I am finally finding a few minutes to sit and recap this past week. It has been an insane couple of weeks but in a good way. Daniel has been working fairly (okay somewhat) hard to train for the Courage Classic and prepare his speech you can view below. But more importantly watching Daniel enjoy the weekend experience with his friends. Amidst the chaos of me preparing like a madwoman unnecessarily like always to get more than enough things ready just in case the end of the world came I wanted to make sure things were perfect for Daniel and his friends so that they were safe, prepared and ready to have fun. At the same time I had to have all my ducks in a row for the largest bone marrow drive I had ever planned at the actual event so two big things colliding and my type A personality was seeping back in. With the event being away from home there was nothing I wanted to go wrong, so I foolishly over prepared and fast forward to Sunday and of course had to unnecessarily bring most of it back home because mostly everything was unused and went off without a hitch. I should have known. But now we will know for next year.
So recap goes like this, Thursday night boys come to house to prepare and carb up for early morning Friday departure. Large pasta meal with my parents in town and boys disappear into basement. Little did I know they would be starting a new tradition of their own. They dug up the old board game SORRY and that was it for the weekend. My guess is 100s of rounds were played over the weekend and countless obscenities were screamed across the table. It is good to know that a good simple board game was still able to keep their attention. They took that game up the mountain and played it obsessively every minute when they were not on their bikes.
Friday Morning Rob was up and setting up at the crack of dawn and we met him shortly after in Copper Mountain. I drove up a short while later with the boys as I listened to Daniel planning about doing the long 160 mile ride next year, I was already wondering if this would be the same discussion I would hear on the car ride down on Sunday. No sooner after we all arrived and my parents learned the concept of swabbing we were set up and working. Volunteers arrived as the day progressed. The boys ventured around the village and back to SORRY. We were up and running the registry and continued meeting dozens of people and sharing Daniel’s story and hearing so many amazing stories of families that had come to the Courage Classic to support, thank and ride for our Children’s Hospital Colorado because of the love and devotion that we have for the work they do for all of our children. That is exactly why Daniel did this ride.
More specifically he did his ride to raise money for CCBD which is our heart and home away from home which gave us back our son's life. Now the ride was 40 miles the first day and 41 the next. Let me tell you I was more than a little nervous. Actually, I was physically nauseous the entire time Daniel was riding. I knew it wasn’t a race and I knew he knew this. There were stopping places everywhere and support along the whole way. It is the most supported ride in Colorado. There are SAG wagons all along the route meaning the boys can hop in a van and get a ride at any point but I knew even without a bunch of training and never really riding at altitude that Daniel would rather drop and spend a week in the hospital than quit and catch a ride in front of his friends. So I held my breathe the entire time and followed my phone finder following their ride the best I could.
I can’t tell you the feeling I had when we sent Daniel and his friends off in the morning at 7 AM at the start line towards the first 40, knowing the challenge ahead for all of them but knowing the signifigance that it was for Daniel and the metaphor it was having the support of his friends riding by his side. Yes of course I cried. I feared and then I cried some more. Then I had a cup of coffee and Rob and I got in the car and ventured out to find them on the way. The first part of their ride was a grueling 7 miles uphill, then a more fun 13 miles down, however after a lunch break it was an ominous 13 miles uphill again before the final 7 mile stretch to the first day finish line. When we ventured out to find the boys I was shocked to actually see them on the path to Vail. We raced ahead and got out at a good spot far enough ahead to see them ride by. They saw us and were all smiles as they sped by. Aaron first started to slow down but we yelled not to stop and keep going and as Daniel rode by he saw us cheering. Rob captured this beautiful picture I know I will cherish forever as a picture of strength and health. He later said he saw my sign but was going to fast to read the whole thing. Let me tell you that first day seeing all four boys cross that finish line side by side was surreal. It was hot, they were cranky and I couldn’t have been more proud. They crossed and could barely stop for congratulations before they were on their way up to the condo for ice baths, food and back to SORRY. We however, continued a full day at it meeting greeting and swabbing and a few hours later and the boys were somewhat rested and back down to head to the Wheels of Justice team party where sponsors families and the leaders were honored at a dinner and party. This is why we were all here. To raise money for Children’s Hospital Colorado and the Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders. Daniel was asked to speak and he did so beautifully. After he did he was given a standing ovation and one of the sponsors of the team donated an additional $5000 dollars. Daniel’s speech was so moving and such a nice dedication to the nurses of the floor that one of the members of the team came up to him after and asked him specifically what he could do for the nurses. Daniel said feed them. They would like a meal catered to them. He was also approached and asked to do another speaking engagement. Another proud moment. I was so glad that Bob Casey that he spoke about specifically in his speech and is so special to us came all the way up to listen. The boys were beyond exhausted and headed right up to the condo I thought to bed but huh? Nope, SORRY!!! They still had a few hours left in them. Although the nights events were wrapped up in the tents my parents and I stayed late and got another couple dozen lingering people to sign up for the bone marrow registry which was well worth a little extra exhaustion.
