Good news so far....

I was happy to wake up this morning to news that Cain Clinkscales was doing well! He had the second of three surgeries yesterday. I followed his progress all day yesterday. I can't imagine the emotional roller coaster Catherine and Brad must have been on all day waiting for updates while Cain was in surgery and while he was in the ICU post-op before they got to go back to see him. I keep trying to put myself in their shoes, but I don't think that it's possible for me to realistically imagine how they must have felt yesterday. As a parent, when my kids aren't feeling well, I just want to do whatever it takes to make them feel better and rest comfortably. It's difficult for me to imagine being able to put complete trust in an anesthesiologist, a cardiothoracic surgeon and a perfusionist to do such a major procedure on my own child. Now, don't get me wrong, I would have no problems putting my full trust in the cardiothoracic surgeons, perfusionists and the anesthesia attending physicians that I work with; but, that's because I work them and know that they are competent health care professionals who truly care about their patients. I am sure Cain's parents have gotten to know Cain's caretakers very well up to this point, which undoubtedly makes it much easier when incision time arrives. One thing I've learned about kids since I've been a parent and health care professional is that they are resilient and can typically deal with adversity much better than adults.

With respect to my training, yesterday was a rest day. A 40 minute bike ride is in store for me after work. I am looking forward to it. Tomorrow will be a run day, then Monday I am scheduled for another 2-workout day with a morning swim and an evening bike ride; but, I may have to postpone the bike ride until Tuesday and skip one of my rest days this week since I have to work from 6:30A-7P Monday.

Speaking of training, I completed the entire distance of the triathlon swim in the pool on Wednesday. I just wanted to see if I could finish it and I did. It's a huge confidence boost for someone who really doesn't have a swimming background to know that I can finish the swim distance 4 months before the race.

I've been watching some YouTube videos of the Disney Marathon. Looks like it is going to be fun- or about about as fun as running 26.2 miles can be. The race actually starts and ends at Epcot. After running around in Epcot for a couple of miles then leaving Epcot, it's about 7 miles to The Magic Kingdom and through the castle. After leaving there, it's about 6 miles to the Animal Kingdom. There's really not much running actually in the park there. After Animal Kingdom, it's about 5 miles to Hollywood Studios and on to the finish at Epcot. You can check out the course map here. Also, here's a 3 minute video of some of the highlight of the race. If you're questioning whether I'm really going to do this....there's my receipt right there! Do I plan on doing it fast? Depends on your definition of fast. I will tell you that I plan on finishing on the same day that I start!

By the way, I want to thank all of the people who have donated so far to the two charities I will be running for, the Children's Heart Foundation and the Special Operations Warrior Foundation.

Also, if you know anyone who was born with a congenital heart defect(s) or was killed in Iraq, Afghanistan or elsewhere and would like to share their story, please let me know.

Scott