About Running Mom's Brendon:

Pregnancy was uneventful. I felt good, had energy and got good reports on my regular check ups, and at 7 lbs ½ oz., a little smaller that the 8 lbs 2 oz and 9 lbs 11 oz of my other boys, we were unconcerned. However, there were a few unusual circumstances that made Brendon’s birth different from that of his brothers Ryan (now 18) and Andrew (now 12). He had early apgars of 6 and later 8, but he had a dislocated left hip and right knee. On day two the orthopedist showed up to cast his right knee. It was bigger than he was, and a little imposing, and I was to discover this was going to draw attention and questions which required explanations from family, friends and total strangers. He wore a hip harness for the first 6 months of his life. This was just the first of many visual differences and equipment which would draw curious looks and attention and become an everyday part of Brendon’s anatomy. Anonymous, Brendon was not going to be.

As I describe our current journey toward another new finish line, I cannot help to reflect on other paths explored, hopefully I will be able to do this in a way that makes sense to the reader.

This will be Brendon’s first ½ marathon, a distance of 13.1 miles. However, in pregnancy Brendon bounced inside me while I completed the Honolulu marathon in December of 1998, a distance of 26.2 miles. Little did I know during my training, following a 20 mile distance run that I was pregnant. I remember a cold, chilling November training run. I decided to go to the doctor because I had at the time a cold which did not seem to be going away. My menstrual cycle was halted, but this is not unusual in any strenuous training program. The doctor decided to do a pregnancy test just in case. When she came back into the room and informed me I was pregnant, I said there was no way. We bantered back and forth before the realization sunk in. I headed to my OBGYN to discuss my condition and get reassurance that the training had’t inflicted any harm on the developing fetus. I asked if I was going to be unable to run the marathon. He assured me that he was unconcerned, though he wouldn’t advise any new mother beginning this type of training. Since I was already in shape and the baby was used to the training, there would be no harm in continuing. He cautioned me to be sure to take it easy, not going for any records, rest if needed, hydrate and pay attention to nutrition. I took his advice, finishing the race in less than 6 hours, it took forever. I stopped at the aid stations to get my vitals checked, drank lots of water, digested protein and took advantage of every port a potty along the way, onward we went. Just for the curious, in no way did the distance racing contribute to Brendon’s disability. Muscular Dystrophy is a genetic condition and is no way caused by any pregnancy factors.

As in any long distance race, I have stopped to rest, paid attention to the needs of my physical body, gotten filled up, emptied out, slowed down to prevent running out of energy, paid attention to injury prevention and sped up to keep up with the crowd and ventured off the path, often being dragged back on course, sometimes willingly and many times not. But I have endured. I have grown in physical strength, emotional stability, mental capacity but most noticeable in spiritual dimension. I continually reference my higher power, whom I chose to call God. I hope to encourage and instill a desire to persevere despite challenges toward a deeper joy. Persevere with faith, humility and love. Mostly I hope to inspire you to find your joy, your passion, the thing you seek with the power you need. Ambitious, RIGHT! Possible, ABSOLUTELY!!! Please comment, offer suggestions, celebrate and share your story with me. Follow me, run beside me and forge ahead of me to achieve your own desires, reach your own goals and endure all this life has to offer. Blessings for joy!

M


“I am fighting the good fight, I am running a strong race, I am keeping the faith”