August Athlete of the Month

As we scramble to get ready for the start of the school year I refuse to accept that summer is coming to end... I am just getting started enjoying the heat...

How is your summer going? 

Looking back on the past few months for me it has been a glorious summer. 

Thankful for being able to be outside as much possible.

Thankful for being able to get CLOT BUSTER @TeamStopTheClot polka-dots shipped all over the world.

Thankful for being able to race a little while spreading awareness with my polka-dots.

Thankful for the time to be with family and friends.

But as summer shifts into fall there is more to look after... Team STOP THE CLOT is getting ready for the NYC Marathon. This year is going to be a BIG ONE as we have our largest group running in the race representing the polka-dots while they celebrate all blood clot survivors and spread awareness. It is very cool to see how far the wings of STOPTHECLOT.org are spreading. We are making a difference in so many levels...

One of the runners in this year's team is DAVID. 

You have to read his story because it is a remarkable one. I very much admire David's dedication and tenacity to get after it and really making a difference for him, his family, and the blood clot survivor community. This guy is working HARD to make a difference and we are thankful for his involvement!

You will be inspired after you learns from David's experience. We are very lucky to have him share his thoughts with us. THANK YOU David!

Now sit back and read on to get inspired to overcome!

What is you sport/activity of choice? Why do you enjoy it? My sport has always been tennis, but I discovered a love for running in early 2021. My wife Sara and I bought an incline treadmill.  We decided to purchase it a couple days after Thanksgiving 2020 because I stepped on the scale and it read "340 lbs". I was shocked. I looked at it again…340. I was immediately scared. Not because of the number itself or that I had never weighed that much. I was scared because I felt perfectly fine, and I know that I would have been very capable of gaining even more weight and not feel the difference. When you’re slowly gaining weight, that’s really easy to do. This was the moment where I decided, at age 49, that it was time to take control of my health.

How did you get started in that sport? During the first 8 months of the Covid pandemic, it was really easy to sit around and comfort eat and drink. If it wasn’t for the pandemic and the bad habits that came along with it, I’m not sure I ever would have started running. As they say, “it’s always darkest before the dawn”. 

 

We had the treadmill for a couple of weeks. It was amazing. It was a top-of-the-line nordictrack that with the IFit program, would allow me to go walking and hiking all around the world with an IFit trainer. I never even thought about ever trying to run. I always hated it. I didn’t have a problem with it if it was in short spurts, like tennis. But a long, sustained run? No way. 

 

I’ve been really interested in seeing Portugal and when I saw there was a Portugal series on IFit, I loaded it up and off I went. Oh wait, but there was a problem. It was a beginner running series. The trainer, Tommy Rivers Puzey, immediately said that this six week walk/run series will take a complete beginner, like myself, and have me running for a full 30 minutes by the end of the six weeks. I thought that was crazy. That first program was intervals of walking for 60 seconds and running for 30 seconds. I could barely make it through those 30 seconds. How am I going to do this? I’ve had a DVT and PE. I know I have some heart and lung damage. I’m on anti-coagulants. I weigh too much. Every excuse I could think of as to why I couldn’t do it.  Tommy implored me at the end of that first walk/run to keep coming back it will get easier. I was skeptical, but I kept coming back. 30 seconds turned into a minute, then two, then 4, then 8, then 12, then 20. Surely enough at the end of six weeks, I ran for 30 minutes straight through and I felt a whole new freedom. This whole, unknown new world had just opened up right before my eyes and I was ready to explore it!

What is the latest milestone you achieved or plan to achieve? I’m writing this in August of 2022. I’ve been running for 19 months now. In that time, I’ve had Covid-19 twice and two serious bouts of bronchitis. I’m currently over 1200 miles since I began running. I ran my first race, a 10k, the day before my 50th birthday. In February of this year, I ran my first 1/2 marathon. In a couple of weeks, I’ll run my second 1/2, and in 90 days, I’ll run the NYC Marathon.

Tells about your clotting episode.  Are you on blood thinners now? How long were you out of commission? My clotting event happened on October 13th, 2018. I was in the middle of my tennis season and had a doubles match early that morning. I felt really tired after we had finished warm-ups. That felt strange. I was in decent tennis shape and was perfectly capable of playing long matches. I felt as if I just played for a couple of hours, even though we just warmed up for 10 minutes. Near the end of the second set, I couldn’t seem to get my feet moving. I would take a few steps and I was done with the point. I was having trouble catching my breath and I couldn’t take a deep breath. We finished the match and I told my partner that something wasn’t right. I said I was going home and going back to bed. 

