39 States

Kellisa has visited 39 states:

Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia and Wisconsin

Last new state(s) in red.

Disappointment

2013 Bataan Memorial Death March

White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico

It was all planned and we were ready. However, Kellisa's customized off-road chair broke between Houston and El Paso. Unable to fix it and with no time to ship a replacement part, we were finished before we could even start. 

Kellisa not having a wheel is like me breaking an ankle. In other words, she wasn't going anywhere unless I carried her because we didn't bring a standard wheelchair on this trip (lesson learned the hard way). Maybe I'll write about the struggle of carrying Kellisa and moving our ton of gear from El Paso - Albuquerque - Chicago - Orlando - Jacksonville at another time, but I'm sure you can imagine.

Below is the one good tire and the broken tire:

The only bright side- at least this happened at the airport and not in the middle of the unforgiving desert!

We'll be back in 2014 with spare parts and tools!

El Paso Times- Kellisa Video

Below is the video that the El Paso Times made about our 2012 attempt to complete the Bataan Memorial Death March at White Sands Missile Range, NM. We completed 20 out of 26.2 miles because the temperature was above 90F and I was worried that the extreme desert sun and heat would trigger Kellisa's seizures. It wasn't worth the risk.

Run on Water

Run on Water

Bayfield Winter Festival

Bayfield, WI

March 3, 2013

A 2.1 mile ice road connects Bayfield, WI to Madeline Island across frozen Lake Superior. Every year as part of the Bayfield Winter Festival, a race to the island and back is held. I had decided to try with Kellisa as a new and exciting challenge. Originally, I was going to leave Egypt at home with Lisa. However, Egypt has been very interested in seeing snow and she really wanted to try sledding. I was hesitant to bring Egypt since this would be her first weekend of real cold and snow. I decided to bring her and she did not disappoint me. My plan was to push Kellisa and pull Egypt in a sled at the same time. Not knowing if Egypt would sit on a sled for 4.2 miles, I brought Kellisa's Wike chair which is barely big enough for both girls in full winter attire.

We almost didn't make it to the race. About 20 minutes from Bayfield, Kellisa started crying a little. Kellisa never cries unless she's about to blow. I quickly pulled over, jumped out of the van and opened Kellisa's door. I told her that she was OK, but I could tell from her face that all the liquids I gave her for breakfast were on their way out of her stomach. It was cold, just above zero with the wind chill and we were in the middle of nowhere. Any chance of participating in the Run on Water would be over if either Kellisa or myself got soaked in projectile vomit. 

Thinking quickly, I undid Kellisa's seat belt and leaned her out of the van as I spread my legs apart. Within an instant, 16 ounces came flying out and luckily, most of it landed on the road. My boots got a little wet as did Kellisa's waterproof wind pants. At the same time, Egypt was screaming in horror because the whole process in pretty violent and scary, even though she has witnessed this many times. I had to calm Egypt down as I wiped Kellisa's face. I knew Kellisa was feeling better and asked her if she was still up to the race. She smiled and signed "yes". I got back in the car and raced to the registration and then to the starting line. 

We barely had time for this picture before the race started: 

Looking out to Madeline Island:

Egypt sledding across frozen Lake Superior:

Kellisa with Bayfield in the background:

Heading back to Bayfield, after reaching Madeline Island:

Egypt was done sledding. I was glad I had the bigger chair:

A large crack in the ice:

Kellisa was the only participant pushed and Egypt was the only one pulled (for most of it anyway). 

We weren't last- the finish line (1:27:10):

Kellisa wanted her chance on the sled:

Arrival back at Orlando International Airport with our ton of weekend gear:

Thanks to Lisa for trusting me with the girls in the far north. A big thanks to Scott Armstrong for allowing us to race in our own special way...see you again next year!

Voyageurs National Park and Run on Water Trip Totals:

Miles Walked:      6.58

                                  2.38 (Voyageurs)

                                  4.2 (Run on Water)

Miles Driven:        1,166 

                                  280 Jax - Orlando (RT)

                                  886 MN and WI 

Flight Segments:   2 (Orlando - Minneapolis - Orlando)

Air Miles:              2,620

Rainy Lake Ice Road

Rainy Lake Ice Road

Voyageurs National Park, MN

March 2, 2013

We traveled to the far north to play in snow and to drive on the Rainy Lake Ice Road:

Islands:

Looking out the van door to see a crack in the ice:

Parked in the middle of the lake for some winter exploring:

The girls are excited to get out and play:

Egypt was so excited to go sledding (this was her first time). I left Kellisa in the van because Egypt couldn't wait:

After a little sledding with Egypt, I got Kellisa ready and into her Wike. I then pushed Kellisa and pulled Egypt:

Sun setting:

I used the GPS to route our way back to the hotel while we were still on the ice and took this cool picture:

Just before driving back on land, I saw the Voyageurs National Park sign for the customary pictures (Egypt was a little chilled):

Voyageurs National Park and Run on Water Trip Totals:

Miles Walked:      6.58

                                  2.38 (Voyageurs)

                                  4.2 (Run on Water)

Miles Driven:        1,166 

                                  280 Jax - Orlando (RT)

                                  886 MN and WI 

Flight Segments:   2 (Orlando - Minneapolis - Orlando)

Air Miles:              2,620

Kellisa and the Rock Wall

Abilities Expo

Atlanta, GA

February 9, 2013

I'm tempted to let the pictures below do all the talking:

Kellisa loved every second of her rock wall experience

Kellisa saw the rock wall from a distance and started saying, "me, me, me". Hard to believe, but this was a first for Kellisa and I have to admit that having her climb a rock wall wasn't even on my radar. Now that I know climbing can be adapted and seeing how much Kellisa enjoyed the adventure, my mind is racing with all the new possibilities.

