In Memory of Matty Dubuc

Tomorrow is Matty's angelversary. For Matty's mom Sandy, his dad John and his two brother Chris and Zach, this marks the 6th anniversary of the day their beloved son and brother joined the other angels in heaven. Like anyone who has lost a loved one, this day comes with a lot of trepidation and anxiety. I feel for them each and every March 25th, and tomorrow will be no different. What I find remarkable about the family is their way of celebrating Matty's life and honoring his memory. And not just tomorrow, but all year. Since his angelversary falls on a Monday this year, they have things planned yesterday, today and tomorrow.

Typically, the final long run before the marathon always falls around this time of year, Jan Ross, the director of the running program and Jack Fultz, our coach and winner of the 1976 Boston Marathon, always make it a point to ask us to remember Matty and his family on our final long run, yesterday was no different. Jan asked Sandy if she wouldn't mind talking a little bit about Matty and sharing his story with the runners. Though there are many on the team who know of his story there are just as many first timers that don't. Below is what Sandy said:

"Hi my name is Sandy. You may have seen me and/or my husband John and oldest son, Chris, at water stops throughout your training.

This is my son, Matty. (This picture of Matty was on an easel next to Sandy.)













Matty was diagnosed with liver cancer when he was 4 years old. Throughout his 3 year battle, he endured so much more than just chemo, radiation, transfusions, etc. He had a liver transplant, 3 lung surgeries, 2 brain surgeries and his left arm was amputated 5 months before he passed away.

Jan asked me to say a few words this morning because since my husband and I ran with the team, the year after Matty passed, the team has continued to honor Matty on this weekend. His angelversary is Monday.

I just want to redirect your inspirational focus for today’s run. Every mile you log, I’m sure that you have an inspiration behind it. I’m guessing that the majority, if not all of you, are running for someone who’s been touched by cancer. And because every run is most likely about that person, for today’s run, I’d really love for you to dedicate it to the family members of that person, most especially, the siblings.

I have three boys, Chris is my oldest, then Matty and Zachary, my youngest. Chris was only 6 years old when Matty was diagnosed and Zach was just 12 days old.

Although Chris and Zach never went bald, had a port accessed or received a blood transfusion, they, too, suffered greatly. I always say that cancer is a family journey. Chris and Zach missed out on so much. They grew up too fast, they’ve seen too much and they’ve learned life’s hardest lesson at too young of an age. I know I’m not the only one who smiles through the pain or who’s heart aches with unimaginable pain.

I am so very proud of ALL 3 of my boys. And so, I ask you today to please think about my boys and the strengths it takes Chris, Zach, my husband and I just to get up each and every morning to acknowledge yet, another day without Matty.

I want to thank you all for doing your part in helping to imagine a world without cancer.  On a more personal note, a big thanks to Steve Poirier, running for Matty again this year. And I think Steve has something very special to ask Christopher:"

Chris is now 15 years old. I thanked Chris for giving up a handful of his Saturday mornings by volunteering and giving back (acknowledging that not many kids his age would do this sort of thing). As another thank you, I asked him to join me at mile 25 and run the last 1.2 miles to the finish line with me. Chris wants to run the marathon when he's old enough and I'm sure this will be a great way to make sure that seed gets planted and takes root! He said yes. I asked him to please be patient with me on the 15th and told him I'd try not to keep him waiting too long !

On a side note, Sandy's speech left the runners, not only with something to think about, but with tears in their eyes. It was nice to see some runners come up to her and give her a hug! It was a beautiful moment filled with love and compassion.

Besides Sandy, John, Chris and Zach, Sandy's mom Charlene and her dad Dick also volunteered at the 4th water stop, which would have been mile 8 on the way out and mile 14 on the way back. Oh, and of course, "Don't Stop Believing" by Journey, was playing loud and clear for each and every 2,000 plus runners on the course, to hear! Talk about inspiration !!!