Day 2 of riding was not going to be as fun a morning, plus it was raining. But troopers as they were got their sore bodies up and ate a well balanced nutritious breakfast to kickstart their energy- yep gas station donuts. So all that food I luged up to make them gourmet meals I luged right back home on Sunday. Oh to be 16. Whatever. Off they went, but without smiles and again Rob and I followed. They were motoring this morning and we barely caught up with them as they were ahead of schedule. We met them before their first stop where they dumped their rain gear and refueled before they were on their way. They finished their ride probably an hour and a half to two hours before we would have predicted but this time Daniel came in and was not all smiles. Yes they came in with a picture perfect side by side finish and the accomplishment was huge. To think of the accomplishment that just a year and a half post bone marrow transplant and he just finished 80+ miles at elevation is tremendous, but he was hurting. He rode straight to a chair and immediately admitted to pain. Something he rarely does to other people. I got an ice pack and the boys told me how he cramped up really bad early on but kept riding and then he told me something popped in his knee. He needed to lean on me to walk the rest of the night and has had trouble since. Again remember pride is stronger than pain and I am not sure this is a good thing. BUT the will to play SORRY is stronger than pain so this they still managed before the other boys left.
The weekend came to a close and Rob left early to go pick up Matthew from the airport. He came home from 5 weeks in Israel and it will be good to finally have him home. I wish he would have been here with us this weekend although I know this is not particularly his thing. I hope we will work on him for next year to make it a tradition. I think with all of our volunteers enjoying their time they will be back and I know the boys that rode enjoyed the experience. They were so sweet and supportive as they have been these past two years. They have been Daniel’s anchors and I hope this will be a tradition that they will have as they grow old together to ride the Courage Classic as a team, and continue to make memories together.
My pride beamed all weekend as my typical line I gave at our test was “My son Daniel had a life saving bone marrow transplant a year and half ago and is alive and strong today riding in the Courage Classic.” Can you believe that? Just think about it. So if you think this past week was crazy now think back to the past two years. Man what a ride.
This is the link to his speech:
https://www.facebook.com/nadine.hailpern/videos/10210175231160957/
So recap goes like this, Thursday night boys come to house to prepare and carb up for early morning Friday departure. Large pasta meal with my parents in town and boys disappear into basement. Little did I know they would be starting a new tradition of their own. They dug up the old board game SORRY and that was it for the weekend. My guess is 100s of rounds were played over the weekend and countless obscenities were screamed across the table. It is good to know that a good simple board game was still able to keep their attention. They took that game up the mountain and played it obsessively every minute when they were not on their bikes.
Friday Morning Rob was up and setting up at the crack of dawn and we met him shortly after in Copper Mountain. I drove up a short while later with the boys as I listened to Daniel planning about doing the long 160 mile ride next year, I was already wondering if this would be the same discussion I would hear on the car ride down on Sunday. No sooner after we all arrived and my parents learned the concept of swabbing we were set up and working. Volunteers arrived as the day progressed. The boys ventured around the village and back to SORRY. We were up and running the registry and continued meeting dozens of people and sharing Daniel’s story and hearing so many amazing stories of families that had come to the Courage Classic to support, thank and ride for our Children’s Hospital Colorado because of the love and devotion that we have for the work they do for all of our children. That is exactly why Daniel did this ride.
More specifically he did his ride to raise money for CCBD which is our heart and home away from home which gave us back our son's life. Now the ride was 40 miles the first day and 41 the next. Let me tell you I was more than a little nervous. Actually, I was physically nauseous the entire time Daniel was riding. I knew it wasn’t a race and I knew he knew this. There were stopping places everywhere and support along the whole way. It is the most supported ride in Colorado. There are SAG wagons all along the route meaning the boys can hop in a van and get a ride at any point but I knew even without a bunch of training and never really riding at altitude that Daniel would rather drop and spend a week in the hospital than quit and catch a ride in front of his friends. So I held my breathe the entire time and followed my phone finder following their ride the best I could.
