So, the Transplant Games of America have come and gone. It was such an amazing event, meeting great people, great competitors, great town. Listening to others stories were really inspirational and watching everyone, who without the life saving gift of organ donation, would have passed or be on their way to the great beyond.
I had known about my need for a transplant from a very young age (20 y.o.), but seeing and hearing about some of the younger athletes who had already had transplants younger than 10 just broke my heart. Watching them compete was inspirational though. One boy, Kroupa I think was his last name, was amazing in the pool. He was so much faster than anyone else there, it was just amazing to watch. At just 14, he was turning in times that would humble the adults. My friend and teammate from Team Carolinas, Brian Barndt, went over to talk to him as he sat alone on the far side of the pool and tell him what he is accomplishing in the pool is nothing short of remarkable and let him know that he is the Michael Phelps or Ryan Locte of the games. That brought a smile from the somewhat quiet boy from Team Utah/Idaho.
Over on the track, during the 100m dash, a boy stopped before the finish line to wait for another boy in a walker, who was struggling to make it down the track. When the boy in the walker came even, they crossed the finish line together, holding hands.
My games were a mix of success and failure. My successes came in the fact that am alive and in any type of shape remotely resembling an athlete. I also was happy to make a new acquaintance in a fellow competitor, Zach Brooks from Team SoCal. He and I are in the same age group and raced against each other in the cycling events and track events, but joined forces in the 4x50 (200 yards) relay in the pool.
Zach is a kidney recipient as well, he has actually had to have two transplants, both from his parents. His father donated his first kidney and after it failed after a few years, his mother was a match as well and donated one of her kidneys. He was a great person to meet, I only wish we lived a little closer as we hit it off pretty well and I need more friends like him, a kidney recipient/cyclist/swimmer/runner who is one of the friendliest people you will meet.
My cousin Bob came over from the Detroit area and we met up after the Opening Ceremony. He is in need of a kidney and has been on dialysis for 6+ years now. He has a great outlook considering his situation (long term hemo diaylsis and enlarging PKD kidneys). I was not on dialysis near as long as Bob and I felt like my end was coming if I didn't get my transplant when I did. I can only imagine what it is like for him having to wait almost twice as long as I had to wait.
My first event was the Time Trial and I pre-rode the course the day before. After talking to some of the guys during the 5k who were also racing bikes, they were estimating average speeds of 21-22 MPH and times in the 8 minute range. After my pre-ride, it had taken me a little over 10 minutes and needless to say, I was a little disappointed in my time, granted it wasn't at race pace, but it was close.
The morning came and Danielle, Eliza, and I headed over to the cycling venue. After a pretty solid warm up, I went over to the starting line and prepped for my start. As the timer counted down, I tensed my legs and core, steadied my gaze down the road, exhaled...GO!
I was off, I was feeling strong, shifting to taller gears, increasing my speed, but trying not to go to zone 5 right off the bat. I was feeling a good flow, pedaling, breathing, the volume of the wind through my aero helmet increasing. After the first few turns, the course headed away from the GVSU campus into the countryside. I got into my tuck and kept my speed going, but trying to reduce my heart rate a bit. At the 90 degree corner, there was a little traffic that had either ignored the police directing traffic or was confused on what was being asked of them. I came around without losing much speed. As I was coming up to pass the 3rd rider ahead of me, I made the next corner and saw the 4th rider. I kept the hammer down, but was starting to feel a burn in my legs from lactic acid making its way in to my quads.
At that moment, I broke into prayer for my cousin that a transplant would come soon, then my thoughts fell on my anonymous donor and the loss their family experienced and the pain that must have been felt during their last moments of consciousness. Then I started talking to my Dad who passed away in 2004 from complications from a nephrectomy. I just told him that his strength during his adversity and his toughness during his weakness inspired me to continue to push forward in life and have a positive outlook. I am not saying what happened next was a result of what I had been praying, but I felt a sudden surge in my legs, almost like the burn, but more intense, then the burning went away.
As I went up the slight grade toward the finish line, my speed was increasing, I then hit the last two turns and sprinted toward the finish. As I hit 30.2 mph, I crossed the finish line in what turned out to be the 2nd fastest time and the fastest in my age group to win a Gold Medal, the first bike race I have ever won or even placed. Zach Brooks was second for silver (4 seconds back) and Scott Floyd from Team Georgia was third, winning the Bronze Medal (26 seconds back).
Well, duty calls, I will add more later.
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