October 29th, 2007
So today was interesting to say the least. I woke up around 8AM and went downstairs to get some breakfast (10/25/07). After my pancake, I called the States for an update. I heard the group was suggesting me to head to Kathmandu, so I packed up my stuff and high-tailed it out of town. All the way this cold kept me from going too fast, but I still pushed it and did what I could. Getting into Lukla I went straight to the airport and tried to check in with Agni Air. "No problem! On next flight, we change. You on next flight." So when the time came to start weighing the bags and getting things ready, they said, "You need boarding pass first!" full knowing they already saw my ticket and told me it was no problem. I was told to follow some guy to get my pass. I did that and another person said to come back in an hour. The flight was full. What?? So I hang around while they don't have any planes coming in. I start thinking I'm not getting out, so I then think about buying a ticket on Yeti Airlines. I ask the guy three or four times, "so I can get out on the next flight?" "Yes, just you and rucksack? No problem, we get you out on very next flight." …Wonderful. So I bought a ticket thinking I was heading out on the next Yeti plane. Imagine my surprise when I got to the gate and they said only 2 boarding. I'm 5. WHAT? I have to wait for another 3 planes?? Another flight came and went. Then another. All the way up to 4. Guess whose flight gets cancelled?? Yup. The last flight of the day and that guy I bought the ticket from is nowhere to be seen. So checking out/in at the counter, they took my boarding pass and just wrote "060" on it.
I'm assuming when I get back there that I'll be able to board the first flight out…again because that's what he said. Of all things, I also bumped into a guy from Boulder, CO (my home town). He didn't seem to be too pleased, but pointed out something I noticed as well. The people in the lodges aren't as friendly if you're traveling by yourself. They're noticeably nicer to those in groups. Anyhow, now I'm back at Pemba Nure's and Nima's place, but they're both still gone. I'll sleep here and wake up early tomorrow to get to the airport to get back into town. I hope I can get there early enough to rest in a real bed with real sheet. This trip has been great, but it has also opened my eyes to a lot I didn't notice last trip. A lot of people (locals) really don't know what's going on. They all pretend to until you get to know them, then the bull crap stops. I also don't want to trek through here again during October. There are SO many people. It's crazy how many people are here walking around. I'm anxious to get to Kathmandu to rest and relax. A shower will be nice as well as some real food. I could go longer, but I'm not really having a great time right now because I'm still sick. If I wouldn't have gotten sick, I'm guessing would have had a blast as always. My body's taken a toll and I just want to get out of the mountains.
Getting out of the mountains was a trip because I got to the airport at 6 like I was told. I got to the front of the line with my ticket, started to book my flight out, and was told to wait. 2 hours go by and I still haven't been helped. I have my boarding pass from the night before, but still nothing has happened. Long story short, I got on the FOURTH flight out. Again, I was lied to about getting on the first plane. I got into Kathmandu, got to the hotel, rested, and woke up the next morning. I FINALLY was able to join the group the next morning when their planes started coming in and they were arriving at the hotel. Everyone looked good, but they were all getting sick while I was getting better. It's a few days later now and we have already visited the Bhaktapur Cancer Center. For those of you who read my book or those of you who know, the cancer center is the first cancer hospital I ever visited. "Dr. B" was still there and remembered me from 5 years ago. This place used to have only 2 buildings…admin and patients. Now they have about 50 beds for patients and a few new buildings. It's amazing what they've done with the facilities in only 5 years. Truly amazing and I'm honored and happy to have been a small portion of that change.
Tonight is the concert in the square here in town. Tomorrow I leave for home via Kathmandu to Bahrain to London to JFK to Chicago to Denver. I finally get home on the 31st around 8PM. It's going to be a long trip with this cold. I hope I get better!!
Well thanks again for everything. I'll send another update as soon as I can!!
October 26th, 2007
Hey Everyone,
I received an email from Sean this morning. He is in Kathmandu now and could not use the Satellite phone when he was in Lukla. There is a $2,000 fine for even having a Satellite phone there, and there is a military base there and he did not want to chance it. He could not even charge it since people would know what the solar panels were for. He is safe and sound though. The cold is slowly going away!
