286.2

A few weeks back I had the opportunity to help a friend and in the process, see an actual miracle occur. My friend has been fighting cancer for the past two years and his doctors had told him that he had had the last chemo-therapy they would give him. What they were saying between the lines was, if his radiation treatment didn’t work, he would die, there was nothing else they could do. He was going to get the results from his radiologist to see if they had destroyed the last of his cancer.

MD Anderson is a huge complex of buildings in downtown Houston, it is also the most advanced cancer treatment facility in the world. You see an incredible diversity of people there, all with one thing in common, every single person wearing a white wrist band has been given a death sentence and this is their court of last resort. If the doctors here cannot help them, they will die.

The radiology department is in the basement of the complex, far away from the main entrance called the ‘Aquarium’ upstairs. I have been wheeling my friend around in his chair for quite a while finally arriving at ‘Waiting Room I’, radiology. The area is quite full, we manage some seats in the corner, the people next to us are a couple in their forties. We chat for a bit and I find out that ‘John’ is here for a very aggresive cancer and that he is in the middle of his radiation treatments. When he finds out where we are from it comes out that he too is a cyclist, in fact the Hotter’n Hell 100 is one of the rides he has always wanted to do but this year he is just too sick to do it. A nurse calls ‘John’ back into radiology and we quickly say goodbye, wishing each other good luck. When his turn comes, my friend is told by the staff that he is cancer free, his treatments have worked, he comes back in six months for a followup, we are done here.

At 7:05 a.m. on Saturday 29, 2015 approximately 14,000 people will start the Hotter’n Hell 100 endurance ride and I will be one of them. I will be wearing a white wrist band with the words “John from Waiting Room I” on it. My new friend from MD Anderson will ride with me in spirit. Hopefully next year he can be here in person.

My food

4 eggs(320 cal.)P28F21.2C1.6
1 tsp. coconut oil(40 cal.)P0F5C0
total=360 cal. P 28 F 26.2 C 1.6

The Triple, from Rafter J in Iowa Park, Tx.
1/4lb. brisket(374 cal.)P29.2F27.7C0
1/4lb. pulled pork(236 cal.)P32.3F10.9C0
1/4lb. smoked sausage(364 cal.)P13.6F32.4C2.8
1 bun(117 cal.)P4.1F1.6C21.1
1 cup pinto beans(245 cal.)P15.4F1.1C44.8
total=1336 cal. P 94.6 F 73.7 C 68.7

16 oz. chicken breast(496 cal.)P104.4 F 5.6 C 0
1 tbsp coconut oil(120 cal.)P0F14C0
4 tbsp. hoisin sauce(200 cal.)P0F0C50
total=816 cal. P 104.4 F 14 C 50
daily total=2512 cal. P 227 F 113.9 C 120.3

My workout
Bike ride- 15 miles, 1300 cal. 9.5 MET hours