Support for Pelotonia

In 2022, I attended the opening ceremonies of Pelotonia for the first time in support of my friend, Emily, who was also riding for the first time that year. I remember the fray of the crowd as we checked her in, figuring out where she would need to go at the start of the race and how her bike would be shuttled back once she reached the finish.

Me and Sandra at the finish line, 2023

In 2023, I stood at the finish line for the first time in support of my friend, Sandra, as she also was riding for the first time. I remember being overwhelmed with emotion, my eyes getting a little misty as I watched rider after rider cross the finish line, their names being called one by one by the announcer, knowing so many of them, including Sandra, had trained for so long and so hard to cross that line.

And here, now in 2024, I never fathomed the moment that these two would ride in honor of me, that I would be the one with cancer, that they would seek to train long and hard all over again because of my own story.

If you're not from Ohio, you may not be familiar with Pelotonia. It's an annual bike ride where 100% of the proceeds go to support The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center – Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute. This year is the 16th year of the ride, and thus far, over $283 million has been raised in support of cancer research.

I first met Emily when attending my previous church, her mop of tight ringlet curls standing out to me. We  were in a women's Bible study together at the time when she reached out to me and asked if we could get together for coffee sometime. I said yes, and discovered a friend who wanted to talk about things that I wanted to talk about, things like faith, traveling, and singleness, among other things. We've been friends ever since. (She’s also known for these amazing custom-made, homemade gingerbread houses she makes every year at Christmas. They really are works of art.) 

My friendship with Sandra took a more eventful, uncertain route. In January 2018, I joined the leadership team for Bible Study Fellowship. There was a regional retreat happening that March, but since I joined leadership mid-year, roommates had already been matched off. Sandra was without a roommate, as was I. So there we were, roommates, virtual strangers, lumped together at the last minute. Other leaders feared for us and whether we would each survive the weekend. We both thought the other one was completely weird. Sandra talked faster than I could comprehend most of the time, and with her thick accent, remnants of her childhood growing up in St. Thomas, I struggled to keep up with her mouth and her mind. She likes it hotter than Hades, and I can't stand the heat. We had a lot of conversations that weekend about the temperature of the hotel room. She's as extroverted as they come, while I tend to be on the fairly introverted side. No one was entirely sure how we were going to survive the weekend with one another in a small hotel room, ourselves included. 

But we did, and Sandra has proven to be the most unexpected friend of my life. She calls me "Roomie" in honor of that momentous weekend, and I call her "Sanka," because I believe her to be the female version of Sanka from the movie Cool Runnings. And the poor thing generally can't find her way out of a paper bag. I've never met someone so directionally-challenged. 

I know financial asks can be weird, but I am going to shamelessly ask if you would be willing to support these women as they ride this year in Pelotonia, in honor of me and in honor/memory of others. This year's ride takes place August 3-4, and these women are currently raising funds to support their rides. I will not see a dime of this money personally (unless the James discovers a cure for my type of brain cancer, then I would be an indirect recipient of these funds.) Please hear me on this, there is no expectation or obligation that you give, but if my friends are willing to ride in my honor, the least I can do is make an ask on their behalf.

There's a third woman riding in my honor and in honor/memory of others, a former coworker of mine, Susanne, whom I first met when I worked at my sorority's (Delta Gamma) Executive Offices, based here in Columbus, back after I graduated from college. She's a gem of a human being, and has ridden all 16 years Pelotonia has been in existence. 

To donate to any one of them (or all, up to you) you can use the following links:

• Sandra: https://www.pelotonia.org/profile/SR849839
• Emily: https://www.pelotonia.org/profile/EE603793
• Susanne: https://www.pelotonia.org/profile/SK0008

Thank you to each of these women for their willingness to train and exert effort to raise money in my honor and in honor of others. I'm so very grateful to have friends like you in my corner. And thank you to anyone who chooses to donate in honor of me or others you know.

Should my body and my brain choose to cooperate, my friends, maybe I'll see you at the finish line this year. 

______________________

Functional updates

I'll try to carve out space in each post to provide updates on where I am in the process. So, if you're just here for the nuts and bolts, in the future you can slide straight here to the bottom and skip my idle wanderings above.

Three doses of radiation down, 27 more to go. But I tell you what, this fatigue thing is no joke. Every day since Tuesday, by mid-morning I feel like I've been tranquilized with a dart gun. I'm lucky to have enough energy to get up, eat lunch, and shower for the day. The first few days were surprisingly the best I've felt since surgery in April, but with each passing day the fatigue seems to come sooner, longer, and harder. Other than fatigue, I really haven't had many other side effects, including no nausea or getting sick to my stomach. I also continue to be without seizures, for which I'm very grateful.

I felt my prayers shift a little bit this week. I began asking God that my body would defy all metrics that doctors have proposed - praying that my blood counts would increase instead of decrease, praying that my energy would increase instead of decrease, praying that I would not lose a single hair on my head, whether through radiation or chemo (and not out of vanity, but simply as a reflection of asking God for specific things.)

Fun side note: I seem to keeping have these precious moments with Jesus and music every time I have a  scan of some kind. I had another moment this week during radiation. The first night I took chemo, I was sitting quietly in my room, playing the song "Over All I Know" by Vertical Worship repeatedly. I felt like Michael Jordan preparing for the big matchup, trying to get in the zone.

I go to radiation earlier this week, and I request Vertical Worship music to play during treatment. Know the first song that plays on random? Indeed, " Over All I Know." I needed that reminder in that moment, God is God over all I know, including radiation and cancer. 

_________________

Reminder
If you haven't yet but would like to receive email notifications of when I post, you can sign up via this link.
_________________

Want to leave a comment? 
If you select "Anonymous" and if you're comfortable, would you mind including at least your first name and last initial directly in the body of your comment? That way I know who is commenting!