He thanks everyone for the support and will call me in a day or so with a complete update. Thanks for the support and Keep Climbing!!
Joe Schneider
CancerClimber Association
Below is a blog posted by Ben yesterday on the lovehopestrength.org website
October 24, 2007
It seems like ages ago I received an email from Shannon Foley eagerly explaining a trip that was being planned where 37 amazing people were to climb to 18,500 feet and perform a concert in hopes of raising awareness for those fighting a disease that ravages over 20 million people a year; cancer. Sean Swarner and I were in that business. We travel around the world visiting hospitals and giving hope to those who are told they are going to die. We try and raise the quality of life for people who are scared, confused, and whose lives are turned upside down due to a life changing diagnosis.
Sean is a two time terminal cancer survivor. He is the only known person in the world who has had both Hodgkin's disease and Askin's Sarcoma. Askin's Sarcoma effects three out of a million people. Out of those three, only 6% survive. Upon Sean's diagnosis of Askin's he was read his last rights and given two weeks to live. Against all odds, Sean survived. Five years ago Sean started a mission in Kathmandu when he visited a small hospital were he met a nice little man named Dr. Baral. He visited that hospital to remind him why he was climbing. In 2002 Sean had decided to Climb Mt. Everest so he could scream from the rooftops of the world that there is hope, that the human spirit and mind can accomplish anything and that with love, hope, and strength life can be restored. On May 16, 2002 at 9:36am Sean became the first cancer survivor in history to summit Mt. Everest.
The irony was uncanny. Five years later, after climbing to the highest point on each of the seven continents, six musicians, eight cancer survivors, and twenty-two determined trekkers were raising money for the same hospital where Sean's journey began just five years ago. When I told Sean about it, we just stared and each other in amazement and wept. Sean reminded me of a story about a green shirt….
When Sean was sick with his first cancer, eyes rolled back in his head, sixty pounds overweight, hairless, and seemingly pawned off as dead… His dad made him a shirt that read, " I don't usually look like this, I'm on Chemo". It seemed to ease Sean's mind in a time where his friends were worried about the latest hairstyles, trading baseball cards and chasing girls. Sean on the other hand was pulling hair out of the drain, fighting for his life, and crying himself to sleep every night. The shirt gave him comfort, it gave him strength, it gave him hope and represented that he was loved. When Sean was at the Bhaktapur Cancer Center five years ago he gave that shirt to a young man who was in the 4th Stage of Hodgkin's disease. He told that boy that when he got better he was to pass that shirt on to help another get better.
Two years later, Sean was at a conference in Vienna and who should pop up but that cute little doctor from the Bhaktapur Cancer Center.
Sean: "Hey, your that doctor from Kathmandu!"
Dr. B: "Wow! Your that one lung cancer survivor that summitted Mt. Everest and brought that green shirt."
Sean: "Yeah, whatever happened to that shirt anyways?"
Dr. B: "Sean, I am happy to inform you that your shirt in now on its fifth survivor."
As amazing as that is, when I met Dr. B a few weeks ago he still had Sean and that green shirt on the front of his mind. Dr. B was so excited when I asked him about the shirt… His face lit up, and he very proudly said that shirt had now been on over 30 survivors. He said, "Ben, all we need is hope." I instantly teared up and thought… Mission accomplished.
Sean has always said that the human body can last roughly 30 days without food. The human condition can last roughly 3 days without water. But no human alive can live for more then 30 seconds without hope, because without hope we have nothing.
To put in to words what has happened to me over the last 14 days is seemingly impossible. I started a journey with 37 people I have never met and am now concluding that journey with 37 people I can now call my friends. 37 people who have successfully given millions of people Love, Hope, and Strength. To my new friends in Nepal, look at what we did. Take a deep breathe, close your eyes, and realize the impact we have made on the world. Sean and I are happy with one green shirt and thirty people. This group has hit millions.
We are Love, we are hope, and we are strength. We should all be proud that we are not just living life, but we are living a life that matters. I thank you all, and as always, Keep Climbing.
