The Perfect Run

It was not the plan, not even close. The plan had been to run ten kilometers with Chaim Wizman as he started the insane Y’m L Yam ultra marathon. I would run ten with him then say good-bye and run back to my car. A twenty kilometer run is a good solid workout. No need […]

Adjusting Expectations

A few years ago, I was in Tiveria getting ready for my second marathon.  I had trained meticulously for this race. I devoured every e-mail from the Bet Shemesh running club and ran every training run at the precise pace that would enable me to hit my goal time in the big race. I was […]

Recovery Week

The week after a marathon is one of my favorites. You still feel the pride of running the big race, of getting through all the hard parts in one piece, and now you can relax. I do a few runs and bike rides just to loosen up and help heal any damage that occurred during […]

Turning a Nightmare into a Dream

I’m holding my daughter’s hand on Disney’s Rock and Roller Coaster. We are singing Aerosmith at the top of our lungs while the coaster plunges us round and round and upside down. We speed through the darkness and are just in awe of this ride. We get off and our first thought is how to […]

Blood, Sweat, and Fears

The day, like almost every Monday, starts with a blood test. As soon as we get to the hospital, blood is drawn from Stella’s port and tested by the lab to see if she is strong enough for the day’s treatment. Occasionally, low blood cell counts have caused the cancellation of the day’s chemo. While […]

Slip Me a Mickey

I’ll start with the stuff that isn’t quite so great. But that’s just so that I can get to the exciting stuff. We just switched chemo. The medicine we were on was not doing enough. The fact that the side effects were very light was nice, but unfortunately nice doesn’t cut it when you’re dealing […]

Beautiful

My wife has lost all the hair on her head. The operations have left several large scars on her body. She is very, very thin. Not in the coveted “super-model” way. Yet with everything that this disease and its treatments have thrown at her, I think she is the most beautiful being on the face […]

Every Step

By this point tomorrow, thousands of runners — including my friends from the Bet Shemesh Running Club — will be running in the Tiveria Marathon. In all likelihood, they will be very cold, very wet, and struggling to breath as they attempt to run 42.2 kilometers under very difficult conditions. Let me give you one […]

Smile

When you think of the word “medicine,” you usually will think of some nasty substance that you have to drink, eat, or inject. No one likes to take medicine. It’s just something you know you must take to make whatever is making you sick go away. If you have cancer, then the medicine is particularly […]