 



Since I want to dedicate this blog entry in Matty's memory, I've uploaded a handful of pictures of him and his family.

 

So, as each of you go about your business tomorrow, I would kindly ask you to keep John, Sandy, Chris & Zach in your thoughts and prayers. My hope is that Matty sends them lots of signs!

 

Training: Short and sweet, well, not so much yesterday's training run, but my update this week. I did, as most of my teammates, log in 22 miles yesterday. Personally, I am very happy about that, especially after only being able to run 10.75 miles last Saturday. We are still anxiously awaiting the warm/nicer weather to show up. Hopefully, we'll get the break we've been waiting for on race day. Yesterday was cold and very windy. In fact, the first 11 miles we ran into a strong head wind. Only at the turn around point, mile 11, did we have the wind to our backs, some of the time. However, no matter what each particular training run has presented, as far as obstacles and challenges goes, no obstacle or challenge will ever compare to what cancer patients go through. In honoring Sandy's request to keep the families in mind, I along with my running partners, was able to see this final training run to its completion.

 

 

This is a picture taken after each of us completed our 22 mile run yesterday. I think this picture speaks volumes of just how much we love being a part of DFMC. Smiles, smiles and more smiles !!!

Together, with each of us doing our part, we can make a difference, one mile at a time and one donation at a time !

 

We have entered into the tapering phase of training. Each week since December, we have slowly increased our weekly and long run mileage to get to where we are now. It is highly recommended that we ease back on both. The objective is to give our bodies the rest it needs to prepare for the marathon. So, while we will still run between now and April 15th, it won't be anywhere near the mileage we've been doing up until now.

 

Fundraising: I am very happy to announce that we had another great week with donations. We are now at $6,090, which is an increase of about $800 from just one week ago !! I continue to be humbled and grateful by the generosity so many have you shown, not just with the donations, but also with the encouragement and support as well. Even though the training is coming to a close, fundraising is still a priority. With the marathon just 21 days away now, I kindly ask those of you that have been waiting to consider making a donation. As a team, we are about half way towards our team goal of $4.6 million. I have no doubt that not only will I reach my goal, but that with every one's continued generosity, I will exceed it. 

 

With gratitude and many inspired miles.....Steve



Time Doesn't Stand Still......28 days until the Boston Marathon !!!

It doesn't seem possible that we are just 4 weeks away from the day that many of us have been anxiously awaiting and preparing for, but there are so many reminders that, in fact, race day is fast approaching. First and foremost is the countdown calendar on my blog and on my fundraising page which reads 28 days and so many hours, minutes and seconds, depending on when it is viewed. I remember a time when those clocks read 4 months!!! Then there is the training schedule that shows just one more group training run next Saturday. Last week, I received my team singlet that all the DFMC teammates will wear on race day, along with a booklet with all the pertinent information regarding marathon weekend. RSVP's are due for the pasta party to be held the afternoon before the marathon and the RSVP for the recovery zone, a place where all the runners go to following the marathon, for food and the oh-so-welcomed, and needed, massage. The other reminder that really drives it all home, not that the training and fundraising haven't done that, is the email we all received from the B.A.A. (the Boston Athletic Association) advising us that we have been assigned bib numbers. More on this and how you can follow me on race day, if you want, later.

"Lost time is never found again."  - Benjamin Franklin

"It's such a shame to waste time. We always think we have so much of it." - Mitch Albom

I lead off with these two quotes about time because, to cancer patients, time is a commodity many wish they had more of. Whether it be more time with family, friends and loved ones, especially if their particular diagnosis is robbing them of that, or if the time they need is for research to be done, trials to be conducted and cures to be found in the particular type of cancer they are currently battling.