My name is Ben Metzker. I met Sean Swarner just over two years ago at a picnic in Boulder, CO. I believed in his mission of hope so much I cashed in my 401(k) and dedicated my life to helping Sean change the way people think. It has been a tremendous struggle over the last two years, but listening to people tell us that we have changed their lives and watching kids faces go from frowns to smiles makes it worth it everyday. The two of us have worked tirelessly to make our mission a reality. Shannon, Mike, and James walked into our lives at just the right time to allow two forces to join together to make a huge impact. Thank you Love, Hope, Strength and all its valuable moving parts that has made this tremendous journey possible.
To all friends and family of LHS. We are all sitting in the lodge at Namche and enjoying some wine and each others company. Everyone is totally back to normal and it seems as if all illness has passed and we look forward to a 7 hour hike tomorrow to Lukla. Once in Lukla we will have a party for our Sherpas and Porters who have played such a huge role in our journey. First thing the following morning we will head back Kathmandu and finish our journey with a visit to the hospital and finale concert. To my Mom and Dad… Thank you so much for all your support. I love you both so very much and can't wait to share my stories of Nepal with you.
Keep Climbing,
Ben Metzker
Love Hope Strength
October 25, 2007
Namche Bazar, Nepal
11,345 ft, 3,457 m
October 23rd, 2007
So get this, about 6 months ago they put up cell phone towers. Yep, now you can call home from nearly every place in the world as easily as picking up your home phone. It is great for emergencies, etc. but the service is very intermittent. One major problem, with this new found service, is that every local has a cell phone. No problem right? Well, give a kid a new toy, just like whenever any of us get a new phone, and they will play with every single ring tone possible. Now take that ring tone, one after the other circulating throughout twenty of them and multiply it by fifteen people in the same small room doing the exact same thing. At first it is annoying, but eventually it is kind of funny because everyone just got a new toy they are all testing out.
Today I went to play a few games of pool with a lady I met from New York City. She is part of a group from the UK all heading to base camp, all wonderful people. Earlier I met two guys from Israel and Iraq, all wonderful as well. Over here, there is no national/cultural barrier that prevents people from talking to one another. As well, differences slip to the wayside. Take for example when I went to the pool place when I first got to Namche with Nima. Someone left a handgun by the pool table, obviously he wanted people to know that he had a gun, but there was no tension because if acting the right way, there is nothing to be threatened by. Almost like in Russian when I had AK-47s pointed at me in my journal on Elbrus. Anyhow, I am slowly feeling better, and I bel
UPDATE**
So I pretty much had all day to think about failure and what it truly means. In my eyes, the only people who fail are those who refuse to get back up after falling. As well, those who don’t learn from their mistakes. Don’t get me wrong…I’m all upset b/c I am sick, nor do I think I have failed. Many people get upset because they have this notion that bad things don’t have a right to happen. They happen all the time and there is no real reason to get upset about what is out of your control. Who cares…yeah my fault? Not at all. Why get upset. I am alive, I am healthy (minus this cold), I have friends, and people who love and support me. I am one of the luckiest people in the world, as is everyone else who can be happy with who they are. Maybe we should pick a day where we all agree that no matter what happens, we will all still be happy and randomly help those through true generosity. We can call it National Compassion Day or something. IT will be a day in which our society will truly work together to make our world a better place. It could be anything from a simple thank you note to letting someone ahead of you in line at the grocery store who has only a few items. It could also be a smile and a hello to a perfect stranger. Anything you can think of to be nice. Ok, corny I know, but imagine if our society was really like that, imagine how much happier people would be.
October 22nd, 2007
The entire walk down from Pangboche took a lot out of me, I am exhausted. I am not tired b/c of the altitude, but b/c of this nasty cold. It is really hurting me. I need to rest more and just wait for the group to come down. Waiting around will be good for me and that is what I really need. We played a few rounds of pool when we got here, I forgot how tiny the pool cue and balls really are. It is also difficult to play on a table that has cuts and bumps in it. Makes me again realize how lucky I am to have what I have. No need to really have more, b/c it does not increase happiness, only you can do that from inside.
