Wrapping up 2020! Part 2

Personally 2020 started off bad for me but there was no clue how bad it was going to be for our country and the world as a whole. On the 16th of January I had to see an orthopedic doctor for my left knee again. Then on the 31st I started physical therapy for it in order to strengthen it and hopefully prevent any further work on the knee. I only had a total of 20 miles for the month and 20% of that was a race on the 1st. 

February was no improvement as I only did 28 total miles again including only one race. I was going to PT every week and rehabbing daily at home. I started seeing an oncologist- hematologist on the 7th with hopes of finding out what was causing my anemia. As part of the diagnosing I had a bone marrow biopsy. The worst thing that happened in February was losing my dog Sassy she just couldn’t go on any longer. 

March started off terribly when my youngest brother Rob passed away from cancer. It was actually a blessing but that doesn’t make it easier. Then Covid 19 hit and turned everyone’s world upside down. I had 49 miles and I did one race before the shutdown started. 

In April I wasn’t feeling as tired from my anemia and was hoping to continue strengthening my knee and maybe be able to start running again. I did 130 miles for the month and started doing virtual races. 

In May I finally received a diagnosis on the 4th. I have the most rare blood disorder there is, Paroxysmal Nocturnal Hemoglobinuria (PNH). No cure but there are treatments that may work. Before I could start treatment I had to have a bunch of vaccines because my immune system was going to be shot. Managed to get in 54 miles. 

I had my first infusion treatment on June 25th and my second on July 9th. After that they were going to be every eight weeks. I started feeling much less tired almost immediately. I got 76 miles in June and 100 in July and then 113 in August. 

I had my third treatment in September and shortly before I got to do an in person race with Smitty. Then the smoke from the wildfires came and our air quality was so bad for 12 days that nobody went outside except to feed twice a day. When the air finally improved after we got some rain things were better. I had 59 miles for the month. 

In October and November I only managed 25 and 29 miles. My treatments don’t seem to be working as good as they did at the start. I didn’t feel particularly well for both months and then that continued in December. I only had 9 miles for the month. I had my last treatment of the year on Christmas Eve. 



For the year I managed 692 miles almost all walking. As far as reading I read 67 books, 42 fiction and 25 nonfiction. Looking forward to 2021 and hopefully getting out more and more important getting to travel and see family and friends again. 

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