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"In the preceding months, I had already noticed something. My voice
became hoarse and my neighbour, who is an internist, advised me to have
my throat examined," Leo explains. "It turned out that there was
a tumour on my larynx. The doctors first wanted to remove the tumour through
radiation therapy. It was a very rough time, not only for me, but especially
for my wife and children. I had 34 radiation treatments, every day and sometimes
even twice a day. As a result of that treatment, I no longer have beard
hair growing on that part of my throat. And what is worse, my salivary glands
have been damaged, which make me feel like I have a hangover all the time.
When I go running, I always have a bottle of water with me and some chewing
gum in my mouth. A few months after the treatment, the symptoms returned.
I was hoarse again and the doctors found another lump on my larynx. Radiation
treatment was out of the question, so my larynx had to be surgically removed.
I didn't know what the consequences would be of such an operation. But without
a larynx, your everyday life becomes completely different. I asked the doctor
whether I would be able to run after the operation, as I had always been
fond of sports. I practised judo and I ran the half-marathon. "I have
no idea," he answered. "Just try it." And I would, of course,
lose my voice, as a result of which I could only partly do my job as financial
planner at Delta Lloyd. Still, I chose to have the operation. The night
before the surgery, I wrote a poem, a tribute to the voice I was going to
lose next day."
Leo's everyday life did indeed change considerably. He breathes through
an opening near the place where his larynx used to be, called a tracheostoma
in medical terms. He always wears a jabot to prevent dirt from entering.
"I have a filter which I can put in the opening. It humidifies and
warms the air that I breathe, which is why they sometimes call it a second
nose. But I cannot use that filter when I am running, because then it clogs
up quickly making it difficult to breathe. You also have to secure the filter
with a band-aid that won't stick properly."
Leo talks through a so-called 'speech button prosthesis', which artificially
closes his gullet and windpipe. To be able to talk, he has to put his hand
over his stoma. "Such a speech button lasts for about two months. Then
it starts to leak, in which case you can no longer drink coffee, because
it will end up in your lungs." But it is much easier to talk with a
speech button than with that device you used to have, which produces a metallic
voice. Leo just sounds very hoarse and he has his limitations. "I can
no longer use force with my mouth. When I hit my finger with a hammer, I
cannot scream 'ouch'. I cannot gurgle or spit. I cannot raise my voice to
my boys, and they know it. But I have other ways to deal with them."
In November 2004, it will be three years since Leo was diagnosed with throat
cancer and two years since his larynx was removed. And Leo wants to make
November a special month as well, but this time he wants to be left with
some pleasant memories. He will run the New York Marathon. "I am pushing
my limits. I have trained a lot and I am already faster than during the
half-marathon I ran before the operation."
He has got the blessing of his doctors. "ENT specialist Marres at the
Radboud Hospital in Nijmegen only said: 'But you are not doing this alone.'
Then he gave me the money he collected from the medical team, so that my
wife can join me to New York."
Now Leo wants to do something in return, by participating on behalf of the
KWF (the Dutch Cancer Association). "People can sponsor me for a minimum
of 10 eurocent per kilometre. That is 4 euro 20 for the entire marathon.
One-third of the proceeds will go specifically to research on throat cancer."
Underway to New York, Leo already wants to push his limits even further.
"I have learned that there is a snorkel on the market that can be attached
to the stoma. This will allow me to swim and then I can finally complete
the triathlon."
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klik op bovenstaande knop voor een sponsor-formulier.
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Leo Hartjes has joined Run for Life
Leo Hartjes has joined Run for Life: his goal, to collect as much
money as possible for the fight against cancer, is also the goal
of Run for Life. Annually, almost 100 runners participate in about
10 large Dutch running events, and through sponsoring (much!) money
is collected. Ambassador of Run for Life is the fastest comedian
in the Netherlands: Dolf Jansen. The first major event for Run for
Life was the New York marathon of 2001: 38 runners participated
and collected over **(NLG?) 100,000. Leo's initiative is heart-warming,
also for Run for Life. Many Run for Life-runners participate out
of personal involvement, but even we are impressed by Leo's enthusiasm
and his running achievements despite his extra handicap and we would
like to wish Leo a lot of success.
Read more about Run for Life, or participate as a runner via www.lopenvoorhetleven.nl
(Dutch text only).
www.lopenvoorhetleven.nl.
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