Mixed Bag

As my wife observed yesterday, it isn't often that we look forward to the end of a weekend, but this was one of them. Last week was a really long week- first week of school for my son and my wife, lots of craziness at work- just general upheaval. On top of that, I didn't feel great in any of my training sessions last week, so this weekend I needed to get some good work in. I had an easy 45 min run/45 min bike scheduled on Saturday, with a time trial set the next day, so I woke up Saturday looking forward to getting up and getting out.

That's when the fire trucks came.

My next door neighbor Nancy is one of the nicest people I've ever met. She lives with her elderly father and has taken care of him for years (he's 98!) Of late, she's been having her own health problems. She had a heart attack a few months back that she's been recovering from, but has thus far refused to stop caring for her Dad. I'm not too sure how hard the rest of her family tried to change her mind though.

So Saturday morning I hear the fire engine outside. Then the ambulance came and then 2 police officers. Not good. One of our other neighbors had gotten the call from Nancy earlier and she was having some trouble. He walked into the house to find her non-responsive. Long story short- the paramedics worked on her for about 15 minutes and got her pulse back before loading her into the ambulance. I saw them cart her out and it didn't look good. Since the rest of her family all lived an hour away or more, a couple of us told the officers that we'd stay with her Dad (who thankfully was asleep still) while her nephew drove down to take over. After about an hour there were 4 of us holding a sort of vigil in the house waiting for the family to arrive. It's times like this I'm thankful to have such great neighbors. We all take care of each other.

Unfortunately, it's not looking good for Nancy. She went for about 15 minutes without pulse or respiration and while they put her on life support, it was determined that there was too much damage. After they brought her back, she had two more heart attacks, so the plan is to pull the plug today. We're all very sad and everyone is thinking they could have done more or been there sooner, but there's not much we could have done, and now she'll be in a better place. I worry about her Dad and who will take care of him now.

Needless to say, the importance of training was lessened on Saturday. I got the work done, and it was good to get out and take my mind off of things. At the same time, it made me more keenly aware of my own health- one of the big reasons I train in fact. I'd rather not go through quadruple bypass surgery like my father did at age 55- that's less than 20 years away. Training helps me focus, gives me confidence and improves my health. I can't escape the grim reaper, but I'm hoping to put a little more distance between us.

Sunday went a little better- got a good hard workout in and worked out some frustrations. Went home and played with my kids and gave them both a few extra hugs.

Life is precious.