Sunday, February 22, 2009
It's official!
My Dana-Farber singlet came!!! I tried it on, and it fits. Can't wait to wear it on April 20th :)
Saturday, February 21, 2009
An inspirational story
Steeling their courage
Ironworkers at Dana-Farber resume a beloved ritual, providing moments of joy for young cancer patients
By Michael Levenson
Globe Staff / February 21, 2009
Eighteen-month-old Kristen Hoenshell has a rare and aggressive form of cancer. What began as a tumor behind her eye has led to surgery and 38 weeks of weekly visits to Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, where she receives powerful doses of chemotherapy that leave her weak and occasionally sick.
Yesterday, when she showed up for another round of treatment, she was greeted by something special. As her cousin Megan Souza pointed out the window of a third-floor walkway, ironworkers perched on the sixth floor of a partially constructed building nearby hoisted a massive I-beam into place. It was emblazoned, in bright pink spray paint, with Kristen's name.
"Look out the window," Souza said, as she held Kristen in her arms. "There's your name up there. There's your name, Kristen." The girl, bald from her treatments, smiled shyly.
It has become a beloved ritual at Dana-Farber: Every day, children who come to the clinic write their names on sheets of paper and tape them to the windows of the walkway for ironworkers to see. And, every day, the ironworkers paint the names onto I-beams and hoist them into place as they add floors to the new 14-story Yawkey Center for Cancer Care.
The building's steel skeleton is now a brightly colored, seven-story monument to scores of children receiving treatment at the clinic - Lia, Alex, and Sam; Taylor, Izzy, and Danny. For the young cancer patients, who press their noses to the glass to watch new names added every day, the steel and spray-paint tribute has given them a few moments of joy and a towering symbol of hope.
"It's fabulous," said Kristen's mother, Elizabeth, as she held her daughter and marveled at the rainbow of names. "It's just a simple little act that means so much."
Most days, the walkway fills up like the passageway of an aquarium, packed with children gazing through the glass. When a new name goes up on the building, the children cheer and clap. Yesterday, Juclaubern Palmer Osias, a 16-year-old from Holbrook who was diagnosed with cancer last year, saw his name immortalized in green paint on a beam on the seventh floor.
"It's your name," he said. "It makes you feel important."
It's given a sense of satisfaction to the ironworkers, too.
"Everybody saw the kids smiling," said Mike Walsh, the foreman for the ironworkers, from Local 7, whose wife, Sheila, is a nurse at Dana-Farber. "And that's what you want to do, is keep them smiling, especially if they're going for treatment in there."
The ironworkers made a similar tribute in 1996, when they painted the names of young cancer patients on beams they used to build the Smith Research Laboratories at Dana-Farber. For a time, a short film about the project was shown in movie theaters to raise money for the Jimmy Fund.
This time, the ironworkers knew they wanted to honor the children again. Over the last month, they have painted more than 100 names on the building and emblazoned part of their crane with a likeness of SpongeBob SquarePants. They have also painted a few special messages on the steel, like "Hi Hanna Get Well ASAP :)"
Yesterday, crawling on their stomachs in the bitter cold and whipping winds, the ironworkers looked down at the latest batch of names posted in the walkway window. Looking up at them were Kristen and her sisters, Cathryn, 5, and Hannah, 3, who have been accompanying her to chemotherapy. They pointed as the ironworkers painted the girls' names onto the side of a 4-ton I-beam and hoisted it on to the seventh floor.
"She'll always be a piece of this building, which is a good feeling to have," Elizabeth Hoenshell said, holding Kristen. "They don't have to do this, the guys. They could just do their job and do a good job at it and give us a building that we can get treatment at, but they go the extra step and that's huge."
One day, years from now, Hoenshell said, she hopes to take Kristen back to the clinic, and show her where her name is inscribed. "I'm going to stand her right here at this pedestal and say, 'Look right up,' and 'That was you,' " she said. "Maybe I'll take her over there for a little walk. She can step on her name," she said, laughing.
Michael Levenson can be reached at mlevenson@globe.com.
© Copyright 2009 Globe Newspaper Company.
http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid1185071465http://www.brightcove.com/channel.jsp?channel=16988910
Ironworkers at Dana-Farber resume a beloved ritual, providing moments of joy for young cancer patients
By Michael Levenson
Globe Staff / February 21, 2009
Eighteen-month-old Kristen Hoenshell has a rare and aggressive form of cancer. What began as a tumor behind her eye has led to surgery and 38 weeks of weekly visits to Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, where she receives powerful doses of chemotherapy that leave her weak and occasionally sick.
Yesterday, when she showed up for another round of treatment, she was greeted by something special. As her cousin Megan Souza pointed out the window of a third-floor walkway, ironworkers perched on the sixth floor of a partially constructed building nearby hoisted a massive I-beam into place. It was emblazoned, in bright pink spray paint, with Kristen's name.
