Leaving on a Jet Plane

Before I jettison across the Atlantic, I first have a plethora of people I owe a debt of gratitude to. I would not be able to pursue this challenge without the support of an endless list of family, friends, and complete strangers across the state of Iowa.

Foremost, I must thank my parents, Brian and Nancy, for both their financial and moral support. Their unselfish commitment to helping me work towards my seemingly rational, and sometimes irrational, goals is honestly amazing. I love them both dearly and owe every opportunity I have to them.

I sincerely thank Dr. Edwin and Miriam van Beek for donating their air miles to cover my round trip flight from Cedar Rapids to London. It was an extremely selfless act for which I owe my highest of regards. More importantly, I also thank them for their very generous donation to the FMC.

I further pay my respects to my grandparents, John and Eldora of Ogden, Iowa, for financing my wetsuit (a vital decision to keep my core body temperature warm). They also have significantly contributed their financial and moral support to this cause – which truly means the world to me. My grandpa crossed the Channel in an army boat during WWII fighting for peace in Europe – thus making my current challenge merely pale in comparison.

With respect to my swimming, I thank my former University of Iowa water polo coaches, Dr. Ty Leverty and Erik Barnhill, for their wisdom and motivation in helping me train for this swim for the past 12 months. I also acknowledge my former teammates, Bill Sindewald and Mark Kloet, for letting me swim countless hours at the Fieldhouse when they were on duty, and the same goes to all the lifeguards at the Robert E. Lee Recreation Center (as I usually made them stay on guard until close as the only person in the pool). I thank the rest of my teammates, members of the Trihawks, as well as other friends for swimming sets with me. I further thank Charlie Whitmack, successful Mt. Everest climber, soon-to-be English Channel swimmer, and friend, for his optimistic insight on success and his knowledge of the Channel.

I also sincerely pay respects my brother, Thomas, for not only creating this blog, but also organizing this trip, acting as my coach/feeder/medic on the boat, training with me, flanking me in a kayak at the Coralville Reservoir with food, water, and a GPS system for copious amounts of time, and being one of my biggest supporters. You will be hearing much from this character as we spend some quality bonding time together over the upcoming month.

I further thank Mia Richter, Ironman competitor, neighbor, and friend, for training with me and providing me with continued inspiration. I also thank Mia for letting me use her waterproof MP3 player (a most amazing invention) as well as teaching me Pilates (her class at The Studio is highly recommended – as well as the Gharam Yoga and Vinyasa Flow classes). Please see Mia’s website, www.alswarriorpoet.com/mia.html, as she has dedicated her competition in the 2007 Ford Ironman World Championships in Hawaii to raise funds/awareness for ALS through the Blazeman Foundation. I plan to swim the 3.5 mile University of Okoboji race with Mia in August. I hope I can keep up!

I further thank my boss, Dr. Lawrence Fuortes, for being such a good teacher, supporter, friend, and victim (for letting me practice phlebotomy on him). The same goes to the rest of the UI School of Public Health (Iowa Army Ammunition Plant Former Worker Program) research team (thank you all for your card!) – including Dr. Marek Mikulski, Christina Nichols (thanks for the Good Luck cake and also offering to volunteer at the FMC!), Dr. Pournima Navalkele, Jill Welch (thanks for the pounds!), Laura McCormick, Matt Lozier, Nick Hoeger (thanks for the Rome guide!), and Paul Russum. Also, Lar and Marek, I will not let you two back down from your agreement to swim the across the Reservoir in August (that gives you the month of July to do some serious training). Thank you all for your support, advise, and well wishes, and I will be thinking of lavender fields and pulmonary function tests as my motivation during the swim.

I thank all of my friends, especially my roommates, Jesse Vislisel, Wilson “Jay” Davis, Craig Kilburg, and Tyson Lybeck, for understanding my long hours in the water, rigid time schedules, and early nights to bed. Although deserving, I was never once compared to Boo Radley (To Kill A Mockingbird’s notorious hermit) nor criticized for my all to often in absentia status. I thank you all for your support and understanding, and I hope to enjoy the majority of August with you all on dry land.

Finally, I thank Sandy Pickup, FMC co-director, for listening to my crazy idea over a year ago. When sipping on coffees at the Java House, we brainstormed our plan and have since worked together toward a common goal. Sandy was truly the first person to believe in this effort – and I thank her for her faith. More importantly, I thank Sandy and the rest of the clinic’s board members and volunteers for their unwavering service to the uninsured.

As I know that I have inevitably forgot many things when packing for this trip, I know that I have also forgot to acknowledge here many who have both helped and inspired me to prepare for this challenge. Again, I thank everyone who has contributed to the FMC on behalf of this Crossing For Care campaign – you are all truly remarkable for your empathy. For proof, as I write, our current total raised is $14,050.38!

As an anonymous wise person one said, “I would thank you from the bottom of my heart – but you my heart has no bottom.”