Morning of the Climb

top: little Jake in the background peering into the sliding glass doors of the kitchen, "You can do it mommy!"

below: lovely bouquet of Peruvian Lilies delivered to me Friday afternoon by my mother-in-law to wish me luck on our climb - a flower representing each stair climbed

left: picture of me in the lobby of the tower before the climb

I am wearing my Leukemia and Lymphoma Society Team In Training jersey from the Seattle Marathon 2006

Update letter I sent out the morning of the climb:

Today is our Big Day!

It is a rough one for me as my head is in pain from a withdrawl of the last course of steroids. I have been off of them for 13 days now and a slow progression of withdrawal symtoms accrued culminating over the weekend. At 3:30 am yesterday I was awaken out of my sleep with intense pressure in my left ear and mild pain. Then head pain around my eyes and sinuses for which I took acetametaphin. Later in the morning I had to start IB Profen and since last night I had to increase to 4 tablets at a time.

At 4 am this morning I awoke again to really intense pain. I took more IB Profen and tried to go back to sleep which I could not. Close to 6 am the pressure and mild pain in my ear (the side yet to have surgery) returned. I finally got back to sleep again after 6 am.

Unfortunately the pain around my eyes and sinus cavity of my head is still there making me a little nauseated. A little over another hour and I will dose myself up with 4 more IB profen which will hopefully carry me over to our 1:30 pm start time.

I am very determined to climb this tower. My pain is very minor compared to what cancer patients and families endure so any way that I can help goes a long way.

Thank you again for those who have donated and sent us well wishes! We greatly appreciate your support which has driven us! Especially today when not feeling my best your contribution and words mean a great deal to me! Your compassion and the thought of those who need us will help to get me to the top. Thank you!

Sincerely,

Rebecca Dufek

By the afternoon of the climb after taking 4 IB Profen I was feeling better and did not experience any weakness episodes that I was concerned about while climbing. I was a little sick on the ride over but the consumption of a balance bar satisfied me and eased the nausea that was creeping in.

When I got to the top I had minor double vision (needing to close one eye to read my watch) and an ache in my sinus cavity returned. Overall though, it was a fantastic climb and I was able to achieve my goal of reaching the top in under 15 minutes (14 minutes 16 seconds according to my watch).

DJ, Michelle's boyfriend, and my husband Harley accompanied us at the event as well as my friend Skip from the marathon, and Esther, my mentor from the marathon. Having them all attend psyched us up and Skip escorted us to the starting line where we all had our picture taken together. At the top, the victory was sweet with my loving sister by my side.

After taking in several minutes of the view and signing the dedication poster in the recovery room on the 40th floor, we picked up Skip and headed to McCormick's to meet Harley and DJ for an Irish lunch.