They Call Me Galvez

Hee hee hee… had a very interesting night. I unexpectedly ventured of base with a bunch of military PTs to grab some authentic Korean food. I went downstairs to the lobby in jeans, a polo shirt, and some Flip Flops. I assumed that we were eating in the hotel.  I was surprised to see everyone bundled up and ready to go!  San Diego weather has spoiled me.  I wasn’t thinking we were staying on base so I left my base access pass in the hotel room.  Well, I didn’t realize this until we were off the base in the streets of Seoul!  D’oh!  We figured we’ll deal with that when the we have to get back in! Well anyways, we ended up going to an authentic Korean Restaurant, Jeong Gam Eo Rin. In college, I was introduced to Korean food and eventually learned to love kimchee.  It was a Korean BBQ, so we had the kalbi.  The kalbi, kimchee, and this cold noodle soup was awesome!  I’d never had the cold soup before.  It was actually chilled and surprisingly refreshing.   It was great hanging out with other PTs.  The conversations are uniquely “PT”.  It has been a while since I’ve been around other PTs since I’m typically around the tumor/cancer survivor/advocacy population!   Dinner was great!

Well, we still had to deal with the fact that I didn’t have my base access pass with me.  Re-entering the base might be problematic.  Luckily, there were a couple Korean speaking therapists with us that were able to help us get back on the base. Took a while and a bunch of phone calls were made, but we finally made it back!  Whew… Anyways, another great meal in Korea!  One more day at the conference.  Tomorrow I check out and I leave for Singapore on Sat. I will be exploring the base Friday afternoon and check out the military PT clinic. Anyways, it is a 7 hour flight on Korean Air.  The zipper on my luggage broke, so I’m going to have to get some new luggage.  I expect some difficulty checking in/boarding the plane with the “mAss Kicker Mobile” in both Korea and Singapore.  Stay tuned!

Dragon Hill Lodge -38th Parallel Healthcare Symposium Day 1

We’ll start recording short videos on our trip!

I left for Korea at 3:30AM on 10/29 and I got into Seoul at 3 PM on 10/30.  It was a long flight with a 2 hour layover in Seattle.  I haven’t been to Seattle before, so it was exciting to be somewhere new.  I had a 2 hour layover there, so I had some time to do more exploring! Here are photos from my layover.  Got to watch 3 movies on the flight.  I still cannot sleep on planes.   I shut my eyes, but I cannot sleep no matter how tired I am.  I was surprised that 3 seats next to me were empty on the 11 hour flight from Seattle to Seoul!!  It was great! When I finally got to Seoul, I was totally out of my element. I had no idea where I was going!  Going through customs to in Singapore will be exciting because I am flying on Korea Air, so I’m not exactly sure how I will communicate with the people there…  Being disabled and unable to speak the language will be huge barriers!  I could already tell that some people were already uncomfortable with me.  Lots of confused looks.  I’m not sure if it was the language barrier or the fact that I was a person with a disability traveling by myself.  The stigma of disability is very strong in Asia!  I recall that the only people I see in wheel chairs are older patients with family members with them.  I have yet to meet a younger person with physical disabilties on my travel.  Trish the stewardess from Delta was so helpful after I deplaned!  I recall that last year traveling to Honolulu, Tokyo, and Manila finding the elevators in airports were difficult due to placement of the signage and the language barrier. Will def have to study the Airport Maps when I get to Singapore before deplaning.  Luckily Trish and some of the other members of the Delta flight crew waited for me on the other side of customs and walked with down with me to baggage claim.  I would have been totally lost!  My friends Leah and Jorge were there to pick me up in by the baggage claim that was so helpful.  I already anticipate an issue trying to find a cab or shuttle from the airport in Singapore to the Hotel.  Going through customs in Singapore from Korea will be very interesting!   Today is a day of rest and exploration.  I’m still trying to adjust to the time difference!  Tonight I’m going to a Halloween party in Seoul!  Should be fun!  Seoul is very hilly, so I anticipate lots of difficulties with the mAss Kicker mobile.  Maybe next time, I bring my manual chair… stay tuned… tonight is halloween in Seoul…