I can’t tell you the feeling I had when we sent Daniel and his friends off in the morning at 7 AM at the start line towards the first 40, knowing the challenge ahead for all of them but knowing the signifigance that it was for Daniel and the metaphor it was having the support of his friends riding by his side. Yes of course I cried. I feared and then I cried some more. Then I had a cup of coffee and Rob and I got in the car and ventured out to find them on the way. The first part of their ride was a grueling 7 miles uphill, then a more fun 13 miles down, however after a lunch break it was an ominous 13 miles uphill again before the final 7 mile stretch to the first day finish line. When we ventured out to find the boys I was shocked to actually see them on the path to Vail. We raced ahead and got out at a good spot far enough ahead to see them ride by. They saw us and were all smiles as they sped by. Aaron first started to slow down but we yelled not to stop and keep going and as Daniel rode by he saw us cheering. Rob captured this beautiful picture I know I will cherish forever as a picture of strength and health. He later said he saw my sign but was going to fast to read the whole thing. Let me tell you that first day seeing all four boys cross that finish line side by side was surreal. It was hot, they were cranky and I couldn’t have been more proud. They crossed and could barely stop for congratulations before they were on their way up to the condo for ice baths, food and back to SORRY. We however, continued a full day at it meeting greeting and swabbing and a few hours later and the boys were somewhat rested and back down to head to the Wheels of Justice team party where sponsors families and the leaders were honored at a dinner and party. This is why we were all here. To raise money for Children’s Hospital Colorado and the Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders. Daniel was asked to speak and he did so beautifully. After he did he was given a standing ovation and one of the sponsors of the team donated an additional $5000 dollars. Daniel’s speech was so moving and such a nice dedication to the nurses of the floor that one of the members of the team came up to him after and asked him specifically what he could do for the nurses. Daniel said feed them. They would like a meal catered to them. He was also approached and asked to do another speaking engagement. Another proud moment. I was so glad that Bob Casey that he spoke about specifically in his speech and is so special to us came all the way up to listen. The boys were beyond exhausted and headed right up to the condo I thought to bed but huh? Nope, SORRY!!! They still had a few hours left in them. Although the nights events were wrapped up in the tents my parents and I stayed late and got another couple dozen lingering people to sign up for the bone marrow registry which was well worth a little extra exhaustion.
Day 2 of riding was not going to be as fun a morning, plus it was raining. But troopers as they were got their sore bodies up and ate a well balanced nutritious breakfast to kickstart their energy- yep gas station donuts. So all that food I luged up to make them gourmet meals I luged right back home on Sunday. Oh to be 16. Whatever. Off they went, but without smiles and again Rob and I followed. They were motoring this morning and we barely caught up with them as they were ahead of schedule. We met them before their first stop where they dumped their rain gear and refueled before they were on their way. They finished their ride probably an hour and a half to two hours before we would have predicted but this time Daniel came in and was not all smiles. Yes they came in with a picture perfect side by side finish and the accomplishment was huge. To think of the accomplishment that just a year and a half post bone marrow transplant and he just finished 80+ miles at elevation is tremendous, but he was hurting. He rode straight to a chair and immediately admitted to pain. Something he rarely does to other people. I got an ice pack and the boys told me how he cramped up really bad early on but kept riding and then he told me something popped in his knee. He needed to lean on me to walk the rest of the night and has had trouble since. Again remember pride is stronger than pain and I am not sure this is a good thing. BUT the will to play SORRY is stronger than pain so this they still managed before the other boys left.
The weekend came to a close and Rob left early to go pick up Matthew from the airport. He came home from 5 weeks in Israel and it will be good to finally have him home. I wish he would have been here with us this weekend although I know this is not particularly his thing. I hope we will work on him for next year to make it a tradition. I think with all of our volunteers enjoying their time they will be back and I know the boys that rode enjoyed the experience. They were so sweet and supportive as they have been these past two years. They have been Daniel’s anchors and I hope this will be a tradition that they will have as they grow old together to ride the Courage Classic as a team, and continue to make memories together.
My pride beamed all weekend as my typical line I gave at our test was “My son Daniel had a life saving bone marrow transplant a year and half ago and is alive and strong today riding in the Courage Classic.” Can you believe that? Just think about it. So if you think this past week was crazy now think back to the past two years. Man what a ride.
This is the link to his speech:
https://www.facebook.com/nadine.hailpern/videos/10210175231160957/