Camping at McDowell Mountain

We went camping this weekend. McDowell Mountain is about an hour away. It was much prettier than I thought it would be. It was green (as green as Arizona gets) and there were lots of wild flowers. Unfortunately my camera died after 3 pictures so this is all we got.

We're always up for camping buddies if anyone wants to come with...

No Cancer!!!

So yesterday was one of the best days of my life! I'm sore, and have a rough time getting up and down, and rolling over, but my remote control muscles are working great! I caught an episode of The Price is Right, and now the universe is back on center.

Before surgery yesterday in the prep room, the Dr. came in to visit and talk about what was going to happen. He had already done that for me when in his office, but I guess it's standard protocol for the entire staff to repeat themselves. Each nurse asking me the same questions, and now the Dr. repeating the procedure... The plan was to take out a Lymph node in my deep groin - or lower inguinal space of the retroperitoneal cavity. While on the table, the surgeon would send the lymph node to pathology, so they could inspect it for disease (Cancer is all I was thinking about), if the lymph node was healthy, then they would go to plan B a deeper node, and continue this until he found a unhealthy node to sample. Luckily for me, the first node was diseased so I only have a 4 inch scar near my downstairs. I understood from the Dr. that if I awoke with a small scar then that meant I had cancer.

When I awoke I asked the nurse in the recovery room if I had a large scar up my abdomen or if it was a small scar. He replied I had a small scar, I then knew I had cancer. The nurse hadn't heard the results - actually I don't think they do, they just have a job of making sure I was comfortable. I tried to convince him that he owed me $500 for a bad bet he made with me before I was knocked out, but to no avail - he wasn't coughing up the dough! It wasn't until Jenny came into the recovery room that I learned I didn't have cancer. WHAT A RELIEF!!!

Turns out the first lymph node they removed was in fact diseased, but not with cancer, at this point they aren't sure, so we start a new waiting game while the pathologists study the tissue and figure out what is making me so weak, and sore. Dr.'s guess is Sarcoidosis or Valley Fever.

My faith in God, my testimony of tithing, and my loving friends have blessed my life this past month! I love you all, and I'm so thankful for answered prayers, answers that pushed us to move to Phoenix, answers that comforted my wife and kids, and answers that calmed my mind, so I could focus on staying happy.

With every blessing I've had, I was reassured that with the Lord's help, and the support of loving friends and family, the Limburgs would be OK, and we are! So thank you for keeping us in your thoughts and prayers. If I need to rally the troops again, I'll make sure to send out the war cry so you can come to our aid again. And if you ever need our help, please don't hesitate to ask!

I love you all!

Rallying the troops

Tomorrow, March 11th is my surgery date to remove a lymph node to find out if I do indeed have cancer. This entire journey to this point has been humbling, and amazing. The fear of cancer, or the fear of the unknown is frightening. The worst part has been the waiting game. I sent out a simple note on Facebook to let my friends and distant family know what's up a little over 2 weeks ago. The awesome thing for me has been the overwhelming support and love sent my way. I wanted to share an email I received from a close friend. Matt Robertson and I worked together at Shimano, on day one I knew he and I would become good friends... Below is a email he sent me on Feb 22nd entitled "I talked to the man for you" This email was sent after my inconclusive results came back from my biopsy.

Daniel,

Saturday I went on a little pilgrimage. Thought about you a lot. I wanted to ride down to the temple in SD – even though I can’t go in. but I could not arrange the train ride and general plan in advance. The second option – plan B, was to ride the same distance around OC. So I laid out an 80 mile ride, but almost didn’t make it 5. I was on the bike path headed up the drainage from the back bay when I hit a dog doing 20miles an hour (me not the dog). It was some kind of boxer, pug-like thing, a total brick. Somehow it can move 200mph and literally jumped 5 feet directly to the left to make the interception. I may have hit the brakes, I don’t know, but I stopped dead and flew over the bars, smashing into the ground – hands, elbow, knee, hip, back all taking some damage. Ouch. I was pretty worried that something was busted but everything seemed to be OK.

That was when the dog started talking. He said, “Hey guy, don’t even think about heading back home! You have 75 miles to go and I am not taking excuses today” Actually, he didn’t talk. But the point was made. Sometimes the old adage - ‘get back up and try again’ seems to make light of reality. Sometimes you are not sure if you can get up. but this time I could. It was my longest ride of the year (5 hours) and the longest ride I have ever done in OC, it was also the hardest I have ever stacked on a road bike.

My interpretation of the situation is that I was given a lesson in adversity and perseverance that I was meant to pass on to you. Whatever the first impact of your situation, don’t let it break you, find the strength in your family and friends who love you and look forward to ‘riding out those aches’ with all of us.

Anything at all, just ask!

Matt

This note hit a chord, and of course brought tears to my eyes. I forwarded the note to Jenny, and she was inspired to write the following back, which pretty much summed up my thoughts.

Hey Matt,

Daniel was really touched by your email and sent it to me. I just had to let you know how much it effected me after I read it. It was kind of like a light bulb went off. Ever since we found out something was wrong I've tried to keep myself in good spirits but I'm a worrier (from a long line of worriers) and the waiting of course does not help. Anyway, after your email I just had such a strong and intense feeling of comfort. I just felt like saying, "You know what? We got this!". I almost think we've been training for this. This last year we really overhauled our lives and Daniel's in the best shape he's been in years (aside from possible cancer, lol).

I know your family has had to weather a few storms of your own so thank you for helping me to see that we'll be able to ride out these bumps. Of course I don't want to see Daniel sick but I know that we can fight this and will probably come out the better for it. Daniel has a great friend in you.

Jenny

I really feel ready for what lies in front of me. Not knowing sucks, but my body says it's ready, and my spirit says fight! My brother Jeff while in the ICU in Portland, wrote this note a few days before he passed - "life is absurd, but worth it". It is SO WORTH IT! All the little things that jump in our way, and slow us down, so worth it. Whatever adversity is in front of me, I will face boldly, and ready. I have hundreds of friends waiting to help me pick up my weapons, and push forward. I'm humbled by everyone's comments, especially by those who've picked up the phone and called me. I love you all! I'm honored to be your friend. And I know I can beat this! With all of your prayers, love and good vibes, we will get through this. I thank the Lord everyday for people like you in my life! Thank you!

I just hope, if I do have cancer and loose my hair, that I don't loose my eyebrow hair, cause those two guys really hold the face together.

Tea Parties

Megan and Mallory's birthdays are only 10 days apart. This year I threw them both parties on the same day. Mallory's party was from 10-12. Megan's was from 3-5. It was such a fun day. Mallory was beside herself with joy when she saw all the girly decorations. Megan is 10! I'm in the double digits now and my baby is 4! Oh, I love these girls!