I'm a middle aged husband and father of 2 boys, with an "age appropriate" affinity to social media (still don't have a Twitter account - and not planning to get one). This is my first published presence on the web, so please excuse my beginner mistakes.
I'm passionate about my family. I'm married to my wonderful wife, the love of my life, and have 2 boys, aged 14 and 19, and I love them all more than I love my life. Spending time with my family, helping and supporting them and seeing them prosper and succeed in their various endeavours is among the most rewarding things in my life. We also have a family dog, an English Springer Spaniel, whom I love very much, too. Taking her for a walk, playing or cuddling with her gives me peace of mind, and feeling her unconditional love for me reminds me to appreciate what I have. I'm a lucky man!
Sport is also very important for me. I'm an endurance athlete, I come from a running background and am currently focusing on long course triahtlon (commonly knowns as Ironman, although that's a brand, not a description of the distance). Endurance sport gives me time for myself, a pause from my busy work and home life, where I can be in the here and now and focus solely on myself, my body, my training. My sport helps me learn about myself and my body, find and push beyond my limits. It allows me to challenge myself, strive to become a better version of myself, and I can transfer skills learned in my sporting endeavours to my everyday life.
Since 1st April 2022, I'm also a testicular cancer patient. I was wondering how I should call this, and decided to say "cancer patient" instead of "cancer sufferer", as I will not let this disease control everything about me. It does have a significant impact on my life, and it can't be taken lightly, but it will not control me. And, as they say in distance running: "Pain is inevitable, suffering is optional!" I choose not to suffer!
I decided to share my cancer journey, and have thus created this web presence and my first ever blog. I may at some point add blogs on other topics, such as triathlon, but for now, I want to focus on getting through this disease. I am processing whats going on, partly through reflecting on it as I write. But I also want others to be able to read this, and maybe experience a little bit of support, help and/or campanionship.