CLAUDIO’S STORY- THE MARATHON: the journey from taking 3 steps in 10 minutes to being able to run 26 miles
When someone first asked me to write my story, I didn’t think it would be so complicated
As I consider how to write my story and tell it in a manner that best reflects my experiences, there is something that I should note first. At age 12 I was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia, and for four and half years after that, I received chemotherapy to fight the cancer. Twenty years have passed since then, during which time I began to run and exercise, but despite it’s distant place in my past, those years of treatment will always remain locked in my life.
It started when I was eleven, almost twelve. I developed strong flu-like symptoms and had a high fever that would not go away. I deteriorated quickly, and the symptoms only worsened with time. A week after my twelfth birthday, my fever was so high that as I went from hospital to hospital, seeking an answer, they had to put ice on my body to cool me down. Finally, we found a doctor who provided my mother with a diagnosis. He told her, your son has leukemia, and unfortunately it is very bad. There is a two percent chance that he will be able to keep going, and it is likely that he doesn’t have more than two weeks to live.
But I pause here to remind you that that two percent is very important! Twenty years later, I am still here, and I have and will continue to keep going!!
After my diagnosis, I spent some time in the hospital, and I remember one day I went I went for a radiography exam. As I got out of the bed, I had serum in one arm and a blood transfusion in the other, and it had never been so hard to take three steps. I took exactly three steps to move from my bed to the wheelchair, but those three steps took me ten minutes. Why is this memory so clear, you may ask, and the answer is because it was during those ten minutes when I decided to run a marathon, a race 42 kilometers in length. Recently, I had watched a movie called “The Games” that was about a marathon runner in Italy, and since then I had slowly begun to develop the idea of running a marathon, the longest known race distance. In the moment, the idea to run a marathon seemed so difficult as so much of my journey and healing was still yet to come.
When I was in the hospital for the first time, I would ask my brother to tell me when he ran in high school . Four and a half years of chemotherapy passed, and it was a very complicated and difficult time. I had many friends that didn’t make it, but from one of them I learned to always do things with happiness, and beyond all else, to fight the long and hard battle against cancer. For there were others worse off than me, but they always managed to fight with a smile, and so I always did the same.
The time of treatment was filled with many ups and downs. On the days when I could leave the hospital, my mom would always tell me, “Look, when you go to the hospital you are a patient, but when you walk out of that door, the sickness stays inside of you and you have to live a normal life.”
On other days, when I had to be in the hospital, we would go early for the blood analysis, await the results, and then be told the guidelines and treatments to follow. If I was lucky, there wouldn’t be shots in my back. Afterwards, I would try to leave the hospital as fast as possible so that in this way, the sickness would stay inside and my life could return to normal.
My doctor would tell me, “Claudio, you have to do the treatment exactly right.” All I wanted to do was run, but there was no other way besides following the treatment plan exactly. I remember that she had a trophy from a boy on the shelf of her desk, and I would always look at it and tell her that one day I would win a trophy too. I would win the trophy, and give it to her, so she could put it on her shelf as well. She replied that the difference would be that I would give it to her because I’d won after being sick…and that’s how it turned out to be.
My life was as normal as it could be. I continued to go to the hospital three times a week, but afterwards, I would go to high school as if nothing had happened. I wanted to be with my friends because I always had the most fun with them, and even if it was difficult to go, I would still put all the enthusiasm in the world into it because it was better than staying at home. I wanted to be there with them and I didn’t want to miss out on anything. I passed all my courses in school, and then only thing that I was exempt from was gym. But I barely even remember this today. By being with my friends and going to school, I was able to forget a little of my sickness.
About four or five years later, after a few relapses and very difficult days, the Great Day finally arrived. The doctor informed my mother and me that I was better and that I could finally play sports!! I started my doing just a little bit at a time. I would always say that I was made of only made of bone, nothing else, no muscle or strength. But gradually, these became the best years of my life as I went through the University and became more athletically fit.
I spent one year training physically very intensively, not just to be good, but to be very good. The day came when I ran my first race- it was eight kilometers- and since then, my entire life became dedicated to athletics. My favorite part of training was running on the track of my university, and then leaving there to run for a couple of hours. The first marathon I ran, I felt like I was touching the sky. Towards the end I got a cramp, but nothing could have stopped me from finishing the marathon. All of the guys on my team at UBA (University of Buenos Aires) accompanied me the final ten kilometers, and they would say, “Let’s go, let’s go, you’re doing great!” I was so tired, but nothing and nobody could have made me abandon the race, and in the end, I made it. This race in particular was dedicated to some friends who also had their own battles against cancer, but hadn’t made it. So when I crossed the finish line, I didn’t cross it just for myself, but also for them.
After finishing the marathon, I told myself that the work was completed and I had accomplished my promise. I had run those 42 kilometers, and even though I was exhausted, I had reached my goal! Training was hard and I had to make sacrifices, but I continued running other distances and in the following years, I ran many races.
After some time had passed, I heard of a twelve year old girl who had died because she didn’t have enough donors. I thought, how could I help and make sure this didn’t happen again? I decided that the best thing I could do would be to run again and promote bone marrow donation. It’s very simple to give life in life and it’s just as easy to donate blood, the same with donating platelets. I never tire of saying this and it’s what is written on my shirt every time I run.
I will continue running with my shirt, and I will continue to support marrow donation in every corner of the world that I can. I’ve told you this story because I know that it can work! After running 100 races and four marathons, I can say that I’ve lived to experience more than 20 years of athleticism and exercise. I always give thanks, and I never tire of the excitement I feel seeing people running .
As we say on my sports team to encourage each other, “Let’s gooooo, onward, let’s go because we can!!”
I was able to continue to live and run marathons because there were people who, in the moment of my sickness, donated blood, and my family, friends, and many amazing people always supported me!
Below are some photos of my third marathon on March 20, 2011 in Los Angeles and my fourth marathon in Buenos Aires. Before, I was afraid to run in the rain in case it might make me sick, but now I think it’s nice to run in the rain! During those 42 kilometers it rained the whole time, and I didn’t feel very well. But for my friends passing through this sickness right now, I’m going to continue to run for many years and I will always support bone marrow donation. If God wishes, I’ll continue to run more marathons in Buenos Aires and Los Angeles.
Claudio R. Parrinello