So today, I am going to just lay around in the lodge, stay warm, hydrate, and take my medicine. Hopefully in a couple of days, I will feel better and this junk will leave my ear and I can hear better. If not, it will be a pretty painful flight back to Kathmandu in the unpressurized plane.
UPDATE:
Scratch this day for peaceful resting. All day and every time I was just about to fall asleep into dreamland, a duck would bellow out like a rooster letting me know it was day time and I should be awake. Thanks! And for those of you who have always wondered, yes a duck's quack echoes, trust me I heard it plenty of times. I hope everyone had a great night, I am getting ready for bed now, hoping to get some rest. This cold does not seem to be going anywhere, Oh well, more tomorrow.
****Just a side note here, I think Sean is making a smart decision by coming down. Each of his dispatches has sounded worst than the last. He is coughing, sneezing and I can tell he is not himself. The usually peppy voice sounds horrible. Sean left a message over the weekend with a thank you to everyone sending the text messages, unfortunately the sat. phone did not have a strong signal b/c I could not hear anything. Rest assured he is appreciative of all the messages, they truly help him maintain focus and inspire him.
Joe Schneider
CancerClimber Association
October 21st, 2007
7:45 am
Last night's sleep was fantastic; I slept real well, but woke up a few times to my ears being clogged with mucus. I am afraid the best option is to leave for Namche and wait for the group there. I hope everything goes well for them today. If I didn't get sick, I would have joined them a few days ago. Needless to say I am a little pissed at myself. The weather here has been fantastic, last night it snowed a little, temperatures' plummeted, but the Marmot gear that I have kept me nice and toasty. For those of you interested in the lay out of the Himalayan Mountains, it is like the Rockies, but times 20. The Mountains rise up from the nearest river at such an incredible steep angle and for thousands of feet. Walking around the "road" if you took a spill and fell off the trail, you would end up tumbling thousands of feet into the valley.
Sometimes trails cross and you can look up 50 feet and see someone else, but horizontally they are only about 5 feet away it's that steep. Truly a magical place. Anyhow, that's about it for now, I am going to eat breakfast and try to ingest more vitamin C and Zinc. I have to be healthy before I return to the States, because I am visiting some hospitals and can't be coughing around the kids with cancer. Something tells me that's just not kosher.
October 20th, 2007
6:30 pm
All day today I laid in the sun and tried to stay warm and get over this awful cold, it is not working. I feel the same as I did yesterday and last night. I am beginning to think it may be best for my body if I went down in altitude to recover. That means I will miss the concert, but at least I will be alive. It also means I won’t be able to see Peter Leggett’s stupa, to pay homage to my friend who died on Everest while I was climbing in 2002.
Tonight I am going to be early again, and hopefully get a good nights sleep. I Really feel horrible and the head/chest cold is really kicking my butt. After two days of rest and not feeling better, the only option I have left is to descend in altitude and hope it helps my body heal. Thanks again for all your support and text messages, more later.
**please note, Sean phoned in two other dispatches prior to this, but due to a bad satellite signal, I was unable to decipher anything from it.
Joe Schneider
October 19th, 2007
Last night was strange, I am not sure if it is my mind playing tricks on me or If I was really feeling healthy. Everything medically, from the pulse ox(measures percentage of oxygen/blood saturation) was fine. My pulse itself was very high, I woke up at 2am and faded in and out of sleep until 8am. Getting up to go to the bathroom, I was really dizzy. Maybe all this traveling has finally caught up with me b/c I was also coughing and I feel like I may have a nasty head cold coming on. I am hacking up phlegm so today Nima and I hiked out of Debuche into Pangboche, we are going to rest today and see how I feel tomorrow. Hopefully I feel better, I also hope this rest today does wonders for my head and body. More later, but as always, your texts keep me going, please keep them up.