This week, through a Facebook group I belong to, Methuen High School Class of 1981, I read about a fellow classmate, Billy Corso, who passed away last Sunday, at age 50. Another classmate posted Billy's obituary for us to read and although it didn't go into specifics about the cause of Billy's death, the obituary mentioned donations, in lieu of flowers, to either Merrimack Valley Hospice, the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, or St. Jude's Children's Hospital. They all have a common denominator.....cancer. Even though I haven't seen Billy in over 30 years, I made a donation to honor his memory. It was the least I could do. Billy's untimely death is yet another reminder that there is work to be done and underscores the whole premise behind the Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge motto: the ultimate finish line.....A World Without Cancer.

Lucille Griffith, John Weston, Bill Paquette

Lucille Griffith is someone I've know for almost as long as I've been alive. She is my aunt, my dad's sister. Back in September of 2004, during a visit to her doctor, she was diagnosed with early stage cancer in her right lung. She underwent surgery to remove a portion of her right lung, then underwent radiation and chemotherapy for roughly three months and, shortly thereafter, was cancer free. She had regularly scheduled check-ups every 6 months. Then, in June of 2006, a spot appeared on her left lung. She underwent surgery again and had a quarter of her lung removed but didn't have to undergo radiation or chemotherapy. She also had a brain scan as well. I am happy to announce that she has been cancer free for over 6 years. Below is a picture of her, her husband Bill and her grandchildren Kerry, David & Cody.

John Weston is also someone I've know for most of my life. He is my uncle and married to Yolande, my mom's sister. In 2004, my uncle John was diagnosed with early stage bladder cancer in his early 60's. His doctors decided that the best way to treat his cancer was to inject tuberculosis into his bladder. He wasn't actually injected with TB, but given an injection of the tuberculosis vaccine called BCG or Bacille Calmette-Guerin, which produces an immune reaction that inhibits or treats early bladder cancer. He was treated on an outpatient basis and didn't require any surgery, radiation or chemotherapy. This illness is not true tuberculosis and is not communicable in the same manner as tuberculosis i.e. via airborne exposure. The risk of this side effect happening is about once per one million injections. I was amazed to hear that this was how his cancer was treated. He has been in remission since. He is the father of 5 children and grandfather to 10.

 

 

Bill Paquette is the brother of Dave, someone I had the pleasure of meeting and working with back in the mid-eighties. Dave explained to me that Bill passed away from cancer on March 11th, 2010 at age 52. His liver, pancreas and bile ducts were full of cancer.  Bill chose to withhold his diagnosis with his mother and siblings as he apparently didn't want to burden them with his illness. According to Dave, he never told his family that he was not feeling well, which must have been the case for several months.  It went from telling him family he was going to the doctor for some tests, to being admitted to the hospital, to passing away, all within about two weeks. It was sudden and shocking to Dave and his entire family. Bill never married and had no kids.  Bill had a love and a passion for fish and reptiles. He had snakes and several fish aquariums and continued keeping things like chameleons and even piranhas as an adult! He was an encyclopedia of information, and passed his enthusiasm for these things on to his young nephews. He also played the drums, owned a Harley Davidson and was a big NASCAR fan.

 

My decision to keep a blog this training season was in part to honor those individuals that are currently battling cancer or battled it at one time. I just think it underscores the importance of fundraising and reminding us all that cancer is, unfortunately, alive and well. It also reminds me that there is still work to be done and that people are counting on us to make a difference.

Fundraising: Well, true to form, you have not let me down, meaning that each new posting gives me the opportunity to report an increase in donations from the previous entry. At my last blog entry, we were at $4,800 in donations. As of this writing, we are at $5,370 and closing in on my personal goal. At yesterdays group training run, it was announced that, collectively as a team, we are at the 2.2 million dollar mark, which is right on pace for where the team has been at this time in prior years. As a reminder, the team goal is $4.6 million for 2013. So again, I want to take this opportunity to thank those of you who have already donated and ask those of you that haven't to consider making a donation.

