Team All Ears Profile:Jamison Reynolds

Note from Michelle and Mike: From time to time we will be highlighting the stories of members of Team All Ears, a wonderful group of individuals, who have agreed to raise money for Deb Wills’ Avon Breast Cancer Fund by running Disney races in January 2010.

This week we are pleased to introduce Jamison Reynolds.

Why I Am Team AllEars

We all have our reasons. Some look for the health benefits. Some love the rush of breaking through the wall. Some love the pain. Just as we all have our reasons, another truth is that reasons change. I fall into that group.

When my son Patrick was born in 2005 I put on what some may call “sympathy weight”. I actually grew into a very unhealthy 225 lbs on a 5’11 frame. That’s a BMI (Body Mass Index) of over 31 which is technically obese. In January 2006 I decided to get into shape and began a weight loss regimen. Part of the routine was cardio. I HATED RUNNING. But as the pounds came off I decided I wanted a challenge. Could I overcome my hate of running and run a half-marathon?

I think at this point I should identify myself as “Disney Obsessive”. What better race to prove that I had accomplished my goal then the Walt Disney World Half-Marathon? Well it was sold out and I was not about to commit to a full marathon So thought I would wait… but life, trips and various other distractions kept me from following through.

In January 2009 my youngest son was born and I decided once and for all I was gonna run. I registered in March for the Walt Disney World Half-Marathon right before a trip down to Orlando with the family. While we were down in Florida we noticed a rash on Benjamin, our baby. When we returned from our trip we scheduled an appointment for a routine check the next day.

Within 24 hours of returning from Walt Disney World we were at Ruby Memorial Children’s Hospital in Morgantown, WV awaiting a bone marrow biopsy on our little boy because the blood work from the day before showed what looked like acute leukemia.

After the scariest day of our lives, we learned he did not have cancer, but a rare autoimmune disease called “Evan’s Syndrome”; a condition where his body could attack his platelets and/or his white cells and/or his hemoglobin at any time. This is a condition that he will have for the rest of his life, can trigger at any moment and can be fatal.

He spent two weeks in the hospital with blood work twice a day and heavy steroid treatment once a day. After he was released he received weekly chemotherapy for a month. Although it was not cancer, the theory was that the chemo would wipe out ALL of his antibodies and when they began to regenerate after treatment was concluded that his antibodies would “course correct”. My little boy spent his first Easter in the hospital, IV sticking out of his head, wiped out from chemo and steroids. He was three months old.

Benjamin is now eight months old and healthy as a horse… a horse that cruised for the first time an hour before I wrote this. We still get monthly blood work, but so far his numbers have been well above normal. We thank God every day.

I no longer run for me. I run for my children. I run to stay healthy so I can take care of them, not the other way around. I run because I plan to stay active in their lives. I run to set a good example; so they see physical activity is a norm and NOT an exception. I run to keep my BMI below 25 so my kids have a healthy Dad. I run because Wii Fit is only so much fun. I run because I can.

I am Team AllEars.