Keller Marathon 2020
Tax deductible
This Thanksgiving I have a lot to be grateful for but it’s been a difficult year.
On March 2, 2020, I woke up for my daily run and coughed and thought, "that was a weird cough." I took my temperature and had a 99.4. I still went for my 6.35 mile and did it at a 7:25 per mile pace. I felt great but my life was about to change.
That week my fever went up to 103.4 and was relentless. The next Monday I went into the hospital and tested positive for COVID-19. I was one of the first 40 cases in Santa Clara County, and the U.S. had just passed 500 cases. I asked the infectious disease doctor what should I expect? He said he didn’t know, he had only been treating this disease for a week.
The next day the ICU doctor looked at my chest x-ray and said it looked bad. Bilateral pneumonia. They prepared me for intubation, telling me I could be in an induced coma for weeks, maybe months. I sent my loved ones emails in case I didn't wake up.
Thankfully, the infectious disease doctor said no, I should not be put on a ventilator and stopped it from happening.
My biggest symptoms were shortness of breath, my heart rate doubling, fatigue and nausea. Fevers spiked daily. Oxygen levels dropped, but after nine days I was released. My pulmonologist looked at my last chest x-ray and said the pneumonia was everywhere. When he sees an x-ray like that, he said some older bodies decide to die, my body decided to fight.
The next few weeks I was isolated from my family in a room in my home. The support from family and friends for my wife and daughters was amazing. My appetite started to return and I slowly started walking for a few minutes a day.
One night, I received a text of an article saying COVID-19 survivors could see long term lung damage. It made me angry. COVID-19 has taken so much from us, I wanted to take something back. At that moment, I decided I was going to run my first marathon.
I promised my wife I'd get the clearance from my doctors, and at the end of May, I was cleared. Since then I've slowly started my marathon training with the help of my awesome coach, Abe Galvan. I was going to run the California International Marathon in December, but it was cancelled. But I'm going to run 26.2 miles in 2020 because I can't let this year be all bad and I get to take something back.
I'm not going to lie, I thought it would be easier. I thought my body would jump back into shape like I was before COVID-19. It's been a grind and at times, painful. But I'm determined to finish the Keller Marathon 2020, crawling if I have to.
If you've made it this far in my story, there's one more thing I'm doing, because COVID-19 can't win. I'm raising money for St. Jude Children's Hospital. I've been to the hospital in Memphis three times. I was always amazed at what they provided the children facing catastrophic diseases and the strength of the families. I think about the families that are there and what they must be going through as the world deals with a pandemic. Their fears and struggles must be terrifying during these times and I hope to take a negative in my life and make it a positive.
Thanks to everyone for your support.
On March 2, 2020, I woke up for my daily run and coughed and thought, "that was a weird cough." I took my temperature and had a 99.4. I still went for my 6.35 mile and did it at a 7:25 per mile pace. I felt great but my life was about to change.
That week my fever went up to 103.4 and was relentless. The next Monday I went into the hospital and tested positive for COVID-19. I was one of the first 40 cases in Santa Clara County, and the U.S. had just passed 500 cases. I asked the infectious disease doctor what should I expect? He said he didn’t know, he had only been treating this disease for a week.
The next day the ICU doctor looked at my chest x-ray and said it looked bad. Bilateral pneumonia. They prepared me for intubation, telling me I could be in an induced coma for weeks, maybe months. I sent my loved ones emails in case I didn't wake up.
Thankfully, the infectious disease doctor said no, I should not be put on a ventilator and stopped it from happening.
My biggest symptoms were shortness of breath, my heart rate doubling, fatigue and nausea. Fevers spiked daily. Oxygen levels dropped, but after nine days I was released. My pulmonologist looked at my last chest x-ray and said the pneumonia was everywhere. When he sees an x-ray like that, he said some older bodies decide to die, my body decided to fight.
The next few weeks I was isolated from my family in a room in my home. The support from family and friends for my wife and daughters was amazing. My appetite started to return and I slowly started walking for a few minutes a day.
One night, I received a text of an article saying COVID-19 survivors could see long term lung damage. It made me angry. COVID-19 has taken so much from us, I wanted to take something back. At that moment, I decided I was going to run my first marathon.
I promised my wife I'd get the clearance from my doctors, and at the end of May, I was cleared. Since then I've slowly started my marathon training with the help of my awesome coach, Abe Galvan. I was going to run the California International Marathon in December, but it was cancelled. But I'm going to run 26.2 miles in 2020 because I can't let this year be all bad and I get to take something back.
I'm not going to lie, I thought it would be easier. I thought my body would jump back into shape like I was before COVID-19. It's been a grind and at times, painful. But I'm determined to finish the Keller Marathon 2020, crawling if I have to.
If you've made it this far in my story, there's one more thing I'm doing, because COVID-19 can't win. I'm raising money for St. Jude Children's Hospital. I've been to the hospital in Memphis three times. I was always amazed at what they provided the children facing catastrophic diseases and the strength of the families. I think about the families that are there and what they must be going through as the world deals with a pandemic. Their fears and struggles must be terrifying during these times and I hope to take a negative in my life and make it a positive.
Thanks to everyone for your support.
Organizer
Matthew Keller
Organizer
San Jose, CA
St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
Registered nonprofit
Donations are typically 100% tax deductible in the US.