"Look out the window," Souza said, as she held Kristen in her arms. "There's your name up there. There's your name, Kristen." The girl, bald from her treatments, smiled shyly.
It has become a beloved ritual at Dana-Farber: Every day, children who come to the clinic write their names on sheets of paper and tape them to the windows of the walkway for ironworkers to see. And, every day, the ironworkers paint the names onto I-beams and hoist them into place as they add floors to the new 14-story Yawkey Center for Cancer Care.
The building's steel skeleton is now a brightly colored, seven-story monument to scores of children receiving treatment at the clinic - Lia, Alex, and Sam; Taylor, Izzy, and Danny. For the young cancer patients, who press their noses to the glass to watch new names added every day, the steel and spray-paint tribute has given them a few moments of joy and a towering symbol of hope.
"It's fabulous," said Kristen's mother, Elizabeth, as she held her daughter and marveled at the rainbow of names. "It's just a simple little act that means so much."
Most days, the walkway fills up like the passageway of an aquarium, packed with children gazing through the glass. When a new name goes up on the building, the children cheer and clap. Yesterday, Juclaubern Palmer Osias, a 16-year-old from Holbrook who was diagnosed with cancer last year, saw his name immortalized in green paint on a beam on the seventh floor.
"It's your name," he said. "It makes you feel important."
It's given a sense of satisfaction to the ironworkers, too.
"Everybody saw the kids smiling," said Mike Walsh, the foreman for the ironworkers, from Local 7, whose wife, Sheila, is a nurse at Dana-Farber. "And that's what you want to do, is keep them smiling, especially if they're going for treatment in there."
The ironworkers made a similar tribute in 1996, when they painted the names of young cancer patients on beams they used to build the Smith Research Laboratories at Dana-Farber. For a time, a short film about the project was shown in movie theaters to raise money for the Jimmy Fund.
This time, the ironworkers knew they wanted to honor the children again. Over the last month, they have painted more than 100 names on the building and emblazoned part of their crane with a likeness of SpongeBob SquarePants. They have also painted a few special messages on the steel, like "Hi Hanna Get Well ASAP :)"
Yesterday, crawling on their stomachs in the bitter cold and whipping winds, the ironworkers looked down at the latest batch of names posted in the walkway window. Looking up at them were Kristen and her sisters, Cathryn, 5, and Hannah, 3, who have been accompanying her to chemotherapy. They pointed as the ironworkers painted the girls' names onto the side of a 4-ton I-beam and hoisted it on to the seventh floor.
"She'll always be a piece of this building, which is a good feeling to have," Elizabeth Hoenshell said, holding Kristen. "They don't have to do this, the guys. They could just do their job and do a good job at it and give us a building that we can get treatment at, but they go the extra step and that's huge."
One day, years from now, Hoenshell said, she hopes to take Kristen back to the clinic, and show her where her name is inscribed. "I'm going to stand her right here at this pedestal and say, 'Look right up,' and 'That was you,' " she said. "Maybe I'll take her over there for a little walk. She can step on her name," she said, laughing.
Michael Levenson can be reached at mlevenson@globe.com.
© Copyright 2009 Globe Newspaper Company.
http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid1185071465http://www.brightcove.com/channel.jsp?channel=16988910
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
My first track workout
Yesterday I went to my first track workout, and it was actually quite fun! I thought for sure I would be the slowest person there, and that I would hold people up...but I didn't. I hung in there the whole time and felt pretty good. After Jack told us the workout, we all just lined up on the track and took off. Well some people took off; I just kind of did my thing. Our workout totaled 4 miles, but with the warm up and warm down, I did closer to 6 miles in total. Thanks to Jack, I definitely did my workout faster than I would have on my own. I think I'm heading back for more next Tuesday!!
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Where have I been?
First off, the past few weeks have been quite busy. Not only have I been training for a marathon, fundraising for Dana Farber, working two jobs, and trying to keep up something of a social life, but I have also been planning for our July wedding. Am I making up excuses for why I haven't blogged? Perhaps I am. But it's all true!
Here's my (long overdue)running update: I'm up to a 14 mile long run, and I am continuing to run around 9:15 pace (give or take), which I am happy with. I'm especially happy with that pace considering all of my long runs include the infamous heartbreak hills. Last weekend I skipped the group run and opted to run on Saturday, the warmer day of the weekend instead. Thankfully a teammate, Shifter, set up an organized run for 7 or 8 of us. He was nice enough to put out water stops and provide us with maps of the course. It was definitely nice to get the run over with, and not freeze to death like our unfortunate teammates who ran in single digits on Sunday. Thanks Shifter!
Today we had a group run; the best group run so far, I think. I ran with Beth, a teammate from Marblehead, who ironically enough attended the middle school I teach at years ago and even had some of my colleagues as teachers! So we certainly had a lot to talk about. Deb and Anne were running with us for most of the way too. All of us kept each other going the whole way, and even talked about potentially running together later this week. It's definitely nice to have a group to talk with, that's for sure.