Training: Training continues in a forward motion but, in all honesty, is consistently challenging each and every one of us. If you have been following this blog on a regular basis, you've read that this year's training has been nothing short of challenging. The irony here is that I am part of the Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge !!!! This is my 6th Boston Marathon, my 5th as a member of the team, and this year, by far, has presented those of us training for the marathon, with more obstacles than we'd care to encounter. However, in the grand scheme of things, these obstacles are nothing compared to what a cancer patient and their families are dealing with on a daily basis.

Last weeks training run was canceled again, the forth time this season, due to the weather. That's one months worth of training! Had the run gone on as scheduled, I would have opted not to join in anyway because I was recovering from a really bad cold, the likes of which I don't think I've ever had before. Instead, I opted last Sunday to run 3 miles on the treadmill and 7 miles on the elliptical just to get some miles logged in. I logged 16 miles during the week before yesterday's group run. Yesterday was the second to last training run, along the marathon course, so I wanted to take advantage of it. The goal was 18 miles yesterday, however, after 10.75 miles, I realized that I was not strong enough to finish the run. Luckily, Matty's parents were volunteering again yesterday, and I opted to throw in the towel, keeping in mind that next weeks 22 mile run was more important. Actually, what's most important is getting to the starting line healthy. After the last runners stopped by the water stop Sandy & Johnny were working, I rode with them back to the gym where we started from. One would think it's a simple decision to stop running, but that is not the case at all, especially with so many runs canceled this season due to the uncooperative weather. To say my confidence at finishing this years marathon is shaken, is an understatement. With only one more group training run to take advantage of, I hope that two 18 mile runs, a 20 mile run and hopefully a 22 mile run this Saturday will prepare me for what it takes to run 26.2 miles on April 15th.  In years past, I've been able to log in at least twice as many 18 milers, 2 - 20 milers and the 22 miler. Couple that with the MCL tear I have, a cold which I've never had to deal with in previous years, and the 2 falls I had back in February, it's no wonder that I am less confident this time around. However, one thing I have going for me, other than the fact that I am running for a very important cause, a world without cancer, is that fact that I have 7 marathons under my belt.

Next weeks training run is entirely on the marathon course. So many out-of-towners would give their eye teeth to have the opportunity to train on the actual course once, let alone a handful of times, like those of us here in the Boston area are able to do. Yesterday, there were hundreds of people running along the course, this Saturday, there will probably be a few thousand, just another testament to the fast-approaching marathon. Below is a picture taken of two of my running buddies, Kerry, Elaine and me, on the portion of the course known as "Heartbreak Hill."  I'm looking forward to our last training run next weekend and all of the support us runners will have.

So again, I ask those of you who have yet to make a donation, to think about doing it in the next few weeks. Each and every one of us on the team are passionate about ridding the world of cancer. We are doing our part, but we need your help too! Please consider making a donation and being a difference maker!

You can click on my link here www.rundfmc.org/2013/stevp if you'd like to make a donation online to my secure web page. Checks can also be mailed payable to the Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge, and mailed to me at 270 Littleton Rd, #44, Chelmsford, MA 01824.

No gift is too small !!!

With gratitude, appreciation and many, many inspired miles......

A New Milestone ....... the big 50 !!!!!!!

On this day, March 4, 1963 at 12:03 a.m, I entered the world. It doesn't seem possible that today I turn 50 years old. Maybe it's because I've always felt young at heart or maybe it's because I've been told on a few occasions that I look younger than I am. Or, it might just have something to do with the fact that in 6 weeks from today, I'll be running in my 8th marathon. As of lately though, my body is telling me that I am not the younger version of me that I would like to think I am, but I digress.

