Cancer in The Family: Greg Yuh

There are times when I rant about the impersonal turn relationships have taken with the uprising of the Internet. We greet each other with, "I never see you online," when we meet and prefer reading blogs over talking in person. However, I would not be honest if I didn't tell you that I've met some amazing people through the Internet. I started reading Greg Yuh's blog last summer and his intermittent writings never fail to inspire me. He lost two family members this last year, so I asked him if I could share his writings. He said:

Cancer seems to run in my family... my mother beat breast cancer when I was in elementry school, and my grandfather battled it for the past two years. My father had bypass surgery about 12 years ago and passed away following his second bypass surgery last July.

Cancer is an awful thing that robs people of their life. Although my mom beat it, she suffered a lot and endured many days of pain and sorrow. She is a survivor... My dad was called bacause it was his time but he lived a life worth living... I'll always be proud of the life he lived and the lessons he taught to all that came to know him. Good luck on your race... Greg

Here is his web-eulogy for his grandfather:

Another Good Bye...

My grandfather's funeral was Saturday, March 11, 2006. He passed away February 10, 2006 in Korea, cremated and brought to the states for burial. He is buried in the same cemetery as my father, right above him. Burial plots are arranged with grandpa and grandma on top and pop and mom right below. Both males are buried with empty places for their wives. My grandfather battled terminal cancer for about two years and is finally in heaven with my father (in both sense of the word). Unfortunately, he lived long enough to bury his first born.

My younger brother and I lived with my grandparents in Korea for almost five years before coming to the states. When my parents immigrated, they brought my sister and older brother with them, but had to leave my younger brother and I behind. The men that shaped my life are both in heaven waiting for the rest of us to join them.

I was a bad son to both and gave each moments of frustration, pain and heartache. However, they never stopped loving me and praying for me and in their prayers God answered. Prayers of the faithful and righteous men will not go unanswered for God is a loving God.

And is his web-eulogy for his father:

"My father did not tell me how to live; he lived, and let me watch."
Rev. Han Gu Yuh. Went to join Christ in heaven on July 18, 2005 at 12:30.
Love you dad!!! May you be proud of the person I am and will become...

Donating Blood

I went to the APO Blood Drive this evening. They had an abundance of young and energetic nurses manning the station. An interesting change, but they weren't as careful as usual. The girl who did a quick physical on me asked me if I had donated last year. After confirmation, she told me that I had a face that you remember after seeing once.

The guy who took my blood had a little trouble finding the vein. And my blood flow wasn't very cooperative today, causing the nurses to come over and repeatedly ask me if I was alright. I couldn't help laughing; I have been donating blood every chance I get since turning 17. In Taiwan, biking to the blood mobile every two months was one of my favorite things to do. Here, I go whenever I see APO holding a drive. When I went back to Taiwan last year, my birthday gift to myself was a trip to the blood donation center. I could never adequately explain why I do this; I feel compelled.

Four different nurses asked me for my weight. I asked the last one why and he said because I'm thin.* I reassured him I wasn't, but looked in the mirror after I came home. And guys, I do believe that the white Team in Training jersey has a slimming effect. Where can I order a couple more of these shirts?

I also thought about asking the nurses and APO volunteers milling about to donate for my cause. I tried voicing my desire several times, but ended up aborting midway. Fundraising is not as easy as it seems on paper.

*You have to weigh at least 110lbs to donate.

Saturday Morning #8

When do you wake up at 5:37am? Not for exams. Definitely not for work.

I woke up because our team was slated to run 12 miles around town and we wanted to finished before 10am, so there would be ample time to renergize for Ariana and Savannah's birthday party.

I felt surprisingly upbeat for that hour and breezed into Angela's car at 5:59am. Angela groaned at me loudly and then did her best to have us there on time. We were parked and out at 6:03am. The longest morning ever ... 12 miles circling around a good portion of Central Austin!


Since it was a rather long route, I had the opportunity to converse in depth with several teammates. Mitzi, with beautiful long locks of golden hair, was a consultant with Deloitte for three years before she got tired of being constantly away from her family (including two dogs) and friends. Now she travels less. She introduced to me the secret ingredient for fantastic PB&J sandwiches - honey. Theresa, half Filipino and half Chinese, manages the training program for TXDOT. I couldn't stop giggling when I heard this, since I know quite a few civil engineers. She held a garage sale several weeks ago, sucessfully raising $200 for The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Marie, one of the mentors, is originally from France. I still remember her warm hug at the second Saturday, when we barely knew each other. And we concur on eating habits and exercise.


3/25 Me, Mitzi, and Lynn

3/25 Jana and Theresa

3/25 Marie
Here is Angela's commentary (she was our mobile water station):

.......6am start!!
31'F weather!
Still dark!
Windy and cold!
Too early! Much too early!!
A large hill!
This road was missing!
This road had construction!
Another hill! Who mentioned something about a flat course?
Another road missing!
The group got split up!! Double yikes for your mobile aide station person!
Then it got warm...
Too many clothing layers!
Another hill!
"Are we there yet?"
Still too many layers!
More construction!
A road where it wasn't supposed to be!
Way toooo hot!

.......BUT THEN...... Ah! Congress Avenue, straight down hill, quick right turn, and onto the trail!! And the home stretch - the end was finally in sight!!! Phew! And then it was party time!!! What a fun party! What wonderful hostesses we have amongst us, cutting and serving cake and ice cream and smiling and not collapsing!!! I am so very proud of all of you!!!

