About Us
Where It All Began
Colleen and I met in 1995 during summer school at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. I was finishing my first year of college and Colleen was entering her last. From our first date, we just clicked. We married in June of 1997 and made Milton, WI our home. In 2013 we moved to Madison, WI to be closer to Colleen’s work. Colleen worked in Student Services for the UW System and I was a Formulating Chemist for a local manufacturing company. For the next 10 years we lived “normal” lives.
In 2007 Colleen started noticing physical changes. She began stumbling while she walked, followed by slurred speech. Colleen started seeing doctors to find the cause. They thought she may have a form of Ataxia since her brother was diagnosed with the condition years previous. She ended up seeing five different neurologists, but nothing definitive was found. In 2014 we received a referral to the Mayo Clinic. They confirmed her diagnosis of Spinocerebellar Ataxia.
By the time Colleen was officially diagnosed, we understood there wasn’t a cure. The question became, “How would we choose to live”?
Learning To Live Our New Life
With Colleen’s diagnosis confirmed, “Our Life Plan” was completely thrown out the window. We had no idea how to adjust to the physical, mental and sometimes spiritual challenges that awaited us. Was adapting to this monumental life shift quick and easy? No. Did it leave us feeling lost and confused? Absolutely!
Over time we have learned to adjust by changing our approach to life. Not only have we learned to survive, but we have learned to thrive. We make a conscious decision each day to live life to the fullest. We offer to you what has worked for us.
We welcome you to comment on the posts that speak to your heart. We would love for you to reach out and share your experience. Sorrows shared are halved and joys shared are doubled. Our blog is available to anybody in the world. We welcome you to join us in finding positivity and light in even the darkest of times.
If you have something you wish to discuss directly, you can always email pnc@livingonlifesterms.com or utilize the chat function on each page. If you would like to be notified of new posts, please subscribe to our email list.
Finding A Common Passion
Colleen and I always loved the outdoors. Hiking and biking were a few of the activities we enjoyed together. As Colleens condition progressed, these activities were no longer an option. We struggled for a number of years finding an activity we could do together. This all changed in 2016.
In February of 2016 a friend of mine asked me to run Crazy Legs in Madison, WI. Crazy Legs is a 5 mile race through the UW campus. Although I hated running and was quite unfit, I agreed to run the race. The race was in April which gave me a few months to train. My only goal for the race was to finish without walking. I did accomplish my goal, however something magical happened. The race ends inside Camp Randall Stadium. There is an electricity with people cheering you to the finish line. Upon entering the stadium I had a rush of adrenaline and sprinted the last 30 yards. I had no idea where that came from. I had played sports all my life, but had never experienced this. I was exhausted, but I was also exhilarated. It struck me that this was an activity that Colleen and I could do together.
We bought a jogging stroller in June of 2016. I thought that maybe we would run a few races that summer. However the morning of our first race Colleen was up at 5:30 am and ready to go. At that point I knew we had something special. We found a common passion. For the next two plus years we ran 5 and 10K’s almost every weekend. Not only did this offer us an activity to do together, this helped us spread hope to others. We would often tell people that I supply the legs and she supplies the inspiration.
Nomad Adventure
Major changes happened for us in 2017. Colleens condition had progressed to a point where she required closer personal care. For the previous eight years I worked as a Technical Sales Representative and was on the road quite often. It was no longer safe for Colleen to be home alone for days at a time. In early August my employer created a position that enabled me to work from home and care for Colleen. By November, Colleen felt she could no longer effectively keep up with her duties at work and made the decision to retire.
For the next nine months Colleen adjusted to life in retirement. I performed my work duties the best I could while caring for Colleen. I found it difficult to balance what was required of me for work and home. Eventually I did strike a balance. We continued to run races on the weekends and found other ways to participate in life together. We made the necessary moves required for Colleens progressing condition. It still felt like “something” was missing. August 9th, 2018 was the day we made a decision that would forever change our lives.
That summer day we made the decision to sell everything we owned, purchase an RV, and to travel the country. This adventure would prove to challenge us, amaze us and allow us to experience a life we never imagined possible.