Month: July 2005

I have been reading motivational books lately, and getting ready to set up some life and fitness goals. Yesterday, I was feeling tired most of the day, but I had a wonderful time with Robin and Isa at the stadium. We are all getting stronger. My legs don’t hurt as much climbing the steps. It is no longer a struggle to do 10 trips, at a slow pace. (Maybe next time I will go faster.) It was great talking and visiting as we did our workout. I really appreciate their friendship. Stacey, from Belmont

What an inspiration Lance Armstrong is to the world, as a cancer survivor and 7 time Tour de France winner! How exciting and dream-like to go out on top after such a come-back. I aspire to follow along the same track; to make a come-back in climbing (on a smaller scale, of course.) On Friday, my cousin Brenda came over to see the new apartment, and wax my mustache off. One of the drugs I take, cyclosporin, makes hair grow like crazy. Brenda, who is a professional esthetician, always does a beautiful job. (In case anyone is wondering, waxing does hurt. Ah, the price of beauty.) Rehab is coming along. Yesterday, I went climbing with Cindy and her friends. It was really fun because Cindy is very encouraging, and I found I could do some climbs with fewer rests this time. Last night, I had a wonderful time with Cherie, who fought Bay Area traffic for over an hour to come over for dinner at my house. We had a great time lounging on Dave’s new couch, (too much fun; it was hard to get up) cruising Safeway, and then cooking and eating chicken stir-fry. Stacey, from Belmont

I have had a hard few days, mostly due to physical tiredness. Wednesday, after a good climbing session with my friend Wesley (from my old climbing team) I headed down to the stadium to meet Ana, Isa, and Robin to climb the bleachers. I was very tired, but still managed to go up and down 10 times. I also made a new goal, 100 push-ups in sets of 10. However, both Thursday and Friday I was not feeling very well, and had to cancel going to a wedding. I have spent most of my time lately reading about career change. Yet it is still too early for a job; my health is not stable day to day.Some days I feel great and do lots of activities, other days I stay at home resting, sleeping and reading, and even cooking a decent meal is difficult. I want to keep to my task of getting well, but it is not always easy to stay focused on the present when things are going slowly. I have big dreams of climbing and having a fulfilling career. Sometimes when I am not feeling well, I start to wonder, will I ever get there? Am I just a dreamer? But as Wayne Gretzky says, “100 percent of shots you don’t make won’t enter the net.” But I am feeling better today, since I got a good night’s sleep. I will do some climbing today, and focus on what is right in my life right now…climbing, and time to have good relationships with family and friends. I guess I have more happiness than a lot of people in this busy world, and for that I should be grateful. Stacey, from Belmont

Today I am doing a lot of paperwork, paying enormous medical bills (nearly $2500) as well as personal bills. It is good to get organized and up-to-date with everything. I am nervous about raising enough funds for future medical bills and am starting to plan this year’s climb-a-thon in December. I am also hoping that people will be interested in doing more “Summits for Stacey” before winter. “Summits for Stacey” is a program that started when I fell ill in 2003. People pick a mountain or hike, and then get sponsors to climb it for the cause! All funds will go towards my medical fund at the National Transplant Assistance Fund, and they are tax-deductible. It is a fun way to help a cause and get in shape, too! (Plus, you will have my total adoration, won’t you be lucky!) Stacey, from Belmont