 

I couldn't have been more proud of Kellisa. 

 

I apologize for the poor camera phone quality pictures. Lesson learned- you never know when an adventure will present itself!

 

A huge thanks to Catalyst Sports and the Abilities Expo- Atlanta for making this possible.

A Warrior

We are often asked about Kellisa's name, so I thought I'd share the background. We only had one boy name and one girl name picked when we found out Lisa was pregnant with twins. We really liked Kelly for a second girl name and thought it went well with Kirsten. Lisa had a concern that Kelly wasn't a formal name that could be shortened. 

I don't remember where or when we purchased the following book:

Taking Lisa's concerns seriously and thinking our daughter might be president someday, I opened the book to see if there were any long forms of Kelly. As soon as I saw Kellisa, I knew it was the name. The perfect combination of Kelly and Lisa. At the time, we never intended to call Kelly Kellisa. 

"A Warrior".

Is there a more fitting meaning of a name that could have been given to Kellisa? 

Most people when they see the name written combine Kel and Lisa as they pronounce the name. That may be the proper way to say the name, but when Lisa and I both saw the name, we thought it was pronounced like Melissa, but with a K. 

We named the girls in the womb. Kirsten was the normal, healthy developing baby and Kellisa was the baby without a chance to be born alive. How could we tell them apart? Kellisa was the baby with a large void in the ultrasound (another blog entry for another time). 

Kellisa was born first, just a minute before Kirsten. It's hard to say born, because they were literally ripped out of Lisa's stomach. The anesthesia started only a few seconds before the knife started cutting Lisa. I will always hear the doctor saying, "we don't have time for anesthesia" as he was starting the c-section. Lisa was pleading, "we have time", as I was rushed out of the operating room amid organized chaos. 

I sometimes think about what would have happened if we named the first girl born Kirsten because that was the name we had first. The girls would have had each others names. Would anything be different? Kirsten isn't as unique a name as Kellisa. We wouldn't have to constantly correct people on the spelling and pronunciation. My biggest pondering is- would the personality be the same?

In 1999, Calista Flockhart was on top of the world as the star of Ally McBeal. However, at the time (and even to this date), Lisa and I had never watched the show or really even knew that Calista Flockhart existed. The rest of the world knew and everyone thought we named our daughter Calista. Not to be mean, but no one was happier than us when Ally McBeal ended in 2002 and Calista faded from popular culture.

Kellisa has never been called "Kelly". 

Big Bend Ultra 25K

Big Bend Ultra 25

Big Bend National Park, TX

January 20, 2013

The standard picture as we enter a National Park:

Flashback: Kellisa first visited Big Bend National Park in April 2009:

We enjoyed a little sight seeing when we first arrived in the park:

We had to pick up our race packets the night before, so we decided to camp:

We arrived at our site late and it was cold, so we just slept in the back of the giant SUV:

We were visiting Big Bend National Park because we were entered in the Big Bend Ultra 25K. For those that don't know, 25K equals 15.5343 miles. However, this trail was just a little longer and came in at 15.8 miles. It may not sound like a big deal, but I want credit for every step I pushed Kellisa over the rough terrain. Below is a map of the course which followed 4X4 trails in the backcountry:

354 feet of elevation gain isn't mountain climbing, but imagine pushing 100+ pounds up a rocky trail the height of a 35 story building:

Kellisa enjoying the shuttle to the starting line:

Starting line (34F):

I decided to view the 25K as a journey and not a race. I knew we'd make the course cut-off time, so I decided to take our time enjoying the magnificent scenery and to capture as many pictures as possible to remember our amazing trip. 

Kellisa had a seizure in the first 15 minutes of the race, just after my first picture on the course. I asked Kellisa if she was OK to continue and she signed "YES". Always the trooper! I tend to trust Kellisa in these matters and she would save her next seizure until we completed the course.

The finish line (it was now 76F) is the little white spot just to the left of the top of the road. Even though it looks like we were close, it was still almost 2 agonizing miles away. I did not take finish line pictures because there was a course photographer. I will add those pictures as soon as I receive them.

Results:

 106  269          Kain Kellisa   F       Open   05:30:43

107 268  Kain Christopher M   Masters  05:30:43

** we did not finish last **

After the finish line, in the shade of a tent, Kellisa is receiving fluids like everyone else:

Kellisa enjoying the long 4X4 road back to where we had the SUV parked. Right after this picture, Kellisa had her second seizure of the day:

This is what we looked like at the airport for a very short weekend trip:

I would like to thank Lisa for supporting this trip as only a great mother and wife could. Egypt, for understanding as she stayed home this time. A promise to take Egypt to someplace with snow made it a little easier for her. I'd also like to thank Courtney and everyone at Friends of Big Bend National Park for going out of their way to accommodate our trip. Arlene for changing our registration at the last minute. Paul Baltutis (Race Director) for a flawless event and allowing us to complete the race in a way that only we can. We really appreciate the chance! Everyone at Big Bend National Park. A special thank you to Whole Earth Provision Co. for sponsoring our entry. 

Trip stats:

Miles driven: 547 (doesn't count the van shuttles)

Mikes hiked: 15.8

Flights: 5 (Jax-Houston-Midland/ Midland-Dallas-Birmingham-Jax)
Air miles flown: 2,522