October 18th, 2007
6:20am
So when my head hit my pillow last night, I think I was already asleep. I slept like a baby too. No, not waking up every hour crying with my pants full of poo, but I was out cold. We are heading up and out to Namche today, depending on how far we can get. Anyhow, your messages keep me going, so keep them coming. More later. Bye, bye from half way around the world.
Sean
Update: 4pm.
About 7 and a half to 8 hours later, we stumbled into Debuche. Heading up to Namche, I felt great. I think all the traveling and trekking caught up with me because going up this steep hill to Thyangboche, I was really hypoxic. Just like I was when I was on the hypoxico machine I have at home, but here I can’t take it off and get a rush of oxygen. All the way up here, I was thinking about negative thoughts and getting sick. I know it may sound weird but negative thoughts do go through my mind, everyone has them, but in the end, the positive must win out and remain. I see self doubt as a reality check, I climbed Everest with one lung, but am always wondering what I can do and what I cannot do. I like to think I can do anything but I have to be realistic, everyone does. As long as the positive remains and the negative/self check are fleeting, I’ll be ok. Anyhow, it is time for me to rest, we made it to about 12,400 feet today. Keep in mind, most people take four or five days to get here, we did it in a day and a half. Ok. I am TIRED. Good night.
October 17th, 2007
I finally got to sleep last night only to wake up every couple of hours or so because I was worried I would miss my plane. Ironically, the flight was delayed over and over, so by the time we finally took off, I had already been up for six hours. Getting to Luqa, I headed over to the Luqa guest house and found my friend’s family. They hooked me up with a porter and we hit the trail. Right around three hours later we stumbled into Monjo. We shared my pack and switched every 15 minutes. I’d carry his lighter one, then carry mine. It made things easier and was also good rest when we switched.
Now we are at the Namaste lodge and I am exhausted. I have basically been traveling for six days with no real rest. I am up in the Himalayas and ready to pass out. Tomorrow we are playing it by ear because the porter sounds like he is sick. My guess is that he has a chest cold, there is no way I am going to push him if he is sick, so we are playing everything by ear. I have no idea where the group is, but I am sure we will eventually catch up to them, I hope. Well, I am out, I need some food besides the steak last night, I have not had a real meal in a while. Keep the text messages coming and keep us in your thoughts.
Sean
October 16th, 2007
SO I am finally in Kathmandu,I am sitting on the floor hunched over the hotel chair in the Kathmandu guest house. I got here a couple of hours ago after traveling from Denver to Memphis for a presentation, Memphis to Atlanta to Philadelphia to Trenton for another presentation, that was all in two days. The day after that I left from JFK to London to Bahrain to Kathmandu. I think I am getting just a few frequent flier miles. Flying from London to Bahrain was pretty uneventful and looking out the window was less than eventful. Take the largest beach you have ever seen and multiply it by a million, that is what it looks like b/c there was nothing to be seen but sand.
Getting into Bahrain was interesting b/c my flight from London got in a little early and I had a couple hours before my trip to Nepal. Everything was in Arabic so I really couldn’t understand much. Good thing they have images of male and female bodies for the restrooms…speaking of, I finally shaved and took a little sink bath, I am not saying I don’t stink anymore, but at least the flies aren’t following me around. I am just about to hop into the shower to get rid of that funk that I swore was coming from someone else until I got back to the hotel room and was by myself. Now it is about 10pm Nepal time, 12 hours and 15 minutes different from home and I leave tomorrow at 5 am for Luqua (unsure of spelling). I am hoping to find a porter to keep me company until I catch the group a couple days later. I think I am going to head to Namjo(unsure of spelling)tomorrow and rest there tomorrow night and not push it all the way to the group in one day, I just thought it would be safe with the altitude and speed in which I am ascending.
I am anxious to get up into the hills again b/c it is the first time I have been back in Nepal since Everest 5 years ago. I already managed to hit Rumnoodle and eat for free and have a beer at half price. Rumnoodles is a restaurant where people from Everest can eat for free and get half off alcohol. A great steak and a big beer. mmmm. That is all the time I have, I should get in the shower and clean up b/c it is the last shower I will have in a few weeks, it’s a good thing I am hiking with other stinky people, huh? Don’t worry, I always bring baby wipes, so I don’t smell that bad. Start sending messages and let me know how things are in the world outside of the mountains. Take care and safe travels.