*********
I'll try to keep up with my blogging on a more regular basis. I swear I have "blog worthy" material daily, but getting to the computer and actually typing it in never seems to happen.
Here's my (long overdue)running update: I'm up to a 14 mile long run, and I am continuing to run around 9:15 pace (give or take), which I am happy with. I'm especially happy with that pace considering all of my long runs include the infamous heartbreak hills. Last weekend I skipped the group run and opted to run on Saturday, the warmer day of the weekend instead. Thankfully a teammate, Shifter, set up an organized run for 7 or 8 of us. He was nice enough to put out water stops and provide us with maps of the course. It was definitely nice to get the run over with, and not freeze to death like our unfortunate teammates who ran in single digits on Sunday. Thanks Shifter!
Today we had a group run; the best group run so far, I think. I ran with Beth, a teammate from Marblehead, who ironically enough attended the middle school I teach at years ago and even had some of my colleagues as teachers! So we certainly had a lot to talk about. Deb and Anne were running with us for most of the way too. All of us kept each other going the whole way, and even talked about potentially running together later this week. It's definitely nice to have a group to talk with, that's for sure.
*********
I'll try to keep up with my blogging on a more regular basis. I swear I have "blog worthy" material daily, but getting to the computer and actually typing it in never seems to happen.
Sunday, January 11, 2009
I think I need Yak tracks
Saturday's long run consisted of 12 miles of running, sliding, walking, and nearly falling. The ice was pretty intense in some areas which meant we had to run on the roads for much of our run or in more dangerous areas where the shoulder was not big enough for us to run on, we had to brave the ice. It took us a good half hour longer or so to do our run because of the conditions, which leads me to my conclusion that I need yak tracks.
I've read a lot of my teammates' blogs praising them...and I'm sold. They are only a 30 dollar investment, and they sound like they will be worth it especially for those long, icy runs.
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Working towards 34 miles this week...
So far this week, I've logged 22 miles and am hoping to add 12 on Saturday to make it 34 miles. I did 10 on Sunday, 6.5 on Tuesday and 5.5 today. I'm pretty happy with my mileage; although, I could be happier with my pace. I'll get there.
Today was about 33 degrees and icy. Deb and I ran around 5:30, so it was dark and hard to navigate through the poorly lit and poorly shoveled route we took. It wasn't bad, although our run was REALLY slow considering all our obstacles. I plan to rest tomorrow or do something light on the elliptical at the gym to get my legs moving without the heavy pounding. Hopefully that will leave me nice and rested for my long run on Saturday! Wish me luck :)
Today was about 33 degrees and icy. Deb and I ran around 5:30, so it was dark and hard to navigate through the poorly lit and poorly shoveled route we took. It wasn't bad, although our run was REALLY slow considering all our obstacles. I plan to rest tomorrow or do something light on the elliptical at the gym to get my legs moving without the heavy pounding. Hopefully that will leave me nice and rested for my long run on Saturday! Wish me luck :)
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Happy New Year!!
I hope everyone had a restful holiday like mine! I was in Key West soaking up the sun and lounging by the pool. It was a very unorthodox Christmas...but SO great. I highly recommend trying it one year :) So there is a lot to say about my vacation, so here are the highlights:
1. I discovered my love for key lime pie...mmmm...just thinking about it makes my mouth water. (apparently I am hungry since that is my #1)
2. I snorkeled with a shark.
3. I got a new book!!!! I'm 300 pages into it; it's a Margaret George book about Henry the VIII.
4. I drank margaritas.
5. I ate delicious, fresh fish almost every night...all cooked by David of course
6. I relaxed by the pool every day.
7. I got engaged!!!! (this is really my ultimate highlight...I just put it down here to make sure you kept reading!)
8. I saw Ernest Hemingway's house.
9. I got tan.
10. I watched the sunrise on the beach one morning with David.
Those are my top 10 highlights~
I gotta run...literally. I am off to do a short 5 miles or so with Deb. Cross your fingers that my blisters don't get worse. Oh I forgot to update about my insane blisters. Stay tuned!!!
1. I discovered my love for key lime pie...mmmm...just thinking about it makes my mouth water. (apparently I am hungry since that is my #1)
2. I snorkeled with a shark.
3. I got a new book!!!! I'm 300 pages into it; it's a Margaret George book about Henry the VIII.
4. I drank margaritas.
5. I ate delicious, fresh fish almost every night...all cooked by David of course
6. I relaxed by the pool every day.
7. I got engaged!!!! (this is really my ultimate highlight...I just put it down here to make sure you kept reading!)
8. I saw Ernest Hemingway's house.
9. I got tan.
10. I watched the sunrise on the beach one morning with David.
Those are my top 10 highlights~
I gotta run...literally. I am off to do a short 5 miles or so with Deb. Cross your fingers that my blisters don't get worse. Oh I forgot to update about my insane blisters. Stay tuned!!!
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