I have never had a kid with a serious medical condition. But my wife and I do have kids - ten now. My hardest years with them have been when we had just one or two. I know what it is like to try to train hard when you are a new parent of a healthy child. I cannot even imagine what it is like to try the same when the child has cancer.
So when I read the article about Luke's training, I knew he would be lucky to run 2:14. Very strong nervous system and adrenal glands, but pounded by the combination of overly motivated training and the lack of recovery as a fallout from the health challenges of his daughter. His ability to be only 10 minutes slower than his PR under all of this stress is quite remarkable.