Party? What party? A birthday party for the Honored Heros for our team - Ariana and Savannah. They were respectively diagnosed with Acute Lymphcytic Leukemia at 6 years old and 4 years old. Ariana, now a straight A student who loves math and science as well as the color pink, turned 8 years old on March 23th. Savannah, who loves art, ballet, gymnastics, tennis, reading, and the color purple, turned 7 years old on March 27th.


3/25 Savannah and Ariana
Sandie put together an amazing fairy tale birthday for them. In the middle of a parking lot, no less. Jana made two beautiful birthday cakes, while the less artistic bought food and decorations. Sandie dressed up as the fairy godmother and with a sprinkle of fairy dust, brought Ariana several sets of clothing and Savannah a bicycle.


3/25 Birthday Party for Ariana and Savannah

Prayer Answered

At the prayer meeting yesterday night, Annie asked that God help me keep from slacking off on the weekdays.

Today, my brother invited me to go with him to the gym. To spot him. Spaz that I am, tripping and dropping things all the time, I wasn't so sure this was a good idea. I decided to run a few laps to avoid possibly bad consequences, namely squashing my only brother.

As I started around the track, I see a very familiar person heading my way. Siopang! We agree that it would be fun to run together. He assured me that he was a slow (more on that later) runner. Believe it or not, with his encouragement I was able to run slightly over two miles before slowing down to a walk. Shattering my previous record of one mile! Siopang shared that he's been running since 6th grade, after his pediatrician suggested it as a way to cure his asthma.

James finished lifting weights and came up to find us ... walking. Hey, we were cooling off after a fast sprint to the finish line. He joined us, but a minute in he started urging us to race each other. Feeling competent, I agreed. The next second, I'm covered in a cloud of dust and the two boys had disappeared from the horizon. Slow, my foot!

So there you go. I have a running partner on MWF's. =)

Saturday Morning #7

Heard that honesty is the best policy. I overslept after chatting to two of my elementary/middle school classmates till 4am the night before.

Thursday evening, Mom and I went to the Murchison Middle School track for endurance training. I haven't been on a 400m track since moving to Austin and many memories from our annual school Sports Day came flooding back. I used to run the 400m/1600m relays and 400m races for our class. My favorite competition - high jump - took place in the middle of the field.

Friday evening, several friends and I went to try out the new outdoor aquatic complex in Gregory Gym. Rumor had it that the water was warm. Rumor was factual. We tried out the lap pool, jacuzzi, and recreational pool. It was fabulous! A funny incident - my friend's ID card wouldn't swipe. We are whispering furiously in Mandarin, pondering over what to do. The student worker behind the counter asks us what we are talking about, in Mandarin! Turns out he's taking Chinese right now, so he uses his new vocabulary to tell us that he'll let us in this time as long as we can't tell anyone. Heh ...

1/2 Marathon Training vs Relationships

+x invited me to share my TNT experience at LISG.

I wanted to switch topics and talk about my experiences a growing Christian, but fear that I would accidentally butcher it clinched the deal - let's go for the funny instead. Sunday morning, I compared training for the 1/2 marathon to having a boyfriend/girlfriend.

1. A chance to meet and help others vs. meet your dream partner.
2. Work harder at being physically fit vs. physically fit/attractive.
3. Start doing anything to get donations on behalf of leukemia patients vs. to make your significant other happy.
4. Start writing letters and emails that letter receivers vs. significant other may ignore.
5. Regular dates with your team vs. significant other. The longer and more demanding the relationship is, the sloppier you become.

You are probably wondering what this has to do with a church retreat?! Well, I then compared those two with our relationship with God.

1. A chance to meet God.
2. Work harder at being the person God wants you to be.
3. Start doing anything to please God.
4. Start caring about the people around you, even if they may ignore your overtures.
5. Regular dates with God. However, the difference here is that the relationship with God will be long and demanding, but it is so enriching and worthwhile!

That is truly what I feel. Alas, people were thrown off by my first comparison and I'm not sure if people remember the second one. =p

3/12 Warming Up the Stage For William and Yingwu

Saturday Morning #6

A slight variation of routine occurred since I was out of town, at our annual Life Is So Good (LISG) retreat. Wenjing and Sandy agreed to wake up early and go running with me. What they did not know was that a ten mile route had been scheduled and that's why we were going to wake up at 5:30am...

Anyway, I twisted and tossed around in my bed for several hours, waking up at 2:30am because I heard footsteps in the room. Both girls were light sleepers, so waking them up wasn't a chore at all. The only light source was from the street lamps. We silently walked for a bit before starting to run, then alternated between the two. You know how maps always make destinations look far away? Absolutely true in our case. We ended up circling the camp site multiple times.

I really enjoyed spending the hour before the sun came up with these girls. And no, of course we didn't do ten miles! =)


3/10 Wenjing and Sandy

Saturday Morning #5

Mother Nature finally stopped throwing curveballs! Not only was there warm weather, we were even allowed to complete our six mile route on Town Lake. Dirt is soft compared to pavement. Decreased milege fully appreciated, too.

I made sure to activate my cell phone alarm and woke up bright and early. Unfortunately, Holly was sick and notified me around 6:30am. Mom's sixth sense alerted her before I closed in on her and she was able to get me to our meeting spot on time. Even with my skewed directions. God bless mothers!

Six people on our team recommitted! Jana, Lila, Lynn, Mitzi, Monica, and myself. A brief ceremony took place and Amy handed out TNT socks to people who had met their 25% recommitment goal by February 22nd. Strangely, this did not include me. *utters oaths at Paycor* But Amy says I could pick up a pair when I stop by the office.

Marie, Shae, Kerry, and myself were the first few to finish. As we stretched, discussion went on about having breakfast afterwards. Yum ...