Sean.
October 15th, 2007
so I'm sitting in the London Heathrow airport and I had to sprint from one
terminal to the other. for those of you who have been here, you know it's
god's country and it's HUGE to say the least. thankfully I worked my way up
to the front of the line getting out of the plane and because of my training
and background in track and cross country, I was able to beat everyone to
security. being the first there was kinda cool b/c they saw I was running
and sweating, so they helped out as much as possible. one of the ladies
even took my boarding pass and went to her computer to check what gate I was
leaving from. wow. think that would ever happen in the US? doubtful huh?
anyhow, on the plane I tried to get my body used to Nepal time by staying up
until about 11PM (Nepal time). I was woken up a few times by this funny
feeling in my nose like some booger was crawling around. no one was sitting
next to me so (obviously like everyone would do) I slipped a finger up there
to wiggle it around... nothing. hmmmmm... so I went back to sleep and about
2 minutes later the same thing happened. so again I went digging for some
nuggets, but I came up empty. after a few times doing this, I stopped
breathing and noticed it wasn't a booger after all. it was actually the
vibrations of the plane and the exact frequency of my nose hairs!! haha.
boy that's never happened before.
so now I'm getting ready to board the plane to Bahrain. I don't have an
exit row so I don't have as much room as I did from JFK to London, but I
have a window so I can lean up and sleep some more. Hopefully I don't run
into as many problems in Bahrain as I did here in London. I'm doubting...
seriously doubting... my luggage is going to make it. good thing I packed
all my necessities in my backpack and carried it on huh?
start sending text messages! I'm going to be checking them starting
tomorrow over in the Middle East!
October 11th, 2007
Hello everyone!! It's that time again. No, not the updates. No, not the
weekly blog. NEPAL time!! That's right, believe it or not, I'm heading
back to Nepal to trek up to Everest Base Camp for the first concert at that
altitude there. It's for a great group of people (www.everestrocks.com) raising
money for the Bhaktapur Cancer Center, which just so happens to be the same
cancer hospital I visited when I was in Kathmandu 5 years ago. For those of
you who know, this is the same hospital with the green shirt that I gave to a little guy fighting cancer. I'm excited
to get over there and find out where it is now!
So with that said, everyone in the group left the States a few days ago. I
couldn't leave at the same time because I have a presentation in Memphis on
Saturday and another one in Trenton on Sunday. I leave the States on Monday
morning and go from JFK to London to Qatar to Kathmandu. Needless to say I'll be picking up some frequent flyer miles! Haha.
The day I get into Kathmandu, I'll sleep and head out for Lukla about 12 hours later. Then
begins the journey upward. My goal is to catch the group in 2 days. I'm trying to make up 30 miles and their 6-day head start. Hopefully I can get up there and my body will react well to the altitude and I can join the group after a couple of days.
With this expedition, as with the others, I'll have my satellite phone with me and everyone can stay in touch with text messages. I'll also be calling
back to the States every day for updates so you know where we are on the trek to Everest Base Camp. I'll be updating the information daily starting Monday here in the blog,so when I get into London I can start reading your messages and begin the dispatches! Please please send messages and keep us in your thoughts and
prayers. Everest Base Camp is at 17,600 feet.
Let me try to put this into perspective. there's something called blood/oxygen saturation right? It's basically the percentage of oxygen in
your blood. At sea level, it should be about 99%. Up here in Boulder, CO (altitude 5480-ish) it's around the mid-90's after your body has time to
adjust. I ran up a 14,000-foot peak over the weekend and my saturation was
about 92%, which is great. But I'm also lucky I have a Hypoxico altitude simulator and I've been sleeping at about 16,000 feet every night. So
anyhow, I have to run up the Himalayan Mountains to catch the group at an altitude of about 15,000 feet. It should be interesting to see how my body
handles going up in altitude so quickly.
