#7 and Memorial Day are behind us

My, how time flies. Memorial Day is already three days past, and Judy's latest chemo treatment was more than a week ago. It was not a very kind chemo as it made her more nauseated than any of the other treatments before, but Judy is a tough cookie.

Over Memorial Day we stayed in town, had good dinners with friends, and rode the bikes. Judy tried to get back into the cycling mood since she will be going to Palo Duro Canyon this weekend to participate in the 24 Hours in the Canyon Ride for Cancer. She has promised me to be sensible and careful and not to overdo it. I can't keep an eye on her since I am writing this from a hotel room in Birmingham, Alabama, where I am as the Secretary for the Bump and Grind UCI mountain bike race.

When I talked to Judy earlier tonight on the phone, she told me that she had finished Emily's graduation cake and that our young friend was just estatic when she saw the objet d'art. Last night we had a little graduation ceremony for Em at Wayne and Lorane's place, and this Friday Emily's family will honor her--and then she'll run off to join Judy at Palo Duro.

That's it for the latest update. I hope to have new photos next time.

Jürgen

Chemo Round #7 Tuesday, May 19

For all of our friends whom we have been seeing over the past few weekends at the races—and all those of you who have been following the blog—comes the latest news: Judy has been given the green light for her penultimate chemo treatment tomorrow, Tuesday May 19. Her platelet count was 103—three itty-bitty, tiny platelets above the minimum of 100 to get chemo. It probably was that last little piece of steak that she ate last night after we got home from X Bar.


Jürgen

No chemo this week

The title says it all: Once again, chemo has been postponed by at least another week. Judy's blood just takes a huge hit every time she has a chemo treatment, and it takes her weeks to recover. she had her lab work done this morning, and once again the verdict is that she'll have to wait until next week.

On the bright side, Judy (and I) had a ball this weekend working the Texas High School Championship races in Amarillo. The kids were super-nice, and the organization and volunteers in Amarillo are incredible.

In the top photo, Judy starts the boys' criterium; in the middle photo, she poses with the top three riders in the girls' crit; and the bottom photo shows her with our long-time friend, the flamboyant Doc Nolan--note the stethoscope around his neck. Yes, he's a real doc.

Jürgen

Between #6 and #7

My, how time flies! It seems as if I updated this blog just yesterday, but here we are, almost three weeks later.

This is just a short update to let you know where we stand: Judy saw Dr. Phillips yesterday, and the lab work hints (but not forcefully) that she will have chemo round number 7 next week Tuesday. Her blood values are down, as usual, but we're hoping that she can get on with the program. Otherwise, it'll be yet another week later.

It came as a little bit of a disappointment when Dr. Phillips mentioned that most likely round # 8 will be the end of chemotherapy proper but that Judy will have to undergo "maintenance" treatment. That means that her port will not be removed for months to come and she will have to continue lab work and check-ups on a frequent basis. At this point we don't have any details whatsoever, but Judy was disappointed as she had hoped to get rid of the port, which is at times uncomfortable and will keep us from going back to our diving days as long as she has it.

Oh well. The most important thing is that we continue the recovery and get rid of the cancer completely, regardless of how long that will take.

Jürgen

The Racing season is Moving Along ...

... and so are Judy's treatment and convalescence.

Last weekend we spent two days at Flat Rock Ranch, close to Comfort in Texas' beautiful central part. For the ninth year in a row we worked the STORM Hill Country Mountain Bike Challenge, which celebrated its 10th anniversary. The weather cooperated, and it was one of those weekends that blur work and fun. But isn't that the way it is supposed to be anyhow?

Overall, it was a fabulous, well-run race, with only two injuries that required incident reports (but that did not appear to be so serious that we had to involve ambulances or helicopters). We had an unfortunate situation with a course marking that confused some riders, but all-in-all it couldn't have been much better as the weather cooperated and everybody seemed to sport a smile (especially when ice-cream man Lindal came by with yet another round of free popsicles and crunchy bars!).

After her chemo, Judy didn't feel all that great this weekend, but she still pulled her share of work. In the photos you can see her giving the countdown in the Time Trial to Kyle J. (whose mother, Kathy, sent us these three photos) as well as Eric F., the ever-smiling Junior whose brother Ian has been ripping up the open Single Speed class.

In two weeks we'll be at Double Lake, near Houston, for another round of mountain bike events.

Jürgen

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter to all of you!

Judy is playing bunny this morning with a whole basket of home-made Easter eggs that she is taking to her church. Not only do they look great, but they are yummy!

We are at home this weekend, in between two weekends of races. Judy is going to have her next chemo on Tuesday, so she's enjoying these days of not feeling crummy. Last night we had a fabulous spread of tapas, and tonight we'll carve into the ham that I am planning to slow-smoke this afternoon.

We'll update you next week how round #6 is coming along.

Jürgen

(PS: If you really want to see these Easter eggs in all their glory, click on the picture and get a close-up view!)

70.3 Ironman New Orleans

This past weekend, Judy and I were for four days in New Orleans for the inaugural 70.3 Ironman New Orleans. As Head Referee I was responsible for the fairness of an event that with 3,000+ participants was the largest in Ironman history. Wow!

Everything came off fabulously at a superbly organized race in a spectacular setting. Just imagine the racers finishing right in front of Jackson Square in the French Quarter! Judy did a great job keeping the Pro women's field in check during the bike portion of the race, which is our main responsibility. I stayed with the Pro men, and our remaining six officials did a fine job keeping the so-called age-groupers fair.

It wasn't just all work. We were able to spend time in the French Quarter and on Bourbon Street, listening to a beautiful concert, eating muffalettas, begging for beads, and drinking Abita beer (I more so than Judy). It was our 20th anniversary weekend, and the Hilton (where we stayed courtesy of race director Bill Burke) had a bottle of champagne and chocolate-covered strawberries waiting for us when we arrived.

Judy was beaming pretty much the whole time. At one point she told me that she hadn't felt this good in more than a year, and several times she said that she wasn't barely thinking of the cancer. Her attitude was just amazing: Hard working as always, energetic, fun-loving, and happy. What a wonderful weekend we had in the place where we had honeymooned 20 years earlier. We can't thank Bill enough for insisting that we'd work this event—he and I had talked about it last November at the 70.3 World Championships in Florida, when I told him about Judy's condition. He'd said to me, "I want you to come out and have a good time." And he was a true friend this weekend, too. Thanks Bill and Ashley, his right-hand assistant!

Even the plane ride was fun as we were upgraded to First both ways on the DFW to New Orleans portion. Our loyalty to American Airlines does have its perks.

We're back in Lubbock, and Judy had her lab work done yesterday. All systems are "go" for the sixth round of chemo next Tuesday. We're getting closer to the end of this part of the treatment.

Happy Easter to all of you!

Jürgen

Judy and her buddy Fats Domino in the French Quarter.











What a spectacular finish in front of Jackson Square.