It has been a busy week, full of exercise and social visits. Thursday, I visited David, who just had his transplant about a week ago. He is doing well, and was even strong enough to go to the transplant support group meeting later in the afternoon. After the support group meeting, Isa and I went to the stadium to work out. Isa did 10 laps and I got 7 in that day. Isa is inspirational because she works out so hard, and she’s great company! Friday, I climbed with Rene at the gym. I worked on a big overhanging 5.10c and actually managed to get to the top with a few rests! Saturday, after breakfast with Dave, I went on a sheclimbs outdoor climbing trip to Cragmont Park in Berkeley. Eight people showed up, including Kathy, Ann-Marie, Nicole, Jess, Tiga, Parch, plus Maureen, who stopped by to see what was happening. Kathy set the anchors on “Farewell to Arms,”(5.10a) and three easier slab climbs. The weather was perfect, and we enjoyed the shade at the bottom of the rocks. The natural rock felt great. I made it to the top of “Farewell to Arms” with a few rests. The holds are good, but the moves are very pumpy (requiring strength)because of the overhanging nature of the route. It is my favorite outdoor local climb, so I was glad to be able to enjoy it. This morning, I went climbing at the gym with Ami and Jim. I haven’t seen them in a few months so it was nice to spend time together. We found some interesting new routes in the gym. In the afternoon, I attended Maura Glennon’s wedding shower. It was great to meet her family and friends, and see her so happy! The wedding is on Thursday. Stacey, from Belmont

Cherie, thanks for your note! I hope to meet you this Saturday. Last Sunday, Dave and I went to Castle Rock State Park to go hiking. First, we took the .3 mile trail to Castle Rock. Then, we followed the trail to the Waterfall area. In total, we covered about 3 miles. I have so many memories at Castle Rock. They started coming back to me as we passed each rock. I had mostly climbed with women from sheclimbs, the kids from my old team, or my friend Mark. I have been doing a lot of climbing, too. Monday, as Cherie mentioned, I went climbing with Rhona and her girls. Tuesday I climbed with Amy, and after the session I had a breakthrough! I actually did a couple pull-ups! It made me very satisfied. Yesterday, I also met Isa at the pharmacy where we buy our meds. She is back from a family vacation to Norway, and we had a nice lunch. Later, I had Robin over for a dinner of garlic chicken with green peppers. We hadn’t seen each other since I was in the hospital so it was great to talk to her. For some reason, I couldn’t fall asleep last night until 2:30 a.m. So today I’m not feeling so well. I threw up right before lunch. I still get sick almost every other day. Progress is still slow in the digestive department. Stacey, from Belmont

Thursday, I met Gillian at the stadium and we did a lunch-time session. After the stadium, I met Tom for a bike ride at the Sawyer Camp trail at Crystal Springs. I was glad that I could do both activities in one day, even though I am very slow! Friday I climbed with Cindy and Oded. I did some sets of 15 push-ups and accidentally made myself sick from the exertion. I was happy to be getting my upper-body strength back. Stacey, from Belmont

Kristina and Peg, thanks for visiting my website! Yes, I do remember you, Peg, and I should really take up meditation practice again. Kristina, it was great to talk to you and we’ll climb soon. Update from Boston: Joshua’s climb was not rated 5.12b, it was a 5.13a! (Much harder!) I also heard that the father, Richard, took 1st place in the adult category. Way to go, Richard! Sunday night, Mark brought over steamed catfish and we had a fun dinner at my house. He has been gone for almost the whole month in different Asian countries so it was great to see him. July 4th, I had a wonderful picnic with my aunt Lorraine and cousin Brenda. Chicken pasta, salad, fresh bread…at a picnic table at the park. It was a trek for Lorraine to get from the car to the picnic table, because she had to negotiate lots of tree roots hidden in the lawn. But she didn’t give up. She walked to a tree, rested, and continued on her way to the table even though it was difficult. (We decided an alternate route using the pavement would be better for the trip back to the car.) Yesterday afternoon, I went climbing with Rhona. We are both improving. I tried some 5.10a’s and 5.10bs, and some 5.9 overhangs to work on strength. As I am able to do harder climbs, the moves are getting more interesting. Rhona had a great time. She described her experience as “touching the inner chimpanzee within.” Last night I had dinner with Cindy at my house. I made chicken with a garlic wine sauce and spinach salad. It was so wonderful to talk to Cindy in a relaxed way. I respect her for her great friendship throughout my illness and recovery. While I was living on oxygen, and during the “dry run” (when I was called in for the transplant and it didn’t happen) she had helped me immensely and organized my friends to take care of me, too. She is a friend with great character. Now that I am getting better, it is nice to just have fun together again., Stacey