Running Update:
2/15/2020
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Swim
|
2200.0 yd
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||
2/16/2020
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Run
|
10.2 mi
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1:40:38
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|
2/17/2020
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Swim
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2200.0 yd
|
||
2/19/2020
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Run
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7.6 mi
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1:15:12
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2/21/2020
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Run
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5.0 mi
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43:35
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|
2/22/2020
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Swim
|
2200.0 yd
|
||
2/23/2020
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Run
|
13.1 mi
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2:08:14
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|
2/24/2020
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Swim
|
2200.0 yd
|
||
2/26/2020
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Run
|
6.0 mi
|
55:02
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|
2/28/2020
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Run
|
5.0 mi
|
48:23
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|
3/1/2020
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Run
|
10.2 mi
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1:42:11
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|
3/2/2020
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Run
|
3.2 mi
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30:07
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|
3/4/2020
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Run
|
5.0 mi
|
49:27
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|
3/6/2020
|
Run
|
5.0 mi
|
47:55
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|
3/7/2020
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Swim
|
2200.0 yd
|
||
3/8/2020
|
Run
|
10.2 mi
|
1:39:44
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|
3/9/2020
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Swim
|
2200.0 yd
|
||
3/11/2020
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Run
|
7.6 mi
|
1:15:24
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|
3/13/2020
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Run
|
3.2 mi
|
30:53
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|
3/15/2020
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Run
|
13.1 mi
|
2:12:45
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My first
race of the year, the NYC Half Marathon, was scheduled for yesterday but was
canceled due to concerns over spread of the new coronavirus. Instead, I ran a half marathon at home, as
promised! I didn’t run at race pace
since I didn’t have the usual water stops, fuel stations, pacers, or the
excitement of a big race, but it was a lovely day here in Connecticut—50
degrees and sunny—so I enjoyed the run.
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| My unofficial half-marathon route (uploaded from my Garmin) |
Jane Update:
Back in
calmer times (ie, two weeks ago) Jane and I were in New York City at the
Children’s Tumor Foundation for a photo shoot!
CTF is planning a new campaign for NF Awareness Month in May and it will
feature new photos of young people affected by neurofibromatosis. There were eight NF kids and their families there that day, so
Jane got to meet and interact with them, and they were all treated like
celebrities. The photographer is a professional whose son
has NF, too, so he volunteered his time. I'll be sure to share the
finished products when they are published, but here is a preview.
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| Jane and another NF friend from Connecticut |
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| Costume change |
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| Right before the boys jumped up to try to be as tall as Jane :) |
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| My Yale classmate, Simon Vukelj, who happens to help run CTF! |
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| Adding more subjects to the photo |
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| Look at all these fighters! |
NF Update:
Jane and I
are scheduled to return to NIH for a check-up, her usual testing, and more MRIs
at the end of the month, but the visit is up in the air because of the
coronavirus. We are waiting to hear from
our team there. We don’t plan to fly down
this time so we can avoid the crowds in the airports. We could have the option to have her testing
done at home and forward it all to NIH, but that is easier said than done. At each visit Jane has blood work, EKGs,
echocardiogram, eye exams, ear exams, dermatology exams, photographs, and
MRIs. That would be hard to arrange on
short notice even in normal times, but much more difficult now that our local
hospital overwhelmed with coronavirus management and not scheduling any
non-emergency visits. We don’t know what
we are going to do.
Which
leads me to my public service announcement (kind of a lecture, really—but it’s
my blog, so there):
This is
why everyone is being told to stay home and to practice social distancing—and why you should, too! You know how all the grocery stores have run
out of toilet paper because everyone went to buy it at the same time? That’s what will happen to our hospitals’ ICU
beds and ventilators if everyone gets the coronavirus at the same time—they will
run out. There will not be enough
medical resources to adequately take care of all those people who get really sick
with the coronavirus at the same time, leading to even more deaths. And there will not be enough medical
resources to take care of people who have other types of illnesses, like a random appendicitis, or a
heart attack, or cancer, or neurofibromatosis.
If we can
slow down the spread of the coronavirus by staying home, the hospitals will be
able to keep up with the sick people and will have the resources to give them
the treatment they need. (To continue the analogy, the toilet paper won't run out.) I am speaking
as a physician from inside a major health organization—this really is a big deal.
In my opinion, there is no such thing as overreacting to this virus. Resources are already tight. Please
follow the recommendations of your state and local authorities and stay home. Reach
out to your state and local authorities if you need help figuring out what
safety nets are in place if your employer is not paying you to work from home. Think twice before leaving home for any
reason—most reasons can wait. Do it to save your own life, do it save
someone else’s life.
End of
lecture. Stay safe, everyone.
