Prayer, Angels and Mouintaintops

Prayer and Angels

I offer some of my time as an advisor to a small maturing startup led by a young husband and wife team, Monica and Anthony  They have done an amazing job over the past 4 years building a business from scratch. They seem to benefit from my suggestions, but really, they are destined to be successful. They simply love what they are doing and they work very hard. We met this week and they shared a beautiful story with me.

About 12 months ago they were ready to close up shop. They were out of money and their sales pipeline was dry. The advisory board I’m on encouraged them to hang tough. They did, and business started rolling in not long after that.  This past week I asked them what had happened? Monica said that shortly after the advisory board meeting, a good friend of theirs came over, cooked them a nice dinner and then led them in prayer for the business to succeed. During the course of the evening, this good friend told them that she felt the presence of an angel nearby and that the angel was there to help them, all they needed to do was ask the angel to help.  They prayed some more, asked for the angel to send them work and concluded their evening.

Seven days later they began what would be a stunning run of landing clients and growing the business.

I donate my time to Monica and Anthony, and they repaid me with a reminder of the strength of Angels this week. I couldn’t have gotten a better payoff!

Mountaintops

My nephew Will, a former H.S. wrestler, has been busy setting out on his own in Boulder, Colorado and building his own business. Like all wrestlers I know, he is committed to accomplishing his goals. When I saw him in March, he was working hard at his business as a personal trainer. He had a mentor, worked at a gym, kept busy networking and finding leads while also landing a position coaching the Boulder H.S. wrestling team. He had an impressive vision and gameplan. Will seemed to be working every waking hour and pinching pennies while confident of his ultimate success.

In June we caught up and over dinner, he shared how his business had taken off and he now had time to take day or two off each week. I asked which of his efforts had paid off for him. He grinned sheepishly, shrugged his shoulders, and said it really wasn’t anything he had planned.

He said, “Well, I was talking to my mentor about getting more business and my mentor said to me, ‘you haven’t gone up to the mountaintop, opened your arms out wide and asked God to bring me clients.’

“So,” Will said, “I climbed up to the top of a mountain, I opened my arms to the gods and I asked for the clients to come. And they came”

So simple.

These conversations, and all the support I continue to receive  each day reminds me to trust in God, and in the Prayers and Angels that surround us.  To face this “climb” with open arms and embrace the challenge with not only a plan, but also the humility to ask for help and guidance along the way.

“Climb” to #crushit

“Climb” to #crushit again! 

ClimbPhoto
Sky Pond Climb Rocky Mountain National Park 06.23.16 10,900 Ft

Last Saturday 7.16.16 I volunteered with my co-workers at the Dash for Donations, an event held to raise money for organ, eye, and tissue donation.  3000 people, ran, jogged, and walked to raise money for this cause.  It struck me as I was handing out water to participants how many people in this world are touched by someone afflicted with a debilitating condition.  And, more importantly, how so many of them “live” with it!  I don’t mean “get by”, I mean “LIVE!” As in living with joy, living with peace of mind, living, feeling and embracing the wonder, challenge, and joy of life.

Life’s challenges come in every possible shape, size, and severity and humans are uniquely able to lift eachother up physically and emotionally.  As friends and family, we dedicate a portion of our time to help, encourage, and even nurse each other through pain and injury. So, regardless of the advancements we make over time to solve or ease our trials and tribulations, we will forever face new or different obstacles. Facing challenges needs to be celebrated, recognized as a characteristic of living  and held up as the terrain of our humanity; the foothold for our climb.  So when it shows up, let’s get after it, find the joy in the effort, start the ascent and always, always focus on the beauty that lies at the summit.

Here’s the update on my climb. My most recent scans returned positive for cancer. More specifically a tumor in my pelvic region appeared on the scan and was confirmed to be cancerous through some additional testing.  This is a recurrence of my colon cancer and it will require some treatments including surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation. I think we should call the treatment protocol, Larry Curly and Moe! The three stooges 🙂

Surgery will be on August 1st at the James and my surgeon will be Mark Arnold.  The current plan is to remove the tumor, and a significant portion of the mesentery (a fold of the peritoneum that attaches the stomach, small intestine, pancreas, spleen, and other organs to the posterior wall of the abdomen.) along with resecting the colon.

