Paul wrote and submitted this recently to the gym in Sydney where we both exercised. The editor of their monthly magazine contacted him letting him know that they've decided to publish it in their March issue:‘You have a brain tumor.’ Those words hit me like a ton of bricks. But they were not directed at me.
I sat stunned as the doctor directed that statement at my partner. We knew something was wrong, but neither of us could have imagined what was coming: six years, five brain surgeries, several doses of radiation, multiple chemotherapy regimes, loss of balance, coordination, vision and hearing. Yet my partner continues to battle his terminal cancer, and I continue to support him. We both rely on three pillars to get us through - faith, friends, and fitness.
An avid gym junkie for over 19 years when this all started (he is now 37), he was in great physical shape – six pack abs, broad shoulders, big chest, less than 10 per cent body fat, and a resting heart rate around 40 bpm. He did not let his two craniotomies, where his skull was sawed open and stapled shut, slow him down.
While recovering, barely able to see, with staples still in his head, in the dead of winter, he put on his running tights and hit the road. Granted, his pace was much slower than before, but it filled his heart with purpose and gave him a daily goal.
He took step classes between radiation treatments that zapped his strength and ate away at his muscle mass (dropping from 68 kgs to 49 kgs). He hits the gym regularly and logs his workout routines in his notebook. Long before the tumors started, we used to discuss his workouts every day. The fact that we can still do that provides a sense of normality; a sense of routine in an otherwise chaotic mess of doctors visits, cancer treatments, and uncertainty.
On 25 July 2006, we were in Toronto on holiday when a doctor at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland called and explained that my partner had about a year to live. We both went for a run.
In October of 2007, when his doctors at the University of Virginia ‘demanded’ via email that he return from Sydney to the States for more treatment, he responded by taking his Saturday evening step class at Fitness First in Darlinghurst (NSW).
He is not the only one who has relied on fitness to help fight this battle. As his partner of nearly 13 years, about half of which has been spent supporting him in his fight, I too have realised the importance of exercise and fitness.
I have taken out my anger, frustration, and fear in 20 km runs preparing for my second marathon. Lifting at the gym is another way I release my emotions and, recently, I’ve found BodyAttack, BodyPump, and, of course, BODYCOMBAT as excellent ways to deal with the demons.
The rhythmic sounds of feet hitting the floor in unison in BODYATTACK always makes me smile; during the squat track in BODYPUMP, my mind drifts away from his tumors to a different type of pain. I definitely sleep better at night after a workout too.
Since joining Fitness First three years ago, I’ve transformed my body and changed my life.
No gym and no fitness program is ever going to cure cancer. And sadly, no amount of step classes or weightlifting is going to save my partner’s life. But, without something as simple as a couple of free weights and a pair of cross trainers, my partner’s battle would be a lot harder and his life a lot less complete.
-Paul Spackman
