Decide What To Be--And Go Be It

It's the ass-crack of dawn on Monday morning and I'm already two cups of coffee, one Facebook post, an iPod synch and a dog walk into the morning. At 5, I'll head to the gym for a slowish 30 minute run because that's what the crazy people do: they shake off the comfort of warm, unconscious bliss and trade it for stark fluorescent lighting and the company of other unwashed, bed-headed, coffee-breathing nutjobs. I don't know why they're at the gym, but I'm there because I have to be. Because if I weren't at the gym, I'd be at home, filleting the crow that I'll have to eat this summer; I set a goal a few months back, and then I talked about it. A lot. To numerous people. So now I'm hard at work trying to make certain that what began as a conversation doesn't become a meal.



Some Backstory

Me and Amy 1979 Kiddie Parade

In January of 2005, my lifelong best friend, Bellingham native Amy Baklund, was diagnosed with Stage 1 breast cancer and immediately underwent treatment at the Cancer Care Alliance in Seattle. I was going through a divorce and about to move to California for a year-long job in the entertainment industry (that makes it sound like I was in porn, doesn’t it? I wasn’t.) During the year she underwent chemo and radiation, I didn’t see Amy much, although she did heroically venture to Hollywood for a visit and I went with her once to the “juice bar,” as she called Cancer Care. At any rate, Amy spent a lot of time during treatment with her dog, Copan, a Bernese Mountain Dog, who traveled with her from Idaho to Seattle for treatment, lived with her, and, when she felt strong enough, walked with her around Madison Park.

This is where the story gets sad.



Amy and Copan at Mt. Baker.
Photo: Chris Watkins.

Shortly after Amy completed her treatment (she's now 5 years cancer-free!), Copan himself was diagnosed with cancer. Dr. Ed Sullivan of Bellingham Veterinary Clinic worked valiantly to save Amy’s companion, locating Copan’s sister, Katy, in Atoka, Oklahoma, to donate stem-cells for his treatment. However, Katy was pregnant and couldn’t donate, and sadly, Copan died in January 2008 with Amy by his side.   However, Katy’s two pups, Frida and Kahlo, soon made their way from Chicken Fight Road in Atoka to live in Bellingham to live with me (Frida) and Amy (Kahlo).

This is where my goal comes in.

Frida loves a road trip!

This summer, Frida and I will embark on a journey of our own to raise funds and awareness for a research foundation Amy has created in Copan’s memory. Called Copan’s Place, the envisioned facility will be a state-of-the-art treatment center for dogs and cats with cancer. Located in the Pacific Northwest and headed by Dr. Sullivan, Copan’s Place will offer care and comfort to animals and their people as canine and feline cancers are treated with cutting-edge treatments.

Physical fitness and maintaining a healthy lifestyle are priorities to Amy, and to me, and for both of us, spreading the message of how health and fitness are essential for humans and their animal friends is paramount. My trip will begin this June as soon as school is out, when Frida and I will leave Bellingham to travel to San Diego, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Colorado, and Utah spreading the word about (and hopefully raising some funds for) Copan’s Place--for which I'm a board member,as its resource librarian--stopping along the way at local venues and to participate in one sprint-distance triathlon each week.

In the weeks preceding my departure, I'll be writing more about the adventure: why I decided to do this now, how I've been training for a summer sport in the middle of winter, and what I'm learning along the way. As I've learned from Amy, every day is a gift, a new beginning, an opportunity, and a challenge--to be the best we can be, make the most of who we are and what we have, and enjoy this life and all it has to offer. I hope you'll join me on this leg of my journey.