My name is Matthew. In June of 2009 my wife and I were blessed with our son Shawn. He was born with several urological conditions including a multicystic dysplastic kidney and then diagnosed with a paten urachus. He had to have surgery at 10 days old to correct the leaking out of his belly button. During that surgery they went in and determined that he also had a very rare condition that, to the doctor’s knowledge closely relates a bilateral urethra (I have coined “Shawn’s Urethra” after my son since there is never been a case like his) where his urethra split near the prostate and exited near his anus. There has been very little research or studies regarding his condition, but everything that came back said he was the youngest to undergo the surgery to reconstruct his urethra at 7 months old. At that time they also removed the cysts where his kidney should have formed. Just recently he underwent a third surgery to repair a tethered spine and he is recovering very well.
When my son first was born, there were so many things that were going through my head. How am I going to be as a dad? How am I going to put him through college? How long will I get to enjoy being around him before I die? All of those questions were very trying on me, but the one that concerned me the most was the last one.
I was 33 years old and had a pretty comfortable life…at least I thought I did. Most of my activities were watching college football and sitting at my desk behind the computer all day. Even though I was married to a dietitian, I was classified as overweight weighing 205 lbs with a BMI of 29.4. I knew that something had to change.
At the first of the year 2010, the company I work for, Western States Fire Protection in Houston, opened up a fully equipped gym in the office, and I had a bright idea. I knew that now I could not use the, “I am too busy at work to go to the gym,” excuse anymore. I started counting my calories and developed weight training program in February just to bulk up a little and lose the excess baggage that I was carrying around. After a few weeks I noticed that I was losing minimal weight. I knew that I had to introduce some cardio exercise to my program, so I stopped by the nearest athletic store to pick up a pair of running shoes, and I went the popular running park to start my cardio training. After running about 500 yards, walking the remainder of the way, and recovering for the next 3 days, I nearly gave up. I decided to do a little research and found an iPhone application that would gradually build me up from never running to being able to run a 5K in about 10 weeks. After that first exercise, I realized that my life was about to change. As week after week went by with me improving my run distances and losing weight, I started to see the change in my body, and I liked it.
I knew it was time to test myself, so I decided to enter in a 5K race. All I wanted to do was finish without having to stop and catch my breath. My goal time was 30 minutes. The gun sounded, and I was off and running. Before I knew it mile 1 was over, and I was feeling pretty good. Now if I could just make it to mile 2, I would stop for a quick break at the water station. As I passed the water station at mile 2, I thought to myself, “All I have is a mile left. Just finish the race and then you take a break.” In just over 27 minutes later I was crossing the finish line. My emotions took over, because that day in March was a major turning point in my life. At that time I had lost 18 lbs, dropped my BMI to 26.8, and achieved every goal that I had set for myself. Now it was time to set new goals. I was no longer watching athletes on television; I was an athlete in training…
My next goal was to compete in a sprint triathlon. I know you must think I am crazy, but you would not believe how much that finish line affected me in March. I did some research and found a beginners triathlon program that would get me ready to compete. My workouts went from being 3 days a week to 6 days a week that included biking, swimming, running, and weight training. As I went through the weeks, I really started to see a dramatic change in my body and state of mind. I was becoming more productive at work, I had more energy when I came home to play with my son, and the pounds kept dropping off. I was truly an athlete and was working on being in the best shape of my life, until my first Father’s day.
The Friday before my first Father’s Day I noticed a small bump on my knee. It looked like an ingrown hair, so I did not pay that much attention to it. By the time Sunday had come around, I was forced to go to the hospital because the pain was so bad and my knee had swollen to twice the size. After some tests, the doctor’s had determined that I had contracted MRSA Staph infection in my knee. If I would have entered the ER a day later, the doctors would have been preparing remove my leg, or worse, trying to save my life. I was very fortunate that we caught it early because they were able to surgically remove the damaged tissue, but my triathlon training was over. My doctor told me that he did not want me to get back into training till I was fully healed. The healing could take 6 months. I was pretty devastated. On my one month follow up visit, my doctor was astonished to see that I healed so quickly. The only thing that he could contribute to my quick recovery was my physical conditioning and diet. He released me to go back to training, and I was again on my quest to compete in the August sprint triathlon.
As I reached the starting line on that early August morning, I started to realize how far I had come. I went from being a couch potato to a triathlete in about 6 months. The gun sounded, and I was hitting the water. I can’t remember much about that day except hearing the sound of cowbells and people cheering us on. Everything else was pretty much a blur until I got to the finish line. As I made the final corner, I reached in the back of my jersey and pulled out one of my son’s pacifier and put it in my mouth. This was my tribute to him. He was truly the inspiration to me changing my life. As I crossed the finish line, I saw my goal of 2 hours shatter. I had finished the race in 1:41:26 placing 81st out of 1000 athletes.
Today, I have lost 35 lbs and reduced my BMI to 24.4. Currently I am training for an Olympic distance triathlon in September, and then moving to the granddaddy of all, the IRONMAN. An Ironman consists of a 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike ride, and a marathon (26.2 miles) all in the same day. I have definitely come a long way from being that overweight college football fan. Today I am a triathlete. I have to thank Western States Fire Protection and API for giving me the opportunity and facilities to reshape my life.
We hope that this past surgery is Shawn’s last. I know that some day there will be another child like Shawn that will eventually have to receive treatment for the same condition. There has been very little research concerning my son’s rare condition. I am not a rich man, so I can’t donate a lot of money to some research project, but could I raise money to donate from friends and peers?
I have decided to raise money during my training and the events that lead to the Ironman. I plan to get sponsors for my journey, blog my progress, and visit Texas Children’s Hospital Urology Floor to encourage those seeking treatment and recovering. I am sure I will also be encouraged by them as well. I feel very blessed to be in the best shape of my life and I really want to take advantage of that to help others and encourage even my own son. My story is not over, it changes everyday, and I will be blogging about my journey to the Ironman. I hope that it inspires others to create their own stories as they journey with me to become “Shawn’s Ironman”.
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