Today’s a5K Story was submitted by Lissa Chambers
In August 2009, I had surgery to remove an ovarian cyst that the doctors had been watching for years. Surgery was successful, and I was back to work within a week. On the day of my 2-week follow up appointment, my doctor called me at work and ask if I was bringing anyone with me to the appointment.
Let me skip all the details, the cyst was not a cyst at all, it had been ovarian cancer. Well, September 11, 2009 at the age of 42, I had a total radical hysterectomy, as well as had my cervix and appendix removed. The recovery was slower, but through the grace of God, I needed no follow up treatment. No radiation, no chemo, no more surgeries.
I am Theresa. I am a mom, wife, and sister. My kidneys have not been perfect since 1993, but it has been manageable. I take my medicine and things are pretty stable. In 2010 it got a little shaky, and things became less stable. I became borderline diabetic, borderline because I convinced my doctor to postpone medication for 6 months.
I recently added 10k runs to my training regimen. In fact, I completed my first 6.2 mile run a few weeks ago, fulfilling a goal dating back to sixth grade. Each year, our local elementary schools participated in a 10k. Students qualified by either running twenty laps around the soccer field under the supervision of a friend, or by running twenty-five laps during gym class. I managed to jog and walk about seventeen laps while my best friend observed. He was kind enough to testify to my qualifying effort and so I was “in”.