Before being diagnosed with chemo, I had a lot on my plate. Here’s some of the topics you may find me posting about on the blog:
Work
My family owns a restaurant supply business in Port Chester, NY. I ran the warehouse, office, and showroom. I also did a little bit of sales. If you see any weird metaphors or restaurant references…it’s from this experience.
More Work
I also worked as a freelance photographer. Mostly I did it for fun, but I was helping a good friend with a few of his commercial projects, and he’s used my images in a bunch of his marketing campaigns. If you want to see some of my for-fun images, you can check out my flickr: http://bit.ly/iUzbfY
Play
I’m an avid video gamer, and I was mainly playing two games – League of Legends and Diablo 3. These will not likely make the blog, but it might explain random gamer references I might make.
Play Harder
I’ve mentioned this before, but just to spell it out, I’d been training for the NYC Olympic distance triathlon since January of 2012. My anemia got particularly bad the week of my first trainer triathlon, and I wasn’t actually able to complete it. As I get into remission and go home, triathlon related training, gym training, nutrition, diet, and all those things will probably pop in here and there.
No Really, Play Harder
Since April 2011, I’ve been working with a trainer in New Rochelle, Rui Mateus. With his help, a lot of will power, and a whole truck load of diligence, I went from 230lbs, 29% body fat, and super unhappy, to a svelte 175lbs, 10% body fat, and happy as a clam. I can’t thank him enough, and if anyone lives in Westchester, NY, message me and I’d be happy to give you his contact info. Additionally, it means that, on top of my own research, I’m very knowledgeable of general weight lifting, weight loss, diet and nutrition. These topics will probably be around from time to time as well.
I’m Serious…Play Harder
A huge part of my winters revolve around snowboarding. I’ve been riding for 4 winters, and this past winter I was able to hit a major milestone; I went back to Jackson Hole, Wyoming, and I basically did the entire inbounds terrain. Considering my first trip there left me paralyzed with fear more often than not, I was extremely proud of myself.
Finally
If you’ve ever wanted to know anything about leukemia, cancer, chemo, or anything else, feel free to comment or message me and ask. The goal of this blog is to first and foremost entertain, but a close second, inform and comfort. If I need to suffer, I figure, hopefully someone somewhere can find solace or comfort in my suffering.
Eff Leukemia 
You’re so awesome man. I saw the League post on reddit, you’ve got a good friend as well. Good luck man, I’ll help you out with your elo if you want ^.^
Hey man, thanks for the kind words. Though, I’m unaware of a league post on Reddit about me? Care to share the link?
Thanks!
Thanks man. Right now, I wouldn’t subject anyone to my LOL playing. My nurses have to come in and stop me from playing constantly, so I generally just ARAM if I feel up to gaming. Add me in game though, NoWoNCares, and I’d love to play with ya.
I’m really impressed with your writing skills and also with the
layout on your weblog. Is this a paid theme or did you modify it yourself?
Anyway keep up the excellent quality writing, it’s rare to see a
great blog like this one nowadays.
My friend was just diagnosed with acute leukemia at 25 weeks pregnant and 27 almost 28 weeks old. She’s just starting chemo today. I would love to know how you got diagnosed, how you are now and where your doctors think you’ll be in the future?
Hi there! I wrote about how I got diagnosed, but I’m doing really well now. I’ve had no events since my transplant, and my 2 year anniversary is coming up. My doctors are optimistic about my future, and I am too. I’ll write a new post soon explaining some things. Keep an eye out for it, and hopefully it’ll help. If you have any specific questions, feel free to ask.
Hello! I’m happy to read you’re doing well! I was diagnosed with ALL, had transplant in January that grafted perfectly, but then on day 62 I relapsed. I was a competitive athlete, I trained daily (hard) until the diagnosis in August. Now I need to get more treatment, but I feel like I could start training again. My doctors are not so keen. Why not?? Did you train while in treatment? I’m not going to put myself in harms way, but I can’t just do nothing. And no, walks and home exercise won’t do lol. Thank you!
Hey! First of all, sorry to hear about your diagnosis. For me, I had a long portion from diagnosis and initial treatment until transplant. During that time, I was getting a much less aggressive chemo than is what is typically used for pre-transplant. So, during that period, I continued to mainly bike. My doctors didn’t have any problem with it, so I kept doing it.
After transplant, I was pretty wiped. I couldn’t have biked on the road if I tried. My doctors encouraged me to stay active, and I did my best, but I was definitely on the “less active” side of recovery.
As for your situation, I don’t know what type of transplant you got (mine was dual cord unit), so it might have to do with your red or white blood cell counts, and your relative risks of either infection or bleeding out.
I can relate though – I went from training for a triathlon with salt water for blood, and feeling awful, to going in for chemo for 30 days, and when I got out, I was like, man, I feel better than I have in months and I could probably CRUSH that tri. However, one thing you learn during recovery is that the risks they tell you about are real, and all it takes is one time where you push too hard, and you can spiral.
I’d say, if you’re feeling great, keep walking around, and maybe bring in a stationary bike (or get one of the floor trainers for a road bike) to pedal. But above all, listen to your doctors. They’re the ones who know your specific case and your specific risk, so if they say don’t work out hard…
To be fair, I’d probably still keep doing things, just toned waaaaay down from what I’d consider “normal”.