Miles for Myeloma 4th annual 5k Walk/Run

Miles for Myeloma 5k Walk/Run

Team: “The Bee’s Knees”

Saturday April 28, 2012

The Philadelphia Art Museum

Benefiting:

The Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation

The International Myeloma Foundation

The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society

Taking the sting out of MM one step at a time!!

Please visit:

http://www.active.com/donate/milesformyeloma12/SBoyer22

To join or donate THE BEE’S KNEES (honoring Jim Burns, Sarah Boyer’s father)  

Help CONQUER MULTIPLE MYELOMA

HUMANS HELPING HUMANS

  

 

The Bee's Knees

My father was diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma in early 2009.  It was life changing.  My father, the absolute strongest man I know was now weakened by a vicious monster that we refer to as cancer.  Multiple Myeloma (MM) is a cancer of the blood plasma.  This cancer runs throughout his veins on a daily basis.  He often receives plasma transfusions along with blood transfusions, these help raise his blood count and lower his protein count.  He receives his monthly, multi-day chemo treatment at the University of Pennsylvania Hospital.  This month was a bit different for him because it was the first treatment that my mom wouldn't be by his side.  He did great!  BUT, it's Jim Burns, so why wouldn't he?!?  This man is still, despite his bones literally deteriorating inside his body, and every single plasma cell coursing through his veins being contaminated with cancer, the strongest man that I know.  He CAN & WILL overcome EVERYTHING & ANYTHING that comes in his way.

The support of family and friends, thoughts and prayers from everyone who cares about him are what is keeping my Pop strong; that and the wonderful miracles workers at the University of Pennsylvania Hospital, the researchers at the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation who dauntlessly work at finding a cure for my father and everyone suffering from MM.

Cancer puts loved ones in this uncontrollable place; the same loved ones who would do anything for the person they love.  We are suddenly left helpless; all we have is our faith & put it ALL in every doctor and nurse, ALL of our faith in whatever higher power one chooses to pray to, EVERYTHING is out of our hands.

Clearly I couldn't just sit back, so I did a bit of investigating and found that the Philadelphia Multiple Myeloma Networking Group held an event called Miles for Myeloma (it was only the 2nd annual event).  This event is a 5k walk/run with one of the beneficiaries being Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation.  This is what I had to do!   I coordinated a team in honor of my Pop, called "The Bee's Knees", this year will be the 3rd year we will be 'stepping to take the sting out of MM'.  If you are in the Philadelphia area on Saturday, April 21st (which would have been my Mom's 70th birthday) and would like to join or donate to my team, THE BEE'S KNEES, please just click on the link and be as generous as possible!

We couldn't keep up this fight with out people like you.  HUMANS HELPING HUMANS!!

Working Over-time.

Yesterday was my first day off in 9 days, it also just happened to be Labor Day; however there were no Bar-B-Q's to speak of for me, I would be visiting my father at the Hospital of The University of Pennsylvania. The last four months Pop has been receiving aggressive Chemotherapy at his home away from home.  I have to admit that on this visit I was a little bitter.  Bitter because in the hospital bed lie a man, who worked 50+ years for General Motors, many of those days were 12-14 hour days.  My dad NEVER said no to over-time or hard work; some way to spend a holiday built for people like just like him.
I called him the night before and asked when the best time to come visit would be, we planned for after lunch.  When I arrived the nurse came in and took his blood pressure, it was high, 150/some other big number.  The nurse was concerned, but she would be in multiple times because Pop was in the middle of getting a blood transfusion and they check vital signs every 15-30 minutes.  We chatted and laughed, he told stories that I have heard a million times and I listened enthralled as always, normal Pop & Sarah stuff. Finally, Pop had had enough of your truly and pretty much started kicked me out by throwing out hints of "Sarah, you don't want to miss the train", when the train wasn't coming for 45 minutes.  I waited until the nurse came one final time, when the first unit of blood was done.  His blood pressure was now 121/some other not so big number.  Now, I am no medical expert and some may say it was the blood transfusion that lowered his pressure, but Pop and I are sticking to the story that it was my visit that lowered those digits.
After seeing Pop's ruddy complexion and lifted spirits I wasn't so bitter, the man worked so hard all those years to make us happy, not himself.  He said yesterday, that sometimes when he thinks he's had it, he keeps fighting for the people who love him, the people who are praying for him.
He is still the hard working man I remember; just right now he is working hard, over-time, in his battle with Multiple Myeloma. 

My So Called Life...

This morning I was watching a rerun of "My So Called Life".  Remember how great that show was?  I will never tire of seeing it and it immediately brings me back in time.  In today's episode, Angela had just gotten back from hanging out with her friends and her father was up when she came home.  Angela's dad offered to heat up some dinner for her; they show her at the dinner table with her dad and if you are familiar with the show, she narrates her thoughts to the viewers.  In this instance she says, "When my dad heats something up, it tastes better then when anyone else does."  My eyes filled.

My father has cancer.  He was diagnosed 2+ years ago with Multiple Myeloma (MM).  MM is a cancer of the blood plasma; while this type of cancer stems from the bones it is not a bone cancer.  When Pop was diagnosed, he was just about to retire from General Motors where he worked for 50 years.  He was a hard worker, 14-15 hours a day was nothing to him.  He worked hard for his family and couldn't wait to finally celebrate his golden years with his bride.  Pop was diagnosed as being in stage 3 of 3.  They started him on treatment immediately which didn't work.  Over 2 years of numerous treatments and a clinical trial they are still looking for a treatment that might work.
Today he was admitted to the hospital.  He is very ill.  His blood pressure is high, his blood counts are low, he is dry heaving and can't keep anything down.  They are running tests, so right now we know that it isn't pneumonia.  Thank goodness, but they don't know what it is. I am currently asking everyone for positive thoughts and prayers.

While I was watching Angela Chase speak with her father on "My So Called Life" this morning, I mentioned my eyes filled.  I had no idea my father was waiting in the ER.  My eyes filled with awesome memories of my pop.  Pop and I always had a special relationship.  I would be able to talk to Pop about everything.  We fight, man do we fight, but we get each other.  He doesn't have this same relationship with my brother or sister.  It is ours.  A father - daughter relationship all it's own.  
Cut from the same cloth some might say.  That used to make me SO mad.  He was such a jerk and so closed minded; why would anyone want to be like him and am I supposed to take this as a compliment?!?  As I got older I knew that I was exactly like Pop.  That everyone was right.  How dare they?  I, on the other hand, have decided to take the things that I don't like about Pop and change them about me as much as I could. 
A better version of him; James Burns, 2.0 perhaps.  Isn't that what we're supposed to do after all?  Try to be the BEST VERSION of ourselves always.