The last few weeks have been crazy.  I’m doing a lot of new things A few weeks ago, I took the train up to Los Angeles to attend a UCLA Brain Tumor Research event,  15th Anniversary 2014 “Art of the Brain” Gala.  I actually enjoy taking the train to LA because it’s relaxing and you don’t have to worry about traffic.  The seats are comfortable and it’s a relatively stress free trip!  I don’t know why people don’t take the train more often.  As someone who doesn’t like sitting in traffic, the train is a great alternative to the stress associated with traffic and the cost of gas in California!  When I got to LA I decided to go on another adventure there!  Public transportation.  I’m becoming familiar with it in San Diego, but Los Angeles is a whole different beast.  I took the bus to UCLA, which was fine with me because I had time to kill before the event!  It was like a tour of my old stomping ground when I briefly lived in Los Angeles after undergrad.  The bus passed through: Beverly Hills, Hollywood, West Hollywoood, and finally Westwood. When I finally got to the event, I met up with a friend, changed out of my t-shirt and jeans, then scooted around to expore the event venue.  I was very impressed with the turnout and amount of donors/vendors associated with the one night event.  The event showcased some photographs and paintings created by brain tumors survivors, and a had pretty cool musical performance.  There was a really unique string instrument there that stretched from the floor to the ceiling!  Very unique and pretty cool. It was the first formal Gala that I have ever attended.  There were so many people there… It was ~$300 a plate with so many event sponsors!   The highlight of the night for me was meeting more brain tumor survivors.  These people understand what it like to live with the after effects of a brain tumor.  There is an automatic kinship that is formed immediately when meeting people who “understand”.  Traumatic experiences have a tendency to bring people together.  I have noticed that the “kinship” among survivors is very powerful.  After going through so much alone, it is extremely comforting to connect with people who understand!  I felt to same bond when I want up to LA for my first brain tumor event in Hollywood.  My buddy let me crash on his couch after the event and took me to the train station the next morning.  It was quite a fun trip!

At the beginning of October, mAss Kickers Foundation hosted the annual Celebration of Life ceremony to honor the people that helped us get through everything:  our family, our friends, and our fellow survivors.  We honored those special people with toasts given by survivors.  Here are the videos from the past three years!

• 2014 Celebration of Life video recap
• 2013 Celebration of Life 
• 2012 International Tumors Suck Day

The event is literally a Celebration of Life organized and run by survivors.  We have met so many cool people at the event.  It is a potluck so everyone that attends feels invested in the celebration! We just figured that THE PEOPLE THAT WERE THERE FOR US DESERVE RECOGNITION!

Last week I had the opportunity to go the San Diego, ACS CAN RESEARCH BREAKFAST at Scripps Memorial Hospital.  I was attracted to this event because it highlights the promotion of science and research in the fight against tumors/cancer.  One of the reasons I did not get involved with the American Cancer Society was because I felt that a lot of their energy was spent on fund raising events.  I was very happy to see their commitment to research and advocacy.  I’m very attracted to the research side in the fight against ALL forms of tumors/cancer.  I do have some knowledge of the research process.  I do realize that I’m not qualified to do research myself, but I fully support the organizations and individuals that do.

Things are still keeping me busy.  I’m going to Korea next week to speak at a US Military Rehabilitation Conference then meeting up with some American cancer survivors in Singapore to do a presentation about a proactive lifestyle after a tumor/cancer diagnosis.  Stay tuned!

My grandfather is still inspiring me even though he passed away my sophomore year of high school.  A few years ago, we went to the Philippines for my aunt and uncle’s wedding anniversary and grew interested in the things my grandpa did.  My brother and I brought a camera with us and we made our one of our first videos. My cousin Jojo Calora found some old yearbooks from his early years at East High School (now gone) in Minneapolis, Minnesota and from the University of Minnesota where he was a Chemistry Major.  It blows my mind knowing that he was one of the FIRST Filipino exchange students in the United States in the 1920s!  After that, he spent some time in Germany and got his PhD!  This was probably right before World War II and the rise of Nazi Germany!  I still can’t believe he was there!  He returned to the Philippines and was a Professor in Soil Sciences.  Anyways, I wish I knew more about him.  I’m sure that he had a bunch of interesting stories!  I was told that he used to visit us in Michigan when we were babies and toddlers.  The only thing that I remember was that he would always pinch our cheeks.  I hated that… His activity in the midwest probably explains how we ended up in Michigan.  I am so proud to be descended from such an interesting man!  I was surprised to learn that he even has a High School named after him and a lecture hall dedicated to him in the Philippines!  Our dad is a reserved guy, so we never talked about this stuff growing up… kinda cool that we can actually do our own research!

