Mark Carlson's Team In Training Page
Racing to Save Lives
On May 18 I will be competing in the Memphis in May, Triathlon . I have committed to raising a minimum of $5000 for the Society to help in the fight against Leukemia, Lymphoma and other blood related cancers. This will be my 9th event with TNT. As always, my father and daughter will also be with me as they are the catalyst for me becoming involved in the fight against these diseases. I lost my father to Leukemia in June of 2001. We were very close and to this day I still miss him dearly. Six months after my father died my daughter, Morgan, was diagnosed with Acute Myelogenous Leukemia. AML is a very aggressive, nasty form of Leukemia that typically strikes adults. When Morgan was diagnosed she was given a 50% chance of survival. Morgan endured 7 months of hell in order to have a chance at beating her disease. Her treatment consisted of large doses of chemotherapy which destroyed her bone marrow and left her without an immune system for weeks at a time. During this time she was in isolation as she was susceptible to infections. Despite all the precautions she developed several major infections, two of which left her blind for several days and two others which nearly took her life. She lost her hair and on those rare occasions we were able to leave the hospital for a few days she faced the stares and whispers of strangers. She was skin and bones as she lost over 25lbs during her treatment. All of this was the result, not of the disease, but of the treatment. We had to take her to the brink of death in order for her to have a chance to live. Through all of this we have been blessed, as Morgan is one of the lucky ones who is her winning her fight. Today she is a normal 12 year old girl. This month we celebrate 6 years in remission. Some days it seems like yesterday, other days it seems like she was never sick and it was all a bad dream. Morgan is simply my hero. She saw and experienced things no child should. I’ve realized over the past few years that I cannot accurately put Morgan’s experience into words. What she endured to survive cannot be justified by words. She, like my father, has a strength and courage that I will never have. They are the reason I continue to run. The last couple of events have taken there toll on my body. I really struggled during the Disney marathon in January 2007 and basically “retired” after that event. I have realized over the past few months that I need to continue my work. Everyday with Morgan is a blessing…some days are more blessed than others, as any parent of a middle school daughter will tell you!!! I’m very fortunate. I have met wonderful families who lost their children to this disease. This is why I can’t quit. There is still work to do and I need your help. Please join me in my fight against this disease by sponsoring my event. For the past 25 years, The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society has been at the forefront in funding research breakthroughs. There are several new cutting edge medicines and therapies just around the corner that will improve both the survival rate and treatment protocols for not only leukemia but cancer as a whole. Your donation will help fund this vital research and make these new therapies available sooner rather than later . Thank you for helping to save lives. Mark
