Family and Friends Friday - Dan Van

Dan works with my wife, Aimee. A couple of years ago Dan wanted to get a little more serious about his running. Knowing that Aimee was a marathon finisher he started asking her questions, followed a training plan and signed up for the 2007 Marine Corp Marathon. He trained, he ran, he finished. In fact he finished his first marathon in 3:58:55. A wonderful way to start his marathoning career.

Not long after the marathon Dan didn't quite feel right. He knew something was off. Unlike some men who just shrug off the occasional weird feeling, Dan visited his doctor. Dan's doctor ordered a colon scope. Dan had early colon cancer.

Again I was saying to myself, "Why Dan". He takes care of himself, is one of the nicest guys I know, sometimes house sits for us because the dogs absolutely love him.

Then I thought good for Dan. How is this good for Dan? It's good because it could have been alot worse. Because Dan was running and taking care of himself he recognized the ever so slight difference between feeling good and being slightly off. Being that in tune with your body is what possibly saved his life.

Someone else might have let it go and they would now be facing certain death. But Dan only lost 12 inches of his colon and is training for his second marathon.

Because of Dan my perception of the company he and Aimee works for, ADA Architects, is solidified. I always knew it was filled with good people to work with/for. Dan was worried about his recovery and the extended time off from his duties. Instead the company owners put together a fair and generous package so that Dan would only have to worry about getting better.

Not only did Dan recovery from his surgery but was back at work in half the time the doctor said it would take. Dan was physically fit heading into surgery and his level of fitness allowed him to recover that much quicker.

So like I said Dan is training for a second marathon. I've included the text of an e-mail he sent out to friends.

Game On Dan.....GAME ON.

Spring is finally here, I for one, am happy to see winter go this year because for obvious reasons, it sucked! However, I consider myself lucky that I have gotten thru the cancer for the most part unscathed and feeling 150%. My experience gave me a small glance of how this disease can impact others. I believe there are many in the office that can attest to the impact that cancer has had on family members and friends and themselves. It is because of this that I have decided to dedicate this running season to raising money for the Lance Armstrong Foundation for cancer research. I have entered a marathon in Maine on October 19th, 2008 and hope to meet my donation goal by this time. So, I come to uncomfortable territory here, in asking you to donate some of your hard earned money to the foundation. Please follow the link below to my donation page and give what you can. Also, please forward the link to anyone else whom you think would like to make a donation and make sure you use the donation box in the middle of the page so it credits my donation goal.


Thanks in advanced and thank you again for all your kind words and support during this time,

Sincerely,
Dan Van

http://www.livestrong.org/grassroots2008/danvanluvender