were eager and participating as well). From there we saw what the help and support that we bring gives to people, whether it be money for research grants, improved living conditions, or most importantly, hope and knowing there are people out there who care and support them.
And so started my training with the Team in Training to complete the Solvang Century Bicycle Ride, March 10, 2007, and to raise awareness and funds to someday beat these blood cancers.
I hope you continue to read the updates that follow, as I promise they won't be as long as either of these last 2 posts =)
My mom and dad go to a support group meeting for people with myeloma, a seminar type of thing where they talk about living with myeloma and things that you can do to help, and my parents came across the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and their Team In Training program.
The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) is the world’s largest voluntary health organization dedicated to funding blood cancer research, education and patient services. The society’s mission: CURE LEUKEMIA, LYMPHOMA, HODGKIN’S DISEASE & MYELOMA, and improve the quality of life of patients and their families. Since its founding in 1949, the Society has invested $483 million in leukemia, lymphoma, and myeloma research. Team in Training is a program within the LLS that trains ordinary people to do endurance events, whether it be marathons (or 1/2 marathons!), triathalons (and ironman challenges), and 100 mi bike rides. The mission is to bring together a team of people who want to make a difference and help raise money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma society.
So on October 14, 2006, I get a call at around 730 in the morning and it's my dad on the other line... Check your email, we've got a meeting to go support myeloma research, be there at 9am, it's 5 mi from your place.
I get there to find out that my parents had signed up to do a 100 mi bike ride to raise money for myeloma. My first reaction was... WTF? my mom can't ride 100 miles on a bike... not to mention last time we rode was 6+ years ago! However, I find out that it's a comprehensive training program, and I could tell immediately that my dad was inspired, so there was no hesitation when they asked me if I was doing the ride too. It was really amazing to see all the people there that were in support of people who have these diseases, and even more inspiring to see people with these blood cancers who's lives were touched (not to mention all of those w/ blood cancers who were eager and participating as well). From there we saw what the help and support that we bring gives to people, whether it be money for research grants, improved living conditions, or most importantly, hope and knowing there are people out there who care and support them.
And so started my training with the Team in Training to complete the Solvang Century Bicycle Ride, March 10, 2007, and to raise awareness and funds to someday beat these blood cancers.
I hope you continue to read the updates that follow, as I promise they won't be as long as either of these last 2 posts =)
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