Rollercoasters...: A physical limitation…who said “I can’t?”

I just thought I would share a journey that Mark has been on. Although I have been at his side through this physical trial, there has been many times where he has hit numerous walls that seem to limit his physical progress. Yet, because of his perseverance, he has pressed forward with an undying faith of “I can do this!” Mark tends to be a very private person and I am extremely… NOT! And, because I am not, I want to share his journey.

In 2008, Mark was having severe neck issues. His diagnosis was 4-discs, from C3-C7, that had herniated. The cure: 4-level fusion. So, in August of 2008, he was wheeled away for the procedure. They fused those levels and placed a titanium plate with all sorts of screws to hold everything in place. He was told his recovery time would ONLY be two weeks and he could get back to work. (The “recovery time” issue is a story for another time). Needless to say, Mark went back to cath’ing, call, and office duties…feeling the pain of it all everyday.

The next two years were extremely painful. Golfing-painful. Running-painful and near impossible. Hiking-painful. Biking-painful. I think you understand. Pain became his constant companion. But, Mark was determined to run a marathon. He had his mind set to train in spite of his pain. So, he signed up for the 2010 St. George Marathon. Then, training commenced.

Mark began to have more and more neck pain. Not only was he having neck pain, but he was also beginning to have neurological symptoms. Shooting pains down his arms. Numbing. He had been hiding it from me for quite some time when one evening he shared his concerns. I told him he should get an MRI or x-ray. But, do you understand that doctors are truly the WORST patients? UGH! By that time, unbeknownst to me, he had already begun to research neurosurgeons. He knew that something was really wrong—yet STILL didn’t tell me.

There were many miracles through all of this, but the first miracle was that Mark got a groin injury that limited his running. The injury became so painful, he finally withdrew from the marathon. Finally, he had an MRI done. The results from the MRI showed that there was something impinging on his spinal chord. Then, he had an x-ray done. The x-ray showed that the titanium plate between C6-C7 had fractured and that the screws holding that portion in had also broken. The top portion of the plate was resting on the broken screws of the bottom portion of the plate. If Mark had run the marathon with this injury, he may not be here today. Thus, the groin injury was a blessing, and most assuredly saved him from any type of permanent paralysis.

Mark decided to call one of the lead neurosurgeons in the country and have him review his x-rays/MRI. Because of the complicating nature of his neck/plate/screws, we opted to head out to Duke University and have that surgeon repair his neck. Before the doctor would operate, he had Mark get one more test, a CT myelogram. The results from that test showed that not only the plate was broken and screws were fractured, but the screws had acted like a file and nearly completely eroded away the C6 and C7 vertebral bodies. What does that mean? He had a hole where there should have been bone. The doctor told him that he was less than a millimeter away from being a “Christopher Reeve.”

Consequently, off to surgery he went. The doctor opened him up on the front side, placing a bone graft and re-fusing and repairing—and, they had to fuse him all the way to T1. Thus, he is fused from C3-T1 on the front. After finishing that, they rolled him over and put rods in the back of his neck for extra support—fusing him from C5-T1. His neck’s range of motion had now been greatly compromised. They also told him that he would never run again. This was quite the blow to Mark.

However, at his 6-month post-surgery mark, he asked the surgeon, “Can I start running again?” The response was not a resounding “NO!,” but a “well…you really shouldn’t.” And, in the brain of Mark, that was his ticket to begin running again. When he began running again, he didn’t go long distances. And, every time he did run, p.a.i.n!

On December 11, 2011, the unthinkable happened. Our youngest son, Zach passed away. For Mark, running became a way to cope with Zach’s death. Running became a way of life. Running has become one of his passions.

Mark told me he wanted to run the St. George Marathon this year. Being the mean wife, I told him “no!” I had too many fears, especially from what happened last time he was training for a marathon. Being the obedient husband, he did not sign up for the marathon, but he kept on running. Mark then informed me that he WAS going to run the Snow Canyon ½ Marathon. He kept telling me, “I can do this!” “I will be alright!” What could I say? Thus, he registered, and for the first time since Zach’s passing he was truly excited about something.

This past Saturday, I dropped him off at 6:30 a.m., at Snow Canyon High School, where he was bussed to the starting point. The race commenced at 8:30, and he told us to come back at around 9:30 to see him finish, as his goal was to finish in under 90 minutes. Rachel, Richard, and I arrived at about 9:45 and feared we had missed him finish. BUT…we did not! We were standing by the finish line when Rachel said, “there he is!” We got our cameras out and started yelling for him. As I watched him run toward the finish line, I could not seem to contain my tears. The flood of emotions simply overcame me. Emotions of gratitude, of love, of joy, of conquering trials were all coupled with the thought of Zach cheering his father on to cross that finish line. Even today, I can picture Zach with a smile spread from ear to ear. For me, that is a sweet and tender thought.

Nevertheless, this was Mark’s triumph. His training and perseverance beat the odds. His commitment to seeing his goal through to the end taught each of us that day. He finished with a time of 87:38, placed 83^rd overall out of over 1900 runners, with a pace of 6:41 per mile, and received a 3^rd place trophy for his age group.

Have the past five years been easy? No. But to see Mark finish that race and to be a part of that day, I would say that that was one of my life’s greatest moments.

What do I have to be thankful for? I am thankful for the gifts of pure joy. I am thankful for the drive and the passion we are given to accomplish goals. I am thankful for an incredible husband, father, and Papa who continues to teach all of us through his example of enduring faith. There are many people I know and love who have particularly blessed my life. Many of you, I call my family.