My Running Journey with Cystic Fibrosis

Drawing by my beautiful cousin Megan Jensen. A Tlingit's lungs :) It has been hard finding time to sit down and write about life with a one-and-a-half-year-old running around. I have had so much fun watching little Leo grow up. I often find myself thinking about how truly lucky I am to have a child and how wonderful it is to be a mother. I never knew if having children would be in my future but Leo has blessed our lives tremendously. As always, running was a big part of my summer! I submitted a video to an online contest through the Boomer Esiason Foundation that explained why I exercise and was shocked when I found out that I had won! There were many amazing and very inspiring videos that were submitted. Adam and I traveled to New York City to run in the 5th Annual Run to Breathe Race . It was at this same race 5 years ago that Adam proposed to me in 2011. In July we were able to go back to NYC and celebrate all the wonderful happenings in our lives over the...

My last post was in October 2014 and at that point in my life I was waiting for our precious baby to be born. Our lives were going to change in one moment and we were anxiously awaiting for that time to come. Little did we know that the moment we were waiting for would start with me waking Adam up early Monday morning (March 16, 2015) because I had either wet the bed two times or my water had broken. Eight hours later our lives changed forever as we transitioned into the wonderful world of parenthood. Our beautiful baby boy, Leo Jordan Walker, was born on March 16, 2015. The moment I laid eyes on Leo my body immediately filled with a love and happiness that took over my mind, heart and soul. He is our miracle. If I ever have a moment of feeling down and out, it takes one second to come to reality and realize that I am beyond blessed. I have heard Adam say, "Having a baby is the biggest job that we will ever have in our lives and it doesn't even come with an inst...

When I was younger I loved pickles and cheese, and in high school those strange food cravings raised some occasional pregnancy suspicions. I still crave pickles and cheese with mustard but at this point in my life the craving now signifies big life changes and I am beyond excited for them! I am happy to announce that my husband, Adam, and I are expecting our first human child (Lola and Oscar are our dog children)! This wonderful news is truly a miracle because we were told that I was infertile and may have to seek help from fertility specialists. Having Cystic Fibrosis makes the process difficult and undergoing intense chemotherapy and radiation treatments in my past created the high possibility of infertility for me.  I pray and hope for strength and health during my pregnancy. I pray that my lungs are stable and strong through these 9 months. There are several antibiotics and medications that I need but I can't take because they may be harmful to the fetus. I a...

I started writing this particular blog about running and what my running plans are for the future. It was actually all written and ready to publish, but I changed my mind on the topic. When I woke up this morning I received a message from someone that I went to high school with and they stated that they never knew about what I was dealing with when they went to school with me. Their message was kind and thoughtful and had me reminiscing about my high school days which led me down a whole new path of memories. I always talk about Cystic Fibrosis but I have another story that I never tell. Of course, I always go back to the summer after high school.............. After I graduated from high school I was preparing for my future at Whittier College in California. I was excited and ready to be on my own and explore the sunny beaches of California and college life. I was ready to leave the land of the midnight sun and make California my new home away from home. I signed up to li...