With that said, that's about all on this end until later. Everyone stand by and keep following the journal/dispatches. It's going to be a great time.
Maybe from the concert I'll give some lucky person a call so you can hear the bands performing!!
Help us bring hope to those touched by Cancer...
Keep Climbing!!
sean
October 1st, 2007
So get this… I tried to make out with the concrete but she smacked me in the face for getting fresh! Yup. I tried kissing the sidewalk and ended up with my feet over my head, nearly breaking my neck, and walking away dripping blood with a swollen right side of my face.
Over the weekend, I went on a bike ride (all part of my training for running up to Everest Base Camp) only to fall over the handlebars and face-plant on the concrete. Hobbling back home, my aero bars (handlebars that triathlon racers get more aerodynamic on) were bent backwards (I'm guessing helped cushion my fall), my ear was dripping blood, my eye was swelling shut, and the road rash I had developing on my cheek was pounding. It didn't feel so good and now I'm not riding the bike for a while… actually I tried, but my head was still pounding. It pounded every time I bent over.
Now, a few days later, the swelling is down, but the black eye looks horrible. It's a beautiful color of dark purple, but hey… chicks dig it! I was on FOX here in Denver and got a message saying I was looking good, but on that same note, I received a few saying I looked like I was in a horrible fight. Oh well. I'm all ok now.
Over the weekend I was lucky to be home to get to my cousin's wedding reception and see the family again. He's doing great and it was fantastic seeing my grandparents again. Both of them are about 86 and they still look great. I don't think grandpa could beat me in any running races, but he says so.
Also last week I gave a wonderful presentation to ACS CAN in DC. It was absolutely awesome. I got 6 standing ovations during the presentation and can't tell you how may people came up to me after to get my autograph and take photos with me. It was really nice because one of them told me she lost her husband AND her father to cancer during the same year. And if that wasn't enough, she was diagnosed with her THIRD cancer. She went to the event and was actually pondering suicide, however after listening to my presentation, she hugged me, lost control and started bawling on my shoulder. She told me that the presentation touched her and I saved her life. I almost lost my composure and started crying as well. I teared up and a few dripped down my cheek while she was sobbing because I didn't want everyone around to know what she was going through. Now, however, she's doing fine and she's wonderfully supportive. Thank you!!!
On Wed I'm flying to DC for a TV show, back on Thurs for some more training and more event planning, presentations, contracts, etc.
That's just about it from this end. I hope everyone's doing well. Stay tuned because we're going to open the floodgates of the satellite text messages while I'm running up the Himalayan Mountains in about 2 weeks!!
Take care everyone and thanks again for all the support and emails!
Help us bring hope to those touched by Cancer...
Keep Climbing!!
sean
September 27th, 2007
Hey all!! So sorry again for being late on the journal. I've been out of town for quite some time and have been super busy! Over the past weekend we had a going away party for one of our good friends, so we were a little tired the next few days. After that, Ben and I took off to DC for an ACS CAN event. We left Boulder around 5AM and finally got into the Nation's Capital around 3PM. After getting into the city and going for a run, I headed into the ballroom where I was a judge.
Yup, a judge just like American Idol, except their event was called AmeriCAN Idol. They had 10 different groups from all around the different sections of ACS performing things like solo singing or group lip-synching. The winner was a young lady with an incredibly beautiful voice who's also a cancer patient. She's battling for her life because she wasn't given much longer to live. So with that said, please keep her and everyone touched by cancer in your thoughts and prayers. Maybe throughout the day, you can all take a moment to just think about them and say a short prayer.
The next day, I was up and ready for a presentation in the morning. After three standing ovations, and countless applause, I ended the talk with the ESPN piece and a thunderous applause. Needless to say, I'm guessing it went well! After signing autographs and taking photos with a number of people, Ben and I took off with a different group from DC called The Wellness Community. They provide a number of services to those battling cancer as well as families and survivors. They're a really incredible group of people.
After lunch, we headed back to the hotel, hopped into the car, and zipped to the airport. On the way home, I think I was allergic to one of the flight attendant's perfume because I couldn't stop sneezing! By the time we landed in Denver my nose was stuffed up and I couldn't even breathe. The instant we stepped off the plane I started clearing up.
