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#21 Our Champion, Noah "Rocky Balboa" Riehm!

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"Round 3, FIGHT!"  It sounds like the arcade game, Mortal Kombat . (A nod to those of us who were teenagers in the 90's).  I was never allowed to have a video game as a kid (thanks, Mom) but I did occasionally sneak away to the arcade tent at the county fair.  There was the game, Mortal Kombat, where you could joystick fight your opponent with your special character.  The match always started with the round number and then "FIGHT".  The ending would always be the "Finishing Move".   Noah, preparing for Round 2 I've been thinking a lot about Noah's 3rd and final "round", in the trio of staged surgeries that are now the standard of care for HLHS.  After a brutal first time in the ring (I guess operating table, rather), I'm remember being out on a run somewhere and my mind got to thinking about Noah's nicknames.  Maybe it's a dad-thing to rhyme their kid's names, but somehow Noah "Rocky Balboa" stuck in my head

#20 Riehm, family of 5

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I've had another long pause between blog posts.  A lot has happened since the last time.  I would like to get back to writing more posts that people can connect with and be inspired.  My hope is I can encourage others to run boldly towards the Cross.   This is what I felt called to do when I first started www.CrossRunnersHeart.com .  I've realized all of this has helped me in my path forward as well, and writing has been cathartically rewarding.  This post is mostly going to be a family update.    Trip to Niagara Falls We have a new addition to the family and now are a proud family of five!  Last month, we brought our son, Mateo, home.  It was a long wait but well worth it.  Jana and I started a long process of international adoption two years ago.  I have to give Jana a ton of credit.  She was the paperwork wizard, completing piles of paper that needed notarized and mailed.  With Jana's Colombian heritage, we chose to work with the Colombian government.  There were two tri

#19 My Drug Of Choice

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It's been awhile since my last post and recently, have been thinking of new topics during my runs.   I have two toddlers running around--making time in short supply.  Noah turns two years old on June 9th!  We also have a new addition to the family, Coach-- our little puppy.  He is 10 weeks old and just returned from a stay at Ohio State University Veterinary Hospital.  Unfortunately, he contracted Parvovirus and developed a severe infection within a day of arriving to his new home.  After some fairly aggressive medical care, which included two fecal transplants (yes, crazy as that sounds), he seems better.  Coach had a nasogastric tube like Noah did just after birth.  Thankfully, they were able to remove it and he is now eating independently. Jana and the kids are elated.  I'm warming up to the furry little thing.  Toddlers and a puppy, now I really feel like an adult!  Many people wonder, myself included, how does one juggle all the family activities, a full-time job, investme

#18 Miracles & Mother's Day

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Happy Mother's Day!  Thanks for believing!  Growing up on the farm meant lots of barnyard time and playing any type of game my brothers and I could come up with.  My older brother, Phil, was a relentless competitor.  I don't exactly remember if it was soccer or kickball that led to my front tooth being knocked out but I think the story goes like this: I  pitched a ball to Phil and he was ready to knock it out of the park.  Instead, that ball came back to me.  Straight at my face.  I remember feeling something fly out of my mouth.  My ever so caring brother came over to investigate.  "Dude, you chipped your tooth".  Me: "I didn't chip my tooth, you did!"  Anyways, this is the type of shenanigans that my parents enjoyed growing up with three boys.   After my tooth incident, my mother was truly caring.  We went to the dentist, and since I already had two big buck teeth, and one was chipped, I guess it made sense just to shave both of them bad boys down.  It

#17 2021 Heart Warrior Half Marathon, part 2 of 2

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We managed to get Juliana and Noah off to bed early on New Years Day.  I was excited to see an email inbox full of Heart Warrior Half Marathon participant finisher photos and comments but too overwhelmed to check them.  A rare occasion, we instead decided to watch a movie and I almost made it through the whole thing before falling asleep, which would have been even more rare.  I had seen  Something the Lord Made  before.  A true, inspirational story that details the work of researchers at Johns Hopkins on congenital heart disease (CHD).  During this era (mid 1900's), the heart was an organ that was notorious for causing complications if disturbed.  The latin phrase,  noli me tangere was   commonly used among cardiothoracic surgeons-- meaning, do not touch the heart during surgery.  The surgeons that broke conventional thinking, developed techniques that gave children a chance at life.  Today, the same surgical principles and shunts have been improved and exist in thousands of card