August 2, 2007
She looked so beautiful in golden brown hair just touching her shoulder and her smile so calm and soothing – She shared her story while we sat mesmerized on the grass after training and I could have never imagined what she had been through. She was in college - active, giggling and gossiping just like any other college student… It only caught her attention when she started to put on some weight - obviously! at the time, it's the only thing that matters - your figure. Dieting was next to starvation and exercise brutal and out of question - only series of chest pains, headaches, dizziness, and increasing fatigue gave her the final push to go see a doctor.
Within a week that same young playful girl was given the result - "You have a very large tumor around your heart - 10x13x2.5 centimeters. The only thing we can do is to make you as comfortable as possible."
It was either this or admission into an experimental clinical trial at Stanford Hospital. The oncologists at Stanford told her that the enormous amount of chemotherapy and radiation needed to fight such a large tumor would potentially cause heart, lung, liver, and/or kidney damage that may not present itself for years, but that if she did not follow the recommended program of 6 months of heavy-duty chemotherapy and 3 months of radiation, she would be dead within a matter of weeks. Basically - it was "die now or die later" situation. After a year of persistent nausea & dry-heaving, complete hair loss, self-injections twice daily, a 20-lb weight loss, and radiation burns - she danced with her scrappy bag of bones and shiny bald head around town. She was alive!
Few years later - as strange as it may sound but she was relieved to find out that she was only suffering through a major heart damage and was not having a lymphoma relapse. Personally speaking, I still wonder what kind of relief that is. After two open-heart surgeries (two because the first surgery failed), it was about time that she signed up for "Team In Training" as it had always been a nagging itch for her to finish a full Marathon. To this she says, "I will never forget the Friday before what was supposed to be our first group training run. My world turned black as I listened to what my doctor told me after my routine heart test: Vascular Failure."
She had a large tumor, major heart damage, and vascular failure. And yet - this remains her line - "If there is one thing I can say about my little journey since 1995, it is that there has never been a dull moment!" This brave woman has since ran 3 Marathons, 5 Half-Marathons and is training with us this season for Nike 2007.
After she gracefully narrated her entire story, she thanked all of us who are raising funds for these exact kinds of clinical trials. Her smile carried a sense of genuineness and purity. I heard every word of her story carefully and have tried since then to put it in my own words. Not only do I feel honored to know such a brave lady, I am also very proud of Vanessa. She has not just left me with her story, but a very inspiring lesson in my life.