high school in Minnesota in the 1920s

College in the 1920s at the University of Minnesota

Last weekend I had the opportunity to go to Austin, Texas to check out the Brain Power 5K race/walk created by Kelly Bollinger.  It was great because I got to reconnect with my friend, “Hawktober for Brain Tumor Awareness” founder, and fellow brain tumor survivor Matt Cotcher I was also excited to reconnect with my other friend, Runi Limary.  Another brain tumor buddy, Iram J. Leon was kind enough to host me for the weekend.  J. is a very accomplished runner and has garnered national media attention.   He has won multiple races after brain surgery and qualified for the Boston Marathon earlier this year! He picked me up from the airport on Friday and we went directly to one of my favorite restaurants in Austin so I could have some brisket tacos.  I was first introduced to brisket by a friend in San Jose, CA years ago.  When I learned about the lengthy preparation of brisket, I became a big fan of Texas BBQ!  They take their grilling very seriously in Texas!  After college, I proudly held the tittle of “Grill Master” after years of “apprenticeship” watching my dad and my housemates in college!  I was told that I have to check out more Texas BBQ places the next time to get an idea of the different types of BBQ! Later that evening our friend Chris invited us to an acrobatic-equestrian-Cirque du Soleil-type show, Gladius.  Physical displays of skill always impress me!

The next day J took me to an Ultimate Frisbee Tournament. I was surprised that teams from all over Texas came to this tournament!  On the way back, we did a “drive by” of the University of Texas Campus in Austin on a Football Game day!  I def want to check out an authentic Texas tailgate before a football game.  I’ve been to tailgates in Ann Arbor, Columbus, East Lansing, Chicago, and Pasadena.  I want to go one for a South Eastern Conference game and a Pac-12 game.  I always enjoy “geeking out”, so J took me to the Texas State Capitol in Austin!  After the trip to the capital, we stopped by this really cool graffiti art wall where artists paint whatever they want on the walls!  Here are some pictures from the day!  Instead of lunch, we decided to get some ice cream, so we went to another Austin staple,  Amy’s Ice Cream.   For dinner, we met up with Chris to catch up and watch a little football.  Later that evening, J went out while I stayed in to watch the Michigan-Notre Dame football game.   I am addicted to Michigan Football.  My general mood in the fall is sadly dependent on the outcome of the Michigan football games.  The past few years I have been pretty grumpy!  I’m learning to let go!  Sadly, it was an early night for me because Michigan got demolished, which in hindsight was probably a good thing since we had to get up early for the Brain Power 5K.

Kelly and Runi have done a great job organizing the Brain Power 5K.  I was very impressed with the turnout and growth of the event!  In a short time it has grown from 300 participants to over 14 hundred!  It was great running into Matt at the start of the race!  When I first found out that he writes about sports, I was intrigued.. We got along well from the very beginning.  The mAss Kickers Foundation Support Campaign, Rock Da Hawk is very closely tied to the “Hawktober for Brain Tumor Awareness” Campaign.   Matt has taken the mohawk campaign and run with it!  I support “Hawktober ” 100% because mohawks are hard to ignore, and ANYONE can participate in the campaign! Anyways, I had to explore the Brain Power 5K venue because I was amazed that the event was actually created by survivors and run by survivors!  You don’t see that too often!  Here are pictures from the Brain Power 5K event!   J organized one of the larger teams and had the top 3 male overall finishers and the top 3 overall female finishers!   I was honored to be a part of “Team Scarecrow” so I created the video above!  After the race, we went out to eat at another Austin restaurant that was kind of like a Denny’s.  An omelet and pancakes for dinner, is always filling!  The people in Texas are so hospitable!

The next day, my friend Gayle picked me up from Austin, and took me to Texas State San Marcos to lecture to Physical Therapy Students about my experiences as a young healthcare professional turned brain tumor patient!  I always enjoy lecturing to students because they always keep me on my toes and ask some of the more interesting questions.  I did not realize how far San Marcos was from Austin.  Gayle had to pick up her kids from school so I had to find a ride to Austin.  The last time I spoke at Texas State, another one of my friends drove me there, and back.  I thought that I could simply take a Uber car from the school back to Austin.   I was wrong.  There were no Uber drivers in San Marcos plus I found out that a taxi would be ~$100 to take back to Austin.  I was so lucky that Dr. McDowell was able to give me a ride back to Austin on her way home from San Marcos!   Dr. McDowell dropped me off at a restaurant and I met up with Gayle again and another survivor friend, Deb.  I always enjoy meeting other survivors, even survivors of different types of tumors/cancer. There is always an unspoken bond that “connects” us.  I always have a great time in Austin and look forward to returning.

I have some more cool stuff in the works.  I just confirmed that I’m speaking at a military healthcare conference in Seoul, S. Korea in November.  They want me to:

1. share my story as a healthcare professional turned oncology patient
2. present the benefits of physical activity/exercise in a post oncology treatment population.

I have to alter my presentations for a military and Korean audience.  This will be exciting!  I’m thinking about going to S. Korea early to experience Halloween in another country… I’ve had some pretty exciting Halloweens in the past, but that is a story for another time… Seoul here I come!  I wonder how people will respond to the “mAss Kicker Mobile” there…  it was a different in experience in Japan and the Philippines last time.