October 2012. Cindy was a first time Ironman spectator standing shoulder to shoulder in the masses of loved ones saying their good lucks to their athletes. Her good luck was an enormous hug with tears of love and pride. Her daughter reciprocated, confident that she had the grit and grace bestowed from her mom to perform to her potential that warm and windy day in Kona. In 2015 the tables had turned and now, once a spectator, Cindy was the athlete and Nickie and family were the spectators cheering with all their might to get her to one checkpoint at a time in the race of her life. Nickie was just as nervous sending her off, even though she knew she was well prepared to race.
“Promise me you will continue to advocate and raise awareness so families like ours don’t have to go through this. It just makes me so damn mad.” And with a determined whisper, “Never Give Up.” Cindy Luse
October 2017. Jan was also a first time Ironman spectator standing on the retaining wall overlooking the ocean of energy packed with thousands of flailing arms and kicking legs. From her vantage point she couldn’t see the turn buoy to head back to shore, a little unnerving for sure. However, this wasn’t the first time she couldn’t clearly see the journey in front of her husband Mike. The farewell kiss and wave Jan gave Mike from the sea wall was a bit different than the farewell they were preparing for the previous December of 2016.
“You have to be a soldier and be a part of that team. You have to live your passions and wage hope. Things have changed, I have to accept a new way of life.” Mike Levine
And a new way of life is just what Mike accepted on January 17th, 2017 when a friend started to breath the life back into him. It’s a story of selflessness, a story of determination and a story of hope.
The story goes…
Mike Levine was an athlete having completed over 100 triathlons dating back to the 80’s amongst the many icons in triathlon. A female athlete by the name of Kathleen McCartney might ring a bell, she won the Ironman World Championships in 1982. She is also the woman that picked up a hitch hiking Mike in Kona that same year. He was shy in the shadow of her athleticism and just made small talk until they parted ways.
Fast forward and, through mutual friends, they crossed paths again in December of 2016. This time around though, Mike was not the strong young hitch hiker he was in the 80’s…no longer did he define himself as a triathlete but a pancreatic cancer patient who had given up on life. Barely making it out of bed for two years, Mike’s family had gone so far to plan a farewell party with all of his old time triathlon buddies. Kathleen was invited through mutual friends but couldn’t make it…so she decided to ring Mike up and suggest a bike ride to meet one another. It may have been a farewell bike ride in Mike and Jan’s minds but not so much in Kathleen’s mind. After much contemplation Mike told Kathleen he could maybe handle 3 miles or so and a coffee after. On the 17th of January 2017 Jan bought Kathleen a lovely scarf figuring it a nice thank you for the one last bike ride with her husband. However, post ride Kathleen said, “Well how about next week”…and “how about the next week”…and the week and bike rides kept adding up.
Weeks turned into months Kathleen became a best friend to Mike and Jan and she kept adding on requests to their weekly bike rides. “How about two rides, wanna go to the pool, catch a run?” Mikes cancer was responding to chemo, his cancer numbers were looking good and he had no reason to be bed ridden. In April Mike was feeling strong, he again saw himself as an athlete not just a cancer patient. He mentioned to Kathleen maybe he should do an Ironman again, it had been over 30 years…She looked at him and said “I think you should, I believe in you.”
Of Kathleen, Mike says, “she breathed the life back into me. She is the most selfless person I know.” In June, Kathleen had a big surprise for Mike that left him speechless. Mike and Kathleen were granted two slots to compete in the World Championships in October of 2017. Mike and Kathleen continued to train with Kona in their sights, 3-4 mile bike rides had turned into 50 mile rides and the laps at the pool kept adding up. October arrived…Mike was ready with a body full of chemo, a mind of steel and Kathleen ready to stick by Mike’s side the entire way. Stick by each others side they did all week long. They advocated together, they celebrated life together, and they continued to write their story of hope to inspire others. Yes there was a race..they came out of the swim together and they rode together and they sat on the side of the road together. Their race is not over…
The two never met, that is Cindy and Mike. They share a similar story…Pancreatic Cancer. Cancer is how this story started, but it sure isn’t the main plot. For Cindy, her part of the race is complete. She crossed her finish line after 22 months in April of 2015. I choose to remember her race more vividly than her finish; a journey full of grit, grace, love, tears, laughter, friendship and family. Mike DNF’D (Did Not Finish) on the Queen K in 2017, but he has much more racing ahead of him. He said it was the hardest decision of his life, his first DNF of his 100+ career of triathlons. He had given up on life once and didn’t want to give up on his race.
Well you know Mike, sometimes we don’t cross the finish line because we have more business to take care of and more life to live. Your fire has been fueled to keep living, to keep advocating and to keep inspiring. You are a difference maker Mike; just as my mom. Your race is not over my friend and we need you to continue racing and making a difference by waging hope. Thank you Mike for your advocacy, your openness to share and thank you for showing people what it is to live. I hope we all find that selfless person in our world who breathes the life back into us when we need it the most.
November is Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month, and today, November 16th is World Pancreatic Cancer Day. You might not know someone today battling this cancer, but based on the stats you will in your lifetime. Educate yourself this month on the signs and symptoms by visiting pancan.org, reach out to your government representatives and stress the importance of funding medical research, wear purple and when someone asks tell them you are raising awareness so by 2020 we can see 5 year survival rates for patients climb into the double digits. Most importantly, don’t be afraid to share your story…you never know the impact it may have on one life. Mike’s story impacted me. Pancreatic Cancer doesn’t need to be a death sentence, there is hope. From Cindy’s Shrink Baby Shrink mantra to Mike’s One Lap At A Time...Live your passions, find your mantra and find a way to feel alive!