Now I'm sitting at home finally and getting back to email and other work I have to do. I'm heading out later today for a long run or bike to continue my training for Everest Rocks!!
Help us bring hope to those touched by Cancer...
Keep Climbing!!
sean
September 17th, 2007
Hey again everyone! Sorry for not getting to this last week, I got back from a wedding in South Dakota and had to catch up on a lot of emails I couldn't get to. Last week, however serious training started for Everest Base Camp. I was running quite a few miles a day, but injured my left calf muscle and ended up hopping on my bike putting in some serious miles. My first day out, I went about 30 miles and it just increased from there. It may not sound like much, but in the Rocky Mountains, it's pretty tough going uphill. There are some sections out here I never see anyone else going up, but down! They'll head up the back side and shoot down the steep part, but because I'm actually running to catch up to the group going to Base Camp, I have to train on the steep stuff! After getting back from the ride every day, I'd head to the basement to lift on the personal gym down there, catch up on email, work some more, then head out for another ride. Needless to say, my butt was a little sore for quite some time! Haha.
I also had my laptop fry on me. While in SD I had to get a new one and I'm still working on getting all of my programs from my old laptop to my new one. Good lord. Technology is GREAT most of the time, but when it doesn't work, wow it's a pain in the back end!!
This week, I'm adding more miles to the rides, and possibly some intervals uphill. The lifting is getting more intense, and the diet is now pretty tight, but not with anything in particular, just a healthy diet with no sweets. I'm also sleeping at altitude again under the tent on my bed
(Hypoxico) at nearly 15,000 feet every night. While I'm working, and while I'm working out, I'm also on the mask at 17,000 feet! Let's hope these red blood cells start multiplying so I'm safer running up to 15,000 feet in less than a month!
Well that's about it from this end. Thanks for tuning in. Next week, it'll be more exciting with some stories about specific training events. Same time, same channel!!
September 4th, 2007
So it's that time again… I was a slacker last week because I wasn't in town, but back in Willard, OH (my hometown) talking to the Middle School and High School students on their first day of classes. Last Saturday, I took off from Denver to Cleveland, and Court (my friend since preschool) picked me up. That's when we started our adventure into the Black Hole of technology – well for my cell service at least! We drove around looking for some places that might have WiFi so I could do some work and eventually stumbled across a coffee shop called Wired. They had wireless internet, so I spent most of my mornings there trying to keep up with emails and such, but it was difficult because I didn't have my cell phone. On the website, it showed a big white spot (no service) around Willard and everywhere outside the town… green and service! Haha. It was actually nice to get away from the phone for a bit, but when I got home I had 11 new messages and 23 new text messages. The presentations went well and the teachers told me they never heard the auditorium that quiet before… ever. You could have heard a pin drop. As Jon Spencer said in the Mansfield News Journal www.mansfieldnewsjournal.com
"you could have heard a snowflake drop as Swarner talked…" It was great having the attention of all the students, however one of the most meaningful was a girl named Haley who is battling cancer as we speak.
After the presentation, we gave away about 20 copies of my book,(www.amazon.com/keepclimbing), all personally signed, however the one to Haley was slightly more personalized with a short note inside thanking her for being my inspiration.
All in all it was a great trip because I had the opportunity to see a number of old friends, share some stories, laughs, hugs, etc. Getting home, I started working and trying to catch up to the mass of emails and such. That worked until about Friday around 4:30pm… the weekend and better yet… my birthday weekend!!! On Sunday I turned one year older… ugh.
Other than that, things are moving forward with training for Everest Rocks (www.everestrocks.com) because I'm running up the Himalaya Mountains to catch up to the group! Later today (Tuesday) I'm heading up to South Dakota for a wedding!
Thanks for following, keep your fingers crossed because we have a lot of balls up in the air right now. Hopefully when they come down, we'll have a basket to catch them and put them all in the right order. Take care everyone!! More next week!
Sean