Post by masterschamp on Jul 11, 2009 6:48:31 GMT -5
Hey guys.....
I know I haven't been around in quite awhile so I thought I would fill you in on my abscence from here.
As some of you know, my father passed away in January after a battle with both lung disease and throat cancer. It was tough enough to lose someone I admired and loved so much, but to see him virtually disappear to a 70 pound shadow of himself was particularly hard to watch. I was with him every day for his last three weeks in hospice, usually 14-16 hours a day. As I would find out, the toll of this type of emotional and physical strain would be more than I could have imagined
After he passed, I was right back into my busy lifestyle with no down time to kind of "gather" myself.......as I have related before my days are crammed, but alot of that is by choice as I am an extremely involved parent with all of my children and in particular in the care of my 16 year old son who has CP. On top of that, my wife had found additonal work as a private tutor, and was gone most days till 9:00 in the evening. In effect, I became mom and dad 24/7, and any of you guys who have done that, or truly appreciate the work your wife does as a mother and wife, you understand how crazy that can be. I literally was on my feet for 16 of my 18 waking hours...only because I can sit at my desk at work sometimes!! My lower back pain became more of a chronic thing because of being on my feet all the time and because I am constantly picking my son up to place him in his wheelchair, bathe him etc., etc.,...That I do not mind, even if it means I will always have some pain in my lower back, as I will always do anything to help my son.....he had no say in his situation...he's my son, and, as his father, it is what I am supposed to do.
On top of everything else, I resumed my preparations for the Master's Nationals on Febuary 1. By May, I knew something was wrong.....I felt terrible and was not looking like I should in the gym by that point..washed out, flat and tired....a great way to head into the Nationals!!!In all honesty my prep was not what it should have been as I literally did not have the time to eat as I should have, and recuperate as I needed to.
Got to the point where I scheduled a visit with my doc, as this was the worst I could ever remember feeling, and wanted to have things checked out. Alot of tests, and in the end he told me I had been running myself into the ground, and pointed to some results in my blood work that indicated the body was suffering from systemic exhaustion. It got worse from there......two issues came up that caused him to express his concerns that I have some more tests to rule out a possibility of 2 types of cancer..one involving some bleeding and the other involving lumps in both underarm areas!! I needed to be tested to rule out colon cancer and lymphoma ( Hodgkin's disease)!!! My concern at that point was what would happen to my family,(especially Keithy) if something were to happen to me. THAT was a huge mental burden. Again, not the ideal way to be heading into the Nationals...so at that point, I started seriously considering not doing the show. After talking it over with my brother that weekend I decided to skip the Nationals....I had promised myself I would never step on stage again at anything less than my very best, and this was not the way to go into the Nationals.
As it turns out, the bleeding was a minor matter, and the lumps in my underarm area turned out to be lipomas ( fatty tissue growths), possibly linked to hormonal changes my body had undergone due to both age, and, defnitely, to some degree, in response to the physical stress I had been under. I am scheduled for surgery on August 3 to have the lipomas removed.....I told the doc I was one of those guys that wants to be up there on stage in the 70+ category someday, so they have to come out!! Good idea anyway, as they could get larger or become encapsulated and cause alot of discomfort.
Feeling much better now, with the pressure of getting ready for the show lifted, and knowing that everything is ok healthwise...already looking to do the Florida State Championships and the Nationals next year in my best ever condition!
I am still going to the Nationals next week and hope to see alot of you guys up there. Good Luck to all of you. I am really looking forward to seeing Eric get the pro card I thought he deserved last year, then having a great week back down here with him and his wife. I'll try to post alot more now that things have evened out.....I'll have to tone down the training a bit for a short while, due to the surgery, but as soon as the doc gives me the green light it is ON!!!
Keith
I know I haven't been around in quite awhile so I thought I would fill you in on my abscence from here.
As some of you know, my father passed away in January after a battle with both lung disease and throat cancer. It was tough enough to lose someone I admired and loved so much, but to see him virtually disappear to a 70 pound shadow of himself was particularly hard to watch. I was with him every day for his last three weeks in hospice, usually 14-16 hours a day. As I would find out, the toll of this type of emotional and physical strain would be more than I could have imagined
After he passed, I was right back into my busy lifestyle with no down time to kind of "gather" myself.......as I have related before my days are crammed, but alot of that is by choice as I am an extremely involved parent with all of my children and in particular in the care of my 16 year old son who has CP. On top of that, my wife had found additonal work as a private tutor, and was gone most days till 9:00 in the evening. In effect, I became mom and dad 24/7, and any of you guys who have done that, or truly appreciate the work your wife does as a mother and wife, you understand how crazy that can be. I literally was on my feet for 16 of my 18 waking hours...only because I can sit at my desk at work sometimes!! My lower back pain became more of a chronic thing because of being on my feet all the time and because I am constantly picking my son up to place him in his wheelchair, bathe him etc., etc.,...That I do not mind, even if it means I will always have some pain in my lower back, as I will always do anything to help my son.....he had no say in his situation...he's my son, and, as his father, it is what I am supposed to do.
On top of everything else, I resumed my preparations for the Master's Nationals on Febuary 1. By May, I knew something was wrong.....I felt terrible and was not looking like I should in the gym by that point..washed out, flat and tired....a great way to head into the Nationals!!!In all honesty my prep was not what it should have been as I literally did not have the time to eat as I should have, and recuperate as I needed to.
Got to the point where I scheduled a visit with my doc, as this was the worst I could ever remember feeling, and wanted to have things checked out. Alot of tests, and in the end he told me I had been running myself into the ground, and pointed to some results in my blood work that indicated the body was suffering from systemic exhaustion. It got worse from there......two issues came up that caused him to express his concerns that I have some more tests to rule out a possibility of 2 types of cancer..one involving some bleeding and the other involving lumps in both underarm areas!! I needed to be tested to rule out colon cancer and lymphoma ( Hodgkin's disease)!!! My concern at that point was what would happen to my family,(especially Keithy) if something were to happen to me. THAT was a huge mental burden. Again, not the ideal way to be heading into the Nationals...so at that point, I started seriously considering not doing the show. After talking it over with my brother that weekend I decided to skip the Nationals....I had promised myself I would never step on stage again at anything less than my very best, and this was not the way to go into the Nationals.
As it turns out, the bleeding was a minor matter, and the lumps in my underarm area turned out to be lipomas ( fatty tissue growths), possibly linked to hormonal changes my body had undergone due to both age, and, defnitely, to some degree, in response to the physical stress I had been under. I am scheduled for surgery on August 3 to have the lipomas removed.....I told the doc I was one of those guys that wants to be up there on stage in the 70+ category someday, so they have to come out!! Good idea anyway, as they could get larger or become encapsulated and cause alot of discomfort.
Feeling much better now, with the pressure of getting ready for the show lifted, and knowing that everything is ok healthwise...already looking to do the Florida State Championships and the Nationals next year in my best ever condition!
I am still going to the Nationals next week and hope to see alot of you guys up there. Good Luck to all of you. I am really looking forward to seeing Eric get the pro card I thought he deserved last year, then having a great week back down here with him and his wife. I'll try to post alot more now that things have evened out.....I'll have to tone down the training a bit for a short while, due to the surgery, but as soon as the doc gives me the green light it is ON!!!
Keith
;D ;D