Because I Can

Because I can. That’s my answer to why I want to do a triathlon. That simple reason is a good enough for me because, for so many years, I truly couldn’t.

Dialysis is an amazing, life saving medical treatment but it is no where near a replacement for your own kidneys . It’s very hard on your body to have a machine do something in a few hours every other day that your body does continuously and gently 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. I distinctly recall days where I was so utterly exhausted I would lie still and let all of the air escape from my lungs and just be entirely still for about ten seconds because I felt like I didn’t even have the energy to breathe any more.

I can also remember days where, even parked in a handicap spot (which I hated having to do by the way), I was unable to make it to the front door of the store because my blood pressure would drop and I’d feel like I had to sit down immediately. And even when I did make it into the store, before I’d get my shopping done, I’d usually get really tired and have to sit down somewhere, often times on the floor because there wasn’t a seat close enough that I would be able to make it to

I felt like that for over three years until I was so fortunate to get a kidney and liver. And, as miraculous and a gift as that was, the road to feeling as good as I do now has taken a while.

So, now that I think I’m strong enough and healthy enough to do a triathlon, I’m doing it! Just like I did my first 5K in the photo above, 10 years to the day after I had found out my kidneys had failed.