Here we are again – the start of another new year (how did 12 months go by so fast and yet so slow?) and another attempt to hold myself accountable!

My 2023 running journey started off kind of strong – I was running regularly for the first couple of months. The highlights of 2023 include racing a 5k in Myrtle Beach (click here for recap) with my daughter and completing a 10 mile Shamrock relay race with some wonderful ladies (we completed 2 miles each). We took 2nd place in the Women’s division (don’t ask how many teams there were – ha!).

Then life threw me some unexpected curve balls. One of which has been a pretty scary medical saga, which has been ongoing since March. I am not sharing this to garner sympathy and I promise that I am currently okay! I’m not really sure why I’ve decided to share publicly, but I think it’s a sign that I’m not as worried as I was several months ago. So here goes!

Back in February of 2023, I finally saw a hematologist after about 2 years of recurring purpura (broken/leaky blood vessels) on my left arm. After running some tests, I was called back into the doctors office in March and was told I had an abnormal protein in my blood (M spike). She explained that this could be indicative of certain diseases, including cancer (specifically multiple myeloma) and that they would need to run more tests. It was a very surreal experience. I’m not sure what I was expecting but it surely wasn’t that! Since that appointment (almost 10 months ago), I’ve undergone many tests and doctors appointments including:

• Multiple Blood tests
• Multiple 24 hour urine tests
• Bone scan
• CT scan
• Bone Marrow Biopsy
• Ultrasound
• PET/CT scan
• Skin biopsy
• MRI

Long story short, I was ultimately diagnosed with a pre-cancerous blood disorder called Monoclonal Gammopathy of Undetermined Significance (MGUS). Because of some abnormalities at the cellular level and my relatively young age of diagnosis (ha), I am considered high-risk for progression and require close monitoring (labs every 3 months). I have a local hematologist and an oncologist in Baltimore that I also follow up with.

Also, during these scans, a softball-ish sized mass was found in my spleen. There was some initial back and forth about whether the 2 were related, but they have since determined this was an incidental finding and not related to the blood disorder (PET scan ultimately showed no evidence of cancer). But, large cysts can tend to cause issues and run some risks if left untreated. Mine causes intermittent discomfort (even up into my left collarbone and shoulder) and sometimes makes it difficult to sleep, but so far the discomfort has been manageable. I have an appointment with an organ surgeon in Georgetown next week to get their opinion on whether to continue ‘watching and waiting’ or if he thinks I should go the splenectomy route.

So, what does this mean for my running? Well, the way I look at it is every time I complete a run, I feel like it’s proof that I am a healthy person. I started running regularly again in Oct/Nov. I did take a couple of weeks off during the holidays, but I jumped right back in on January 2nd. At my appointment in September, my oncologist has asked about my energy level and while 46 ain’t 36 (I definitely don’t have as much energy as I once did), he said he wouldn’t be concerned unless I had debilitating fatigue. So, I plan to “just keep swimming” (in my Dory voice) and keep proving to myself that I have no need to worry; If I can run, I’m not sick!

So, what’s next? My appointment with the organ surgeon is next week. My next hematologist appointment for labs is at the end of February and my next oncologist appointment is in March. I’m hoping for stable numbers! At one point they had told me that if I had stable numbers for a year, I’d move to being monitored every 6 months vs. 3 months so that’s what I’m currently hoping for. I’d appreciate any good vibes/juju/prayers!

I’m definitely running away from 2023 and I will not take my health for granted! So watch out, 2024. I’m planning to sign up for some local races and maybe even plan a race-cation again?!? I just have to pick a race and talk some running friends into it. Wink wink!! Let’s do this!

I’ll leave you with some fun pictures from my Shamrock race last March 🙂 Let’s hope I don’t let another year pass before updating this site!