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Elite distance runner Tommy Puzey is off life support and preparing for a bone marrow transplant required due to his rare form of lung cancer.

Puzey of Flagstaff has been in a Scottsdale hospital since July 23, at first in an induced coma and on a ventilator to assist his breathing. After being transferred to Scottsdale, he was receiving extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) on a machine that replaces the heart and lungs function.

In late September, Puzey was taken off ECMO and a few days later off the ventilator. He has been receiving chemotherapy treatment for primary pulmonary NK/T-cell lymphoma.

Puzey, who turned 36 on Aug. 22 and was in an intensive care unit for more than 90 days, now is in the bone marrow wing. Once he is strong enough, the plan is for one of his siblings to be a donor for the bone marrow transplant.

“There isn’t an exact timeline,” said Jacob Puzey, Tommy’s younger brother. “Because the case is so unique, it really is we’re going to try this with the chemo then we’ll go back and assess how much cancer is still there. They’re doing everything they can to get him to a place where he’s healthy enough to handle the transplant. He needs to pass certain benchmarks in order to be deemed ready for that.

“He’s still not out of the woods, but he’s making progress. He is aware of what is going on and what needs to happen. He’s pleased at the progress he’s making and as much as he can, he’s part of the process. He and our family fully trust his medical team.”

Jacob said Tommy is able to communicate verbally through a tracheostomy or by sign language with his wife Stephanie and doctors but that both means are “very taxing.” He also has been able to sit and even stand and do leg extensions.

“He has already exceeded what was the worst case scenario,” Jacob said. “He’s alive and he’s fighting and the volume of cancer has significantly diminished through these bouts of chemo. He’s on the path to recovery, but that doesn’t mean it’s not going to be an always present fear.”

Puzey’s medical crisis began in June during a run in the Grand Canyon with symptoms that he first attributed to dehydration and heat stroke then later pneumonia. 

Puzey is an internationally known trail runner who obtained a doctorate in physical therapy from Northern Arizona University in 2017. His road racing successes including Rock ‘n’ Roll Arizona titles in 2016 and 2017 and finishing 16th at the 2017 Boston Marathon in 2:18.20. He also won the Las Vegas Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon in 2018 and 2019. 

At the 2020 Houston Marathon in January, Puzey was on pace for a personal best and to qualify for the U.S. Olympic Trials when he tripped in a pothole late in the race, suffering meniscus and hamstring tears.

More than $600,000 has been raised for Puzey through a GoFundMe account. His wife and brother regularly are posting updates on his condition and inspirational messages particuarly via Instagram to encourage his recovery. Tommy and Stephanie are parents of three daughters.

View this post on Instagram

You scratched my head today. You called at 7am saying you’d had a rough night. You said you felt weak and frail. I get out of bed and come to see you. You are pale and thin but still so beautiful. Still everything I could ever want. You are too tired to brush your teeth. You apologize for your weakness and it brings me to my knees. “Do you remember when squeezing my hand was enough to make me weep?” I ask. But no, you don’t. Today is all there is for you. There is no yesterday. I turn on The Office and pull my chair next to your bed. I rest my forehead on your knee that is all bone. And then, there it is. Your hand on the back of my head, gently scratching. Your fingers tremble but persist. Scratch, scratch, scratch, then rest. Scratch, scratch, scratch, then rest. You are comforting me. This, here, is all I ever wanted. Not a display of strength but a notion of presence. Maybe they are the same thing. There you are. Here we are, together. There is nothing more on either side of this space. Not then, but now. It all happens here. Your weak hand on my head, tears streaming as I face away from you, my teeth clenching the insides of my cheeks as I try to keep it together. “Stay strong for him, Steph. Stay strong.” It’s harder than you think. It’s harder than I thought. I have sores on the insides of my mouth to prove it. There is no poetry, just a stark precipice of feeling that is sometimes best left as it is. Exposed in its nakedness. Raw beauty that is the present. The water, the well, the river, the bank, the pendulum-none of it matters here. It’s just you, me, your hand, my head. Everything that ever happens is right now.

A post shared by Steph (@steph_outside) on

Other fundraising efforts for Puzey include the sale of Run with Rivs shirts, designed by his sister Anna, and Team Rivs hats through his sponsor Craft. 

MORE: Flagstaff elite runner in life-threatening crisis, transferred to Scottsdale hospital

Reach the reporter at [email protected] or 602-444-8053. Follow him on Twitter @jeffmetcalfe.

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