Whatever the case may be, what it really boils down to is choosing to embrace where you are in life. Did I want this day to come? On some level, probably not, but then I am reminded of so many people that were robbed of this opportunity. When thought of that way, it really is a no-brainer. Before I started working on this week's entry, I went online hoping to find something that would help put into perspective what turning 50 is or, more importantly, what life lessons should be learned by age 50. Ironically, Regina Brett wrote a list to "celebrate" growing older just prior to turning 50. She called it: 50 Lessons Life Taught Me. Here are a handful that resonated well with me:

Don't take yourself seriously, no one else does.
Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.
Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.
Don't compare your life to others'. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
No one is in charge of your happiness except you.
Forgive everyone everything.
All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.
No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's, we'd grab ours back.
Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift.
Your job won't take care of you when your sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch.
Growing old beats the alternative - dying young.

The last two really it home. I took it upon myself to throw myself a "guess who's turning 50 party" on Saturday night. What initially started out as a small gathering with a few close friends, morphed into a party with about 40 people, including family members, relatives, friends (from way, way back and recent), and people I have had the privilege of meeting since I took up this hobby called running. It was an amazing night, one I won't ever forget. I owe a great big thank you to 3 friends that I've know since I was a kid, Nancy, Paul & Margaret. I hope everyone is as lucky as I am to have friends like this. I love you guys !!!  Stay in touch !

And as for the second one.......well......isn't it clear ?????

My status update during the party was "Totally amazed at the turnout tonight for my 50th birthday. I'm a very lucky guy!" As a Facebook subscriber, while I sit here typing this latest blog entry, my phone is constantly beeping with Happy Birthday posts.  I am enamored by all the well wishes via text, posts on Facebook and phone calls I've received today. I have a so many thank yous to write this week. Life Is Good !!!!!!

Training Update: With only 6 weeks until the marathon, the opportunity to train for it shortens. Back on Saturday, the group met at the Boston Sports Club in Waltham. This is a course we ran about a month ago. Very scenic, but also very hilly. Even though I came down with a cold towards the middle part of last week, I decided to run anyway. When deciding whether to run with a cold, runners use the above/below the neck rule. Yes......there is such a thing. If your symptoms are above the neck (runny nose, sneezing, sore throat), then it is ok to run. However, if your symptoms are below the neck (chest congestion, intense coughing, vomiting, diarrhea), you are well advised not to run. Well......my symptom was mild chest congestion only,  so I ran. The first 45 minutes were rough, but once I settled into my pace I felt better. So good, in fact, that I was able to log in a 20 mile run. I was very pleased about this because up until this weeks run, my longest run had been 17 miles. Unfortunately, I've been paying the price since Sunday morning. I'm slightly better today and hope to be well enough to get in another 20 mile run this Saturday. With only 3 long runs left, I don't want to lose the ground I've gained, but it's more important to stay healthy too! My plan is to run 20 miles this Saturday, 18 miles the following Saturday and then 22 miles the Saturday after that.

On my blog, along the right hand margin, under the picture of Matty, is a training mileage log widget which keeps track of the miles I log. According to it, I have logged 433 miles since I started my blog back in December. I average about 30 to 40 miles a week, some running and some elliptical work. My guess is that come marathon day, I should be somewhere between 550 and 600 miles! I'll be curious to see what it ends up being.

Fundraising Update: Each week when I update my blog I'm also able to report an increase in the amount donated since the previous weeks entry. This week the increase is $815 !!!! I've said it before and I'll say it again.....I am so grateful for the donations I've received so far. As of right now, and because of  the generosity of so many people, we are up to $4,800, including the checks that I have at home that I will be sending to Dana-Farber this week. I asked people that were coming to my party to make donations to the Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge in lieu of giving me presents. $400 of the $815 this week are because of that. We are just $2,200 away from my goal of $7,000. So again, I thank those of you who have already donated.

Another widget on my blog, located right below the Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge 2013 widget that takes you directly to my fundraising page, is the Countdown to the Boston Marathon 2013 widget. According to the clock, there is just 41 days until we all take our places behind the starting line. It was announced Saturday that as a team, we are at the $1.8 million mark.  Please consider making a donation if you haven't done so already.

With gratitude, appreciation and many, many inspired miles.....
Steve