Inspiration and encouragment from friends

Let me tell you about my friend Pamela.  We've been friends since I was 14 or 15.  She's a beautiful person inside and out. 

Throughout this experience she has been my cheerleader and has always been there encouraging me along the way.  She was my inspiration to start running...ahem...jogging in the first place.  I love her very much and I felt like I had to share her story with those of you that read this blog.  It is a story about hope, courage, strength and I'm sure it will inspire and encourage you.  I asked her to tell this story and if I could share it here on the blog and she graciously said yes. (PS...I stole the pictures from her facebook page!)

A few years ago Pamela was diagnosed with thyroid cancer.  This is her story in her own words.

I was diagnosed with thyroid cancer stage 2 from a nodule that was growing in my neck.  All my levels had been normal for years, and even the biopsy was negative for malignancy. 

 I had one surgery to remove the left lobe of my thyroid, then they sent it to the Mayo Clinic and I was told it was actually cancer in Sept 2007.  Then, I had to go back in to have the other side removed.  I was not put on any thyroid replacement for 3 months because they had to get my TSH up high to take in the radioactive iodine (radiation).  In a matter of 3 months, I gained nearly 25 pounds from having no metabolism or energy. Surgeries, recovery, and just plain fatigue left me exhausted!! Last time they checked my TSH, it was over 107 (100x more than normal of 1-3.5)!!  After my radiation, I was finally able to get on Synthroid (thyroid replacement) in spring 2008, which I will be on for life.  It takes weeks to months to get on the proper dosage and get your body regulated again.  Just when I was starting to get some energy and get back to normal, my annual blood test in summer of 2009 showed the cancer had returned, so I had to go off medication again to have a higher dose of radiation. Afterwards, I was able to get back on my medication.   

Just so happens, Michaela was asked to be on the cross country team at school that fall.  I didn't like her running around our neighborhood without being able to see her, so I started run/walking so that I could just barely see her before she rounded the block!  :)  I decided I better get faster or I wouldn't be able to see her anymore!  In the fall of 2009, I decided I was tired of feeling tired.  I made a promise to myself that if I got the all clear from my oncologist and surgeon at my next followup, I would train for a half marathon. I think I was delusional.... lol

My first goal was to run 3 miles without stopping, so I bought a treadmill (for the winter months) and started on the C25K program.  I had just finished the program when I ran my first 5k and my first run outside on February 20, 2010, the 5k for Haiti.  I was hooked!!  (It was also 2 days before that race  when I had met my goal of losing 25 pounds. I had started with the LoseIt app in November 2009, and by February 2010, I had completed my goal.  I've gone on to lose 5 more pounds, and have stayed there.) 

I  was so proud of myself to finish the entire race without stopping once! I then entered into a 7k  (4.35m) race, and realized that I could actually do this! In May 2010, I got the all clear. NO CANCER RECURRENCE!!  Woo-hoo! I then joined the Evansville Half Marathon Team 13.  They met 3 times a week to train for 13 weeks for the half marathon (13.1miles).  I ran the whole race and finished on 10/10/10 in 2 hrs and 12 mins (my goal had been 2:30). 

I just recently completed my 2nd half marathon, the SIC on 04/11/11.  I've never felt better!

That first mile is the hardest and I'll never forget how hard it was.  Then, getting to 3 miles was the next challenge, then 4.5,  6,  8, then 11, then a half marathon! Each step is difficult but worth it! :)  

I'd like to say thank you to Pamela for sharing this with me and allowing me to share it with the readers of this blog.  She has been an inspiration to me and a motivator that if she can do this after all she's been through so can I.  There's no excuse not to get healthy and exercise and eat better!
~Crystal