Caren Reynolds does not let Hodgkin's disease stop her from competing.
By SCOTT PURKS
Published April 24, 2004
ST. PETERSBURG - If life seems to be too much for you and you have little hope, you might want to read this story about Caren Reynolds.
It starts three years ago when she was so tired she could barely drag herself out of bed and to her desk at the Capitol One building in North Tampa. So tired she "could have fallen asleep any time, anywhere within seconds."
She dragged around for months with increasing back pain and chills while losing 15 pounds off her 5-foot-2, 118-pound body. Still, doctors said, "There's nothing wrong with you."
Turns out those doctors were wrong. Reynolds had stage four Hodgkin's disease.
Cancer.
"And that's when I learned there are only five stages to cancer, five being the worst," she said. "Needless to say I was scared. I had never before been sick or been in a hospital. I was 34 years old, and I couldn't believe it."
The next eight months involved the hell that is chemotherapy. Dry skin. Loss of hair. Nausea. By the end of it she was bald, weak and happy because her cancer was in remission. She also was determined.
"It wasn't long after that, that I saw a brochure about the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society Team in Training, and that's how I got started," she said. "It's been one of the greatest things I've ever done."
Eight months after the final dose of chemotherapy was injected into her she was on a track trying to run with her new Team in Training partners.
The ultimate goal was to race in the Tri-America Triathlon at Disney World five months later, which suddenly seemed nearly impossible, coupled with the fact she had to raise $2,000 for the cause. Where to find the time? The energy?
"I was so weak I had to stop after only a quarter mile," she said of that first workout. "I was completely out of breath. I thought, "Can I do this?' "
At Tri-America in September she completed the Olympic triathlon distance of a .93-mile swim, 24.8-mile bike ride and 6.2-mile run with a strong effort. Her time was 3 hours, 58 minutes, but who's worrying about times?
"I finished," she said. "And I never felt better."
Running by her side through the finish line was her husband, Jim, who has been with her every step of the way, before, during and after chemotherapy.
"I have to say that how she handled everything was incredible," Jim said. "It was tough for me because I couldn't do anything to make her feel better. The woman I love was suffering, and there wasn't anything I could do except be there."
This has translated to Jim, 48, becoming a triathlete and Team in Training fundraising machine. When the St. Anthony's Triathlon starts Sunday, Jim and Caren will have raised $10,000 within the past year.
They've also gotten in really good shape. Exercising almost every day, they often complete 30-mile bike rides and 3-mile runs before they used to even get out of bed.
Caren, 37, said she is much stronger than before she got Hodgkin's, while Jim has lost a great deal of weight and reduced his intake of prescribed medicines. Before he started training he took three blood pressure pills and a cholesterol pill. Now he takes one blood pressure pill.
"Maybe the best part is that we never plan to change the way we're living," Jim said. "It's a lifestyle - training for triathlons and raising money for a good cause - and we're happier than ever."
Sunday, Jim and Caren will run into the water together about an hour after the pro wave charges ahead in pursuit of a $50,000 prize.
"The pros will be long gone by the time we even finish," said Caren, chuckling. "So, no, we're not there as one of the race favorites."
