Running through the bag

Good Morning All:

So, I woke up this AM at Hopkins. My platelet counts crept above the minimum threshold yesterday and they scrambled to put me in a room. So here we go--good to keep this moving into round 6 of 8!

Since I received the positive news on the bone marrow and CT scans I've noticed a very real shift in my perception of these hospital visits. In the early rounds I was carried to outpatient appointments and inpatient stays by a very clear sense of purpose that was fueled by the immediate threat of the spread of cancer. While it is eerie to use words with positive connotations to describe it, the uniqueness or adventure of undergoing treatment kept me moving.

Now that the cancer has been beaten back I'm left to finish out the treatment and start a 2 year maintenance program to keep it away. This is no longer a sprint to get me out of danger but an endurance race to long-term health and I need to shift my attitude accordingly. What is required of me now conjures up a lesson I learned in little league baseball and struggled to teach my team last year. . .

Many who have not played baseball may not be aware that after a runner hits the ball they are able to run beyond first base after touching it--we call this 'running through the bag'. The benefit of doing this is that the runner does not need to slow down in order to come to a stop on the base itself. Instead they can use their full speed to get to the base and beyond in the hopes of being safe at first and to have the ability to continue around the bases to ultimately score a run for their team.

My 7 and 8 year olds last year practiced running through the bag at each practice. They loved to run and it was a good fundamental lesson for them to learn. But they never really translated that practice to the game. Once they put on their baggy uniforms and big batting helmets they would forget to run through the bag and come to a slow stop on first base after successfully hitting the ball. I guess I know one drill we'll continue into this season!

Running through the bag has long been a personal analogy of mine for seeing thing through to the end in the proper way. Doing this is not easy to learn, seems counterintuitive at times, and requires establishing a new habit for one's self. In short, there are many who never learn it and plenty of times where those who have learned to run through the bag simply neglect to do it.

Of course, now is not the time for me to short change myself or my family by giving any less to the recovery/health effort. So, with the great start up the first base line that I've gotten I only need to keep running hard, touch the base and continue on.

--Russ.