June 1: Living Proof

June 1: Living Proof

 

  This morning's workout t-shirt was the one I received at Relay for Life a couple week's ago.  A survivor's t-shirt, it reads "I'm living proof" across the back.  Up until I got this shirt, my favorite workout shirt was the one I received from Coach Mac; that one has "Chasing Greatness" printed on the back.  I liked the idea that I was chasing greatness, the greatness that lies within.

 

  This new t-shirt makes me think though.  Unless people take the time to read the rest of the shirt and figure out that it has to do with cancer, they may wonder what exactly I'm proof of.  I don't have it in me to say "I beat cancer."  I don't believe I did.  I believe that my surgeons, nurses, oncologists, and the surgery and radiation treatment are what got the cancer out of me.  It was our church community who cooked our meals, our parents who baby-sat, and our friends who drove me to treatment, hugged us, and supported us. 

 

  What did I do to survive cancer?  I relied on others.  I got in and out of the car at the hospital and at home.  I spent lots of time curled up in my favorite chair with the burned side of my face up.  Were it not for pain patches and my husband's encouragement, I don't know whether I'd have completed treatment or bothered eating and drinking.  It got hard; I wanted it all to go away.  I wish I could say I was one of those brave people who passionately fought, but in all honesty, as treatment went on, it everyone around me who pulled me through.  I survived cancer and its treatment, but it was my family and our community that did the hard work of seeing me through.

 

  My battle against obesity is a different matter altogether.  For the first time, I've been fighting long and hard.  I've got the fire in my belly and the glint in my eye.  Just when I think I've gone as deep as I could or pushed myself as hard as I could, I discover that I'm capable of more.  I found it when I increased my workouts for the month of May in order to complete the month-long triathlon, and I found it this morning when I began challenging and preparing myself for the July event.  I was shocked at how much longer I worked today, and that though my sweat was pouring down all over my body, my heart rate was good, there was no stitch in my side, and I kept up my pace.

 

  I want people who see me wearing my Living Proof t-shirt to read it, see me, and be inspired.

 

~Karin