 

When I got home, I could barely make it up the stairs. I told my wife that I just needed to rest and promised that if I didn’t feel better the following morning, I’d go to the hospital. Surely enough, the following morning I found myself in the emergency room, telling intake that I thought I was in the early stages of a heart attack. A number of symptoms seemed to line up with it, except I didn’t have any shooting pain down my arm. No pain really. Just fatigued during movement. After a chest scan, it was determined that I had a sub-massive pulmonary embolism in my right lung and was immediately admitted to the hospital. My wife, a pharmaceutical and device defense lawyer, was very fearful knowing how dangerous this was. I on the other hand, didn’t have a clue. If it wasn’t for her vigilance and fierce advocacy for me, I’m unsure how it would have gone for me. When the pulmonologist came and saw me for the first time, he said he expected to see someone in a lot worse condition, based on my scans. That’s when it really hit me how much danger I was really in. After a few days in the hospital, I was discharged with a prescription for Eliquis, told to rest, and schedule to see a hematologist. That was about it. Something most of us can relate to. I did what I was told, and was back on my feet after about a month, taking everything slow.

 

When were you able to return to activity? I was able to get back on the tennis court after about three months.  I started working with a coach doing 30 minute sessions just to regain my fitness. It was really important to start slowly, take extra breaks and build it back up step by step. It’s really easy in your mind to think you can just go back out and pick up right where you left off. However, our bodies aren’t built that way. We de-condition pretty quickly after a trauma like PE. Along with our body, we have to re-condition our minds as well. We have to tell ourselves that it’s a long process and it doesn’t happen overnight. Also, that it’s OK to have bad days while trying to put the work in. I always try to remember that “failing forward”, even repeatedly, builds to something great.

 

After about five months from my diagnosis, I felt 100% back to my “new normal”. A month later, I was told I could come off Eliquis. I told my hematologist that because I wasn’t a bleeder, even after taking all the skin off my knee when I slipped and fell a couple month prior, that I was going to stay on anti-coagulation for probably life because my PE was unprovoked and I preferred the peace of mind I had being on them. 

 

What is your favorite piece of gear for your favorite activity? I can’t come up with just one favorite piece of running gear as they all play a vital part of helping me turn the doorknob and going for a run. In a short time, I have become a running shoe “geek”. I have over 20 pairs. Different shoes for different specialized runs. I will say that I enjoy putting on the Stop the Clot Polka Clots shirt when I run my races. It’s always great hearing folks cheer for you when they see and mention the shirt and the cause. I’m always happy and filled with gratitude when I’m able to run in it!

How much are you getting out doing your sport?  As far as my training, I go for a run outside or on the treadmill 5-6 days a week, averaging 20+ miles. Most of my runs are slow as I try to keep my heart rate below 90% of my max. I try to mix in some body weight strength work and have recently started going to get a 50 minute assisted stretch once a week as I train for the marathon.

 

What is your favorite food?  My diet has been an essential part of my training and has allowed me to go from 340lbs to my current 285. I haven’t given up on too much, I just have made some small tweaks to what I eat most days, such as switching to almond milk and not eating breads at every meal. Also, having a salad for lunch instead of a sandwich. I have cut down on my wine consumption, which has also led to cutting down on the cheese and crackers that are surely to coincide. Moderation is key.

 

For my running- I have a coffee, a piece of peanut butter toast, and a FairLife protein shake to start my day, followed by another post-run shake. I personally have found that peanut butter has been a great fuel that gives me long energy throughout my run.

 

If you could go some place to visit and explore, where would like to go? As a wine lover who grew up just south of Napa and Sonoma valleys, I would love to travel to other famous wine growing regions like the Loire Valley in France, Williamette Valley in Oregon, Tuscany, and along the Mosel river in Germany. I’d really have to earn my wine with some long runs!

 

What would like to say to someone who is going through a clotting episode, perhaps very similar to yours?  How can people return to do what they enjoy? Tells about your concerns and what you look out after

I want those who’ve been recently diagnosed with a clot to know that you are not alone and there is a big network of support through the National Blood Clot Alliance. It’s difficult for family and friends to understand your daily struggles with dvt/PE/vte if they haven’t gone through it. We are here for you. You can find us on a daily basis on Facebook, Blood Clot Support-Team Stop the Clot. There are other groups as well- Running after a Pulmonary Embolism, Embolism to Exercise,  and Pulmonary Embolism Awareness to name a few. 

 

My one piece of advice is to always listen to your body and don’t delay seeking help it’s telling you something is wrong.

 

My mantra- The devil whispered in my ear, “You can’t handle the storm”. I whispered back, “I AM THE STORM!”

Yes Sir!!! YOU ARE THE STORM! 

So proud to read about your progress and the impact that it has had in your life.

Can't wait to see you throw down in the NYC Marathon.

For sure I will have a glass of wine at the ready to celebrate YOUR ACCOMPLISHMENT!!!

BLOOD CLOT SURVIVORS CAN DO ANYTHING!

Thank you for reading,

The Clot Buster