Rick Stiebel
B次元官网网址 Gazette staff
This yearB次元官网网址檚 Victoria Goddess Run in Langford on June 4 will be an emotional yet triumphant milestone for Julie Power.
An avid runner who completed various half marathons since she got serious about the sport in 2009, Power is training for the five-kilometre portion of the event. While thatB次元官网网址檚 less than a quarter of her usual distance, itB次元官网网址檒l mark the first time she has raced since being diagnosed with leukemia in April 2015.
B次元官网网址淚 recently completed 10 months of treatment and have been in remission for 14 months,B次元官网网址� explained the 44-year-old Saanich resident.
Power took part in the 2013 and 2014 Goddess Run as part of the Sole Sisters team, which counts numerous West Shore runners among the roughly 200 women in the club.
In a cruel twist of irony, Power was diagnosed with cancer just three weeks after she had completed a half marathon. Her white blood cell count was dangerously low, virtually non existent at 0.1. B次元官网网址淚t should be between 4 and 10 for someone in average health,B次元官网网址� she explained, adding that she had no hemoglobin or platelets at the time. B次元官网网址淚t was literally life or death, because I had no ability to fight infections. Fortunately IB次元官网网址檓 super passionate about fitness, which is one of the reasons I survived.B次元官网网址�
Power is anxious to share two messages of paramount importance regarding what she went through.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 so important for women to listen to their bodies. Getting through that half marathon weeks before I was diagnosed may have seemed like a badge of courage at the time, but in fact it could have killed me,B次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址淲omen seem to ignore warning signs. If something doesnB次元官网网址檛 seem right, you need to get it checked out right away. Waiting will not get you the help you need.B次元官网网址�
The other lesson Power learned the hard way was the importance of being prepared to deal with the dire financial straits that often accompany serious illness. Although well-versed in the insurance business with 12 yearsB次元官网网址� experience and having just earned her investment and insurance licence before the cancer took hold, Power never got around to purchasing income insurance.
B次元官网网址淭here I was, suddenly off work for two years, a single parent with two children trying to maintain a house in Victoria and having to rent an apartment in Vancouver during my treatment,B次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檓 so passionate about that now after what IB次元官网网址檝e been through. I would stand on a soapbox to tell people how important income insurance protection is.B次元官网网址�
Power canB次元官网网址檛 wait to run again, and couldnB次元官网网址檛 be happier that proceeds from this yearB次元官网网址檚 Goddess Run will go to the BC Cancer Foundation. B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檓 doing it because I can,B次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址淭hereB次元官网网址檚 an enormous sense of celebration, especially because IB次元官网网址檓 running with my daughter, Jordyn. SheB次元官网网址檚 new to running and itB次元官网网址檚 her very first (five-kilometre race), made even more special because of what sheB次元官网网址檚 been through with me.B次元官网网址�
More than 11,000 women have taken part in the first five Goddess Run events, and raised more than $170,000 for charity. For more information, jog over to .