Based on my recovery from surgery, the start of radiation and chemotherapy should begin 4 to 5 weeks following surgery so approximately the first or second week of September.

Let’s get after it!

Recovering @ Home 3.3.16

Yesterday afternoon 3.2.16 I was released from the hospital to recover at home and be with my family. My kids were genuinely excited to have me home.  I know because they each sent me a txt message that said so.  And . . .  Their hearts lept with joy when they discovered my dietary restrictions eliminated me as a competitor for any of the sweet treats friends have brought us.

In all seriousness my family has been terrific as this little episode has disrupted the continuity of their daily life. They haven’t blinked an eye and have kept rolling along with an inspiring presence of normalcy. I could not be more fortunate to have their patience and thoughtful understanding. 
Thanks everyone for your support and kind thoughts and prayers. Thanks especially to Rob, Dan, Brian, and Bret for stopping by to see me. It made the time pass quickly and helped accelerate my release from the hospital.

The Best #crushit Scenario!

As we approached the surgery today 2/29, our best scenario was that the surgeon would not have to remove any part of my colon and that he would only have to remove tissue surrounding the cancerous lymph node.

This is exactly what occurred today. It should mean that my recovery will be quicker and that other risks associated with the surgery have been put to rest for now. We will now wait a few days for the pathology results to come back and determine what then, if anything we have ahead of us.

For right now I am resting comfortably at the James and am grateful for the blessings bestowed upon me today and all the support and prayers that have been sent my way by friends and family everywhere.

And if that wasn’t enough alone to be happy about,  I also learned that I have now earned enough points at the James to get 2 free drinks and free colonoscopy, though there are some blackout dates.😉👌

A Rivalry Game!

You have to play the opponent more than once to make it a rivalry . . . And you can’t beat the opponent so badly in the first game that the second one doesn’t have any meaning because the fans won’t care. And, you need both teams to take it very seriously because that’s what makes it a rivalry! Well, cancer is serious, and I know you all care.

This week I’m preparing for a Rivalry Game.  The opponent brings some serious competition and everyone cares. But let’s be very very clear, my team is ready! Since we discovered the cancerous lymph node 4 weeks ago, I have been preparing for this week. 

In Columbus, OH, the week before the UM vs OSU Game, “The Game” takes center stage. The mood and the mantra are all about winning and crushing the opponent. For me, this is a Michigan week and It is no different . . . the mood and the mantra are to #crushit.

#Crushitpartdeux

I wanted to update everyone that I am going to be having surgery on 2.29.16 to remove a cancerous lymph-node from my pelvic region near the anastomoses (where my colon was previously reconnected). The node measures 1.5 X 1.5 cm. It doubled in size over the past 14 months from a size of .6 X.9 cm. It was identified in a scan 1.20.16. And on 2.1.16 a PET scan confirmed the lymph node as cancerous. MOST IMPORTANT; THE 2.1.16 PET SCAN SHOWED NO CANCER ANYWHERE ELSE IN MY BODY.

The procedure will be laparoscopic and we are optimistic it will not require another resection. My surgeon is Dr. Mark Arnold, who I have tremendous faith in and who performed my previous colon surgery.

And other than that, we are cruising along to recovery 👍👍👍😄 #crushitpartdeux!

An Emotional Journey – Thanks Everyone For Your Support!

Read the article below for a fantastic perspective on yesterday’s ride to end cancer. It is fantastic for me because it is so close to my own situation and even more so recognizes how everyone is touched by cancer and how meaningful it is to have a support network that can and will share in the burden. Please take time to read this story and also to pat yourself on the back for everything you have done to help those battling cancer!

Columbus Dispatch 08/09/15
Pelotonia Ride an Emotional Journey for Cancer Survivor

A few weeks before he was to ride in last year’s Pelotonia, Doug Post went to his doctor with a nagging backache. The pain gave him no inkling of what he was about to face and that he would emerge from the experience a year later as someone else entirely. Still a cancer researcher, Post would become a cancer survivor. “It’s been a real interesting journey, to say the least,” he said last week . Read more . . .