Meet Kelly

Please meet Kelly Westbrook Moore. Kelly is currently going through chemotheraphy,  following recent surgery for colon cancer. Kelly will be a new passenger with me on this year's PMC.

Kelly the teacher.

Kelly and ZuZu

I grew up with Kelly in Hallsville, TX, She's been a teacher for the last 32 years and married to Mark Moore for over 30 years.  She and Mark have 3 beautiful daughters, Brook, Madison and Holly -- and a cute little Shitzu/Dachsund named ZuZu. 

Although her last name is now Moore,  I'll always think of her as Kelly Westbrook. Kelly was 2 years ahead of me in school and a classmate with my sister, Bonnie. I got to know Kelly mostly from our time together in High School Band. 

Kelly's Senior pic from my yearbook.

The very first rock-n-roll band I ever played in practiced at Kelly's house. That's notable  because nobody in her family was actually in our band -- her parents just let 4 kids come into their house and make noise...  (That should be a "tell" that there's a generous streak that runs through Kelly's family...)  My memory of the Westbrook kids is that they were all a very outgoing bunch, full of joie de vivre -- and Kelly is no exception. 

Check out the medals!

I haven't seen Kelly in decades, but I can picture her clear as day. And I can't conjure up a single memory of Kelly where she's not laughing out loud about one thing or another. I went to an old yearbook to look for some pictures and found a few of my favorite "Kelly pics" that I'll just share here...

One of my favorite yearbook pictures of Kelly.

And while all that yearbook trolling was extremely entertaining for me, I have to confess that my new favorite picture of Kelly is the one below, which I found on her Facebook page.

I couldn't find the artist's name, but it's apparently one of Kelly's students. I never really knew what Kelly's super power was until now.  But I'd also be surprised if that were her only super power.

So I am proud and honored to take Kelly -- a bona fide superhero -- along with my other passengers on this year's PMC.

Kelly, when you read this I hope that I haven't written anything here that embarrassed you. And I hope that maybe I even made you laugh a little-- just like I remember. That would make me happy. That'll be your another of your super powers.

Maddy, Miss A and Nicole

I just realized that I always seem to lead off my posts with a quote or an apology.

Sorry about that.

But seriously, I've been really remiss on fund- and awareness-raising for this year's PMC ride. For me, writing comes hard and procrastination is second-nature, so I'll just apologize for not being more communicative and get on with it. Sorry. Really.

Wheels are still turning, both figuratively and literally for this year's PMC... I've been on the bike every day back and forth to work, but only a few 40-mile rides so far this season. I'm anxious to get at 70-miler in this weekend and the weather looks promising. I'm so fortunate to live in a region where there are so many scenic places to bike -- and tons of routes that I can start by riding out my driveway.

Princess Aurora, my passenger on last year's PMC, happened to be here in my basement lair as I was typing this up, so I took a picture of us both.

Me and Miss A

"Miss A" rode along with me last year as a nod to another Princess, Madison Ward.  Right now, Maddy is back for her 2nd trip to St. Judes in Memphis, TN getting another cycle of chemo. Last year, when I first posted about Maddy, she had just turned 5 and it was her first trip to St. Jude's. 

I have watched this brave little girl from afar for almost 2 years now... watched her endure multiple cycles of chemo and radiation treatments. I've seen her lose her hair, grow it back, then lose it again. But I've never seen her quit. And you better believe that Maddy's family hasn't quit. So why would I? How could I not keep doing the PMC?   And how could I leave Princess Aurora behind ? So I'll be riding with Miss A and for Maddy again this year.

Nicole Rasile McPherson is another person I was riding for on last year's PMC. Nicole is  my cousin Dusty's wife and was diagnosed with stage 4 Hodgkins Lymphoma a little over 3 years ago.  Here's a picture of Nicole and Dusty from 2014.

Dusty and Nicole 

I opted to not post the picture of Dusty in the "chemo wig". You're welcome, Dusty.

I will be riding the PMC for Nicole again this year, but this time it will be in celebration!  After multiple rounds of chemo/radiation and 2 stem cell transplants, she's finally got a clean bill of health: no signs of cancer! All clear!

So while I may have been slow on the blog posts this year (and the bike, too, for that matter), and while I may complain to Sandy about my knees, I will not stop. How could I?

Breakthroughs are being made every day, and treatments are getting more humane and effective. With your help, we'll beat this. It's not impossible. And that brings me to a closing quote from a great man.

Impossible is not a fact. It's an opinion.
Impossible is not a declaration. It's a dare.
Impossible is potential.
Impossible is temporary.
Impossible is nothing.
-- Muhammad Ali

Better Noun Than Verb

"The capacity for hope is the most significant fact of life. It provides human beings with a sense of destination and the energy to get started." 

-- Norman Cousins

I was out on a nice long ride yesterday.  One of the things I enjoy most about biking is the time it gives me to think freely and widely about whatever my random synapses cook up.  Somewhere in that free-associating twisty corn maze of bike reverie, the word "hope" got stuck in my head -- how and why we use this word, and what it means.  I wanted to write it down here before I forgot...

When I think of all the times I've read, heard and used the word hope as a noun, it feels powerful and resonates with me deeply.  When I think of the same word used as a verb, it feels a little... I don't know.. inadequate.

For example:

"Hope" as a noun:

• When you give hope --well then, that's a wonderful thing.
• When you have hope -- now that can be a powerful thing.

"Hope" as a verb:

• When you hope...  well OK. Then what?  

And then it hit me: that is what's kept me doing this whole PMC thing for the last 13 years.  I feel a damn sight better (? empowered ?)  by doing something more than just hoping.   So for me, the act of hoping is vital ingredient -- but it ain't the whole enchilada.

