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Miraculous recovery Dexter Twp. triathlete beats leukemia to ride, run, swim again

BY JASON DEEGAN
News Staff Reporter
May 27, 2005 - Once an elite triathlete, he had lost nearly 50 pounds in his bout with acute myelogenous leukemia, a diagnosis in the fall of 2003 that shocked him and his family. He could barely walk, let alone attempt a training run, leaving his wife, Stefanie, to become his full-time, stay-at-home nurse.

Fast forward one year, and it's difficult to believe the obstacles Hedding's had to overcome. He's doggedly running the Potawatomi Trail, training for his next triathlon.

His recovery might seem miraculous to most, but to those who know him, it's just an extension of the fighting spirit that drove him to run in the first place.

Hedding, 34, who lives on Halfmoon Lake in Dexter Township, is back training this summer. He plans to run - and finish - the 32nd annual Dexter-Ann Arbor Run on June 5 and the Bikesport Ann Arbor Triathlon in the Pinckney Recreation Area near his home on June 12. It seems not even leukemia can slow him down.

"We are very blessed," his wife, Stefanie, said. "We saw a lot of people in hospital beds not have the miracle recovery he's had. I never thought he'd be running a race."

Doctors have told the Hedding family that running probably saved Paul's life - twice.

Not only did his physical fitness aid in his recovery, he probably would have never been diagnosed with the disease if his rigid training regimen hadn't flushed out the symptoms.

"From where I was last summer, it is pretty amazing that I can come back as far as I have," said Hedding, who recently returned to work full-time as an engineer for National Aircraft Service in Tecumseh. "I just am taking it day by day."

The diagnosis

A bout of nausea and fatigue sent Hedding to the doctor in the first place. It was then that he learned more about his frightening disease.

With more than 10,000 new cases diagnosed annually, AML is the most common type of acute leukemia in adults, according to the Web site, www.marrow.org. The disease develops when there is a defect in the immature cells in the bone marrow. The symptoms, including fatigue, pale skin, shortness of breath, excessive bruising and bleeding, result when the body fails to produce enough healthy blood cells.

Hedding, who ran cross-country and track at Chelsea High School before graduating in 1989, said his white blood cell count dropped so low during his four-month stint in the hospital last spring that he struggled through all sorts of ailments.

"You have bladder problems. You get sores in your mouth," he said. "You get a lot of skin conditions. Your hands feel like they've got third-degree burns on them. I slept with ice bags on my hands. My skin and fingernails fell off."

He remembers having a goal of walking one hour a day while being treated in the University of Michigan Health System, but that was reduced to five minutes as the medicines and steroids sapped his strength.

Challenges at home

The Heddings found a whole new set of challenges when he was released from the hospital last May. He admits: "The first month at home was pretty scary."

He was urinating blood. He'd often fall down attempting to reach the bathroom. His constant IVs and catheter were a tangled mess of tubes.

Stefanie said they had to pull their daughter, Faith, out of school for fear she would bring home a cold that could derail Paul's recovery. They even moved their pets to Stefanie's work, the West Arbor Animal Hospital in Ann Arbor, to keep the home sterile.

"It was a very difficult time," Stefanie said. "He was on probably 20 to 30 different medications a day. We couldn't go outside. We had to keep the house spotless. Everything we did was dictated by his recovery."

Hedding still has problems related to Graft-vs.-Host Disease, a frequent complication of a transplant where the donor's bone marrow cells attacks the patient's organs and tissues. He struggles with sores in his mouth, but his will to run got him moving again.

He began attending races, even traveling to Petoskey to watch Jeff Sandula, a long-time friend, run.

Stefanie noticed Paul's spirits boost when he began walking.

"He needs it (racing) for his mental health," she said. "One of my main concerns through all of this is he had no outlet. He went from multiple sports a day to doing nothing. When he started walking again, it did a world of good."

Racing again

By last fall, Hedding began running a 15-minute mile. He rode his bike all winter at the Chelsea Wellness Center, often at 5 a.m., to cut that to a 10-minute mile.

He completed his first swim just days after the catheter in his chest was removed earlier this month.

In his first race, the Nankin Mills Duathlon in Livonia on May 21, Hedding finished the three stages - a 5-kilometer run, a 30K-bike ride and 5K run - in 1 hour and 52 minutes, nearly 20 minutes faster than he expected.

Hedding has dreams of returning to the form that made him one of the Ann Arbor area's best triathlon racers, but he's content just to be back competing.

"It was great," he said of his first race. "I've changed my goals for the triathlons now. This will give me encouragement for training the next few weeks."

Sandula said his friend's recovery has been inspirational.

"To see what he has gone through, it minimizes your problems," he said. "Paul's a person who gives 100 percent in everything he does. Some days, I couldn't train with him because he pushes so hard. He's a fighter."

Jason Deegan can be reached at [email protected] or (810) 844-2012.

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