Several years ago, my friend Elizabeth Burke and I rowed twice a week through the Seattle winter. We ventured out without fail as dawn was breaking - rowing two single shells or a double. We'd row from the Fremont Bridge to the Chittenden Locks and back, or maybe across Lake Union and on to Lake Washington. Sometimes we'd come back to our home at the Lake Washington Rowing Club and wipe the ice off our boats. But we always came back with an irrefutable sense of moral superiority! We'd done it again!

Rowing - particularly Rowing Through the Winter - provides a richness of metaphors...instructive in my life as a Family Physician and the Home Dialysis CarePartner for my profoundly ill husband, Steve Williams. Now that Steve is gone, rowing reminds me of consistency and focus - so critical during grieving. Rowing requires balance, as does my life.

Row with me this winter. Linda Gromko, MD

Sunday, September 18, 2011

LWRC's Senior Master's Women Aced Out by Bainbridge Island by Five Seconds in Row for the Cure!

LWRC's Senior Master's Women rowed a brisk pace in Sunday's Row for the Cure with an age-adjusted time of 22 minutes, 38.7 seconds.

LWRC Senior Master's Women prepare for Row for the Cure.

We came in fifth of ten women's eights. But in our Senior Women's division (our boat age is 57), we came in second, with Bainbridge Island winning by only five seconds!

Coxswain Ellie Burg brought her singular focus, superb motivation and technical skill - along with her extraordinary ability to keep the event fun.

We've all been working hard under Coach George Andreadis' capable direction, and our team is beginning to coalesce. Just look at us!




The Team returns to the LWRC dock.
The real purpose of the row, however, was to raise money for the Susan G. Komen Foundation - for breast cancer research and patient support. There's nobody in our club who hasn't been touched by breast cancer.And as women, we know that one in eight of us - who lives to age 85 or so - will be diagnosed with breast cancer.

Fortunately, the breast cancer picture is changing. As a doctor, I remember when breast cancer was a death sentence. Today, most women do very well - particularly when the diagnosis is made early.

 For the LWRC Senior Master's Women, this event was a grand way to kick off the Fall racing season. We rowed well, and we had fun!


 
Ellie Burg, in blue jacket, led the charge! The team poses for a victory shot.
(All photos by Megan Kruse)
Take care,
Linda Gromko, MD
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