• Cycling to raise money for cancer research and treatment gives me great hope that we will find a cure for cancer -- and soon.  
• When I see actually see thousands of others working and biking with me on the PMC, it magnifies that hope.
• When I meet the people whose lives are being extended and saved by new and improved cancer treatments, my hope grows even more.

See, I do have hope. So much hope.

But it's only through our actions that we grow and spread that hope (noun), not by hoping (verb) alone.

Anyway, that's what was on my mind yesterday morning.   ;-)
/doug

Meet Nicole.

Nicole, from August 2013

This is Nicole Rasile McPherson. Nicole was diagnosed with stage 4 Hodgkins Lymphoma a little over 2 years ago.

Nicole is married to my cousin, Dusty McPherson.  Now, I have always asserted that the McPherson men have historically and consistently married well -- and I'm pleased that Dusty clearly inherited that ability. Nicole is a force of nature; smart and funny with an 100-watt smile -- and tough as a pine knot. Good work, Dusty!

Nicole and Dusty have two beautiful kids, Laker and Lizzy -- and they're clearly the center of their universe. They love those two kids beyond words. Over more than 2 years of chemo treatments (I lost count) and two bone marrow transplants, Nicole has doggedly kept me and her extended network of family and friends up to date with Laker's excellent baseball seasons, Lizzy's doll time with Daddy, and various school goings-on.

Dusty, Nicole, Laker and Lizzy -- May 2013

I have so loved reading Nicole's Facebook posts about her family over the last couple of years. She's a straight-shooter with a sense of humor that's as broad as her strength is deep. Case in point: here's what Nicole shared recently about cancer/chemo, love and her family:

"... we hate cancer, but we love more, harder, and stronger because of it.  ...And hell, if you can get free ice cream because your momma is bald..."  

Now, I'm sure Nicole is smart enough to find other ways for her kids to get ice cream.. but she's also smart enough (and kind enough) to find a sparkle of humor somewhere in this grind of chemotherapy and it's lovely side-effects and give us the chance to laugh with her, just a little bit.

So Nicole, thank you for having the strength and taking the time to share so honestly with all of us.

Please keep BUSTIN' IT.

I promise that I'll keep bustin' it for you and will be thinking about you and your family a lot this weekend, on the road!   See ya!

Meet Maddy

This is Madison Burt.  Maddy just turned 5 years old last week.   Maddy will be a special "passenger" for me on this year's Pan Mass Challenge for the Jimmy Fund - "the PMC".

A while back, Maddy was diagnosed with brain cancer: a group 4 desmoplastic medulloblastoma, to be specific. Maddy's been undergoing treatment for her cancer at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Tennessee for several weeks now.  She's just now finishing up her 4th round of chemo at St. Judes's and will be headed down to FL to regroup and start radiation treatments.

My sister and nephew live just down the street from Maddy's grandparents and put me in touch with Maddy's mom, Jessica, a little while back. Jessica has been by her little girl's side through every second of this -- and with a lot of support from her friends and family.  Jessica and I exchanged a few messages, but mostly I just follow Maddy's experiences through her mom's Facebook posts.  I confess I do feel like a bit of a Nosey Nellie following Jessica's posts -- a well-intentioned "facebook stalker", I guess.

See, Maddy and I have never met; I've just been watching her story unfold from afar. It's made me laugh, and it's made me well up with tears something fierce from time to time. (Her recent run-in with C-Diff --a GI tract bacterial infection --  during her last round of chemo was just terrifying for me. I cannot imagine how inside-out her family was during that time.)  I respect Jessica so much for having the courage to share so much with me. Sometimes it was hard to read and see some of those pictures of a frail little Maddy. But hard as that can be, sometimes seeing that sort of thing does something to you: it galvanizes you -- makes you act.  Hopefully.

As I write this, I'm recalling that I posted something about "not looking away" here, about a year ago.  <pauses editing to find article.>  Here it is:  http://my-pmc.blogspot.com/2014/06/bill-and-melinda-gates-2014.html

Here's the 'centerpiece' quote from Melinda Gates from last June, in case you don't want to read the post or watch the video:

"In the course of your lives, you'll come to see suffering that will break your heart. When it happens, and it will, don't turn away from it. Turn toward it. That is the moment that change is born."
...
"No matter how much suffering we see -- no matter how bad it is -- we can help people if we don't lose hope, and if we don't look away."

So I have not lost hope. In fact I'm more hopeful now than ever before. But while I am hopeful, I'm also thankful. I'm thankful that I can actually do more than just hope. I've been doing this "PMC thing" for the last 12 years and make no mistake: we are making a difference. The research that's been going on at Dana-Farber has been paid for in large part by the fund-raising that PMC riders have been doing. The immunotherapy research being done at Dana-Farber and elsewhere is now yielding some really promising results. Thanks to the doctors and scientists at Dana-Farber, people (including little boys and girls like Maddy) will soon be able to receive drug therapies targeted to kill cancer, without poisoning the rest of their bodies. I wish that these therapies were available NOW, especially for little Maddy, but they are coming and I have great hope.

I hope I actually get to meet Maddy and her mom in person someday soon.  If I do, I hope it doesn't weird them out.  [I hope I can keep my shit together long enough to not ugly-cry.]  It would mean a lot to tell Maddy, in person, just how privileged I am to meet her and how much I admire her bravery and her mom's generosity of spirit. That will be a Good Day.

If you're still reading this, I only ask that you also would do more than just hope: you can join with us and fight cancer with your generous donation to this year's Pan Mass Challenge. This will be my 12th year to ride and raise money for this cause and I sincerely hope that you will sponsor me with your online donation here: http://www.pmc.org/dm0192   100% of your tax-deductible donation goes directly to Dana-Farber to support their work in cancer research and treatment.

Thanks for reading, and I hope you can help.
/doug