WEBVTT 00:01.330 --> 00:04.530 She had no symptoms , no pain , no 00:04.530 --> 00:07.090 warning signs , even today , without 00:07.090 --> 00:09.201 the full use of her voice . Yes , can 00:09.201 --> 00:11.312 you give me the name of the place and 00:11.312 --> 00:13.534 the address , please ? Sharon Gutierrez 00:13.534 --> 00:15.423 is determined to tell her story . 00:15.423 --> 00:17.590 Losing her voice did not stop her from 00:17.590 --> 00:19.757 giving this interview because quitting 00:19.757 --> 00:21.979 has never been part of who she is . One 00:21.979 --> 00:23.701 morning , Sharon Gutierrez , a 00:23.701 --> 00:25.590 pediatric . Nurse practitioner at 00:25.590 --> 00:27.757 William Beaumont Army Medical Center . 00:27.757 --> 00:29.812 Hi Krista woke up with a feeling she 00:29.812 --> 00:31.979 couldn't explain , a feeling she calls 00:31.979 --> 00:34.571 a deep sense of impending doom . It's 00:34.571 --> 00:37.201 the weirdest feeling . It's like , and 00:37.201 --> 00:39.423 it got stronger and stronger because at 00:39.423 --> 00:41.534 first I ignored it . That feeling led 00:41.534 --> 00:43.757 her to seek answers , and those answers 00:43.757 --> 00:45.812 would change everything . I had this 00:45.812 --> 00:48.554 impending doom . Sensation that it was 00:48.554 --> 00:51.273 bad . She was diagnosed with HER2 00:51.273 --> 00:53.694 positive stage 3 breast cancer . It was 00:53.694 --> 00:56.613 daunting . My kids were little . My son 00:56.613 --> 01:00.453 had just turned 3 , and you know , you 01:00.453 --> 01:02.953 just , all you think about is your kids . 01:03.254 --> 01:05.444 Her treatment was extensive . I did a 01:05.444 --> 01:07.564 double mastectomy . I had to have all 01:07.564 --> 01:10.856 my lymph nodes removed . I did . A year 01:10.856 --> 01:14.856 of an infusion called Herceptin and I 01:14.856 --> 01:17.896 did 6 weeks of radiation and then 01:17.896 --> 01:20.295 reconstruction after all that was done . 01:20.596 --> 01:23.596 At 55 years old , when many are told to 01:23.596 --> 01:26.435 slow down , she chose to begin again . 01:26.625 --> 01:29.496 It's like I could pick depression . I 01:29.496 --> 01:31.416 could pick fitness and health . I 01:31.416 --> 01:33.790 picked fitness and health . For 12 01:33.790 --> 01:35.800 years , 4 of those years battling 01:35.800 --> 01:37.800 cancer , she trained for one of the 01:37.800 --> 01:39.967 most demanding endurance events in the 01:39.967 --> 01:42.133 world , the Ironman Triathlon . So I , 01:42.133 --> 01:44.467 I figured , how am I going to kick this ? 01:44.467 --> 01:46.744 Well , you have to have healthy eating , 01:46.744 --> 01:48.856 clean eating , um , and . You have to 01:48.856 --> 01:51.160 stay physically fit , but staying 01:51.160 --> 01:53.510 physically fit keeps you mentally fit . 01:53.760 --> 01:55.982 She trained as a single mother of three 01:55.982 --> 01:57.871 young children , balancing school 01:57.871 --> 01:59.816 drop-offs , homework , and bedtime 01:59.816 --> 02:01.760 stories with miles on the road and 02:01.760 --> 02:03.649 hours in the pool . It's a lot of 02:03.649 --> 02:05.871 training . It's a lot of practicing and 02:05.871 --> 02:07.982 you have to be confident that you can 02:07.982 --> 02:10.204 proceed , you can do it . Her diagnosis 02:10.204 --> 02:12.316 did not stop her . It motivated her . 02:12.316 --> 02:14.427 Cancer became the fuel that sharpened 02:14.427 --> 02:16.649 her purpose . An Ironman means swimming 02:16.649 --> 02:20.250 2.4 miles . Walking 112 02:20.250 --> 02:23.210 miles and running a full 26.2 mile 02:23.210 --> 02:25.543 marathon . Let's go , Sharon . Let's go . 02:26.330 --> 02:29.250 All in under 16 hours . It's a journey 02:29.250 --> 02:31.729 that step by step . You don't just open 02:31.729 --> 02:33.618 the front door with the goal of a 02:33.618 --> 02:35.562 marathon , you know , you open the 02:35.562 --> 02:37.673 front door with a goal . If I'm going 02:37.673 --> 02:39.800 to maybe one day do a 5K . Once you 02:39.800 --> 02:42.199 start to do a couple of 5Ks , and you 02:42.199 --> 02:44.366 think , well , maybe I could do a half 02:44.366 --> 02:46.477 marathon . Each swim became an act of 02:46.477 --> 02:48.720 healing . Each ride , resilience . Each 02:48.720 --> 02:51.720 run , faith in motion . You know , it 02:51.720 --> 02:53.553 makes you grateful that you're a 02:53.553 --> 02:55.779 survivor , because sadly so many women 02:56.320 --> 02:58.710 die , leave their babies behind because 02:58.720 --> 03:01.270 of breast cancer . So it made me so 03:01.270 --> 03:05.220 grateful that I was healthy . Enough 03:05.750 --> 03:08.289 to do this . Her friend Karina Cecilio , 03:08.369 --> 03:10.591 a pediatrician at William Beaumont Army 03:10.591 --> 03:12.889 Medical Center , says she's just an 03:12.889 --> 03:15.330 inspiration as far as her determination 03:15.330 --> 03:17.570 with all of her struggles and always 03:17.570 --> 03:19.626 being determined to stay healthy and 03:19.626 --> 03:21.626 also promote this with her family , 03:21.626 --> 03:24.229 friends , and her patients . After 12 03:24.229 --> 03:26.470 years of training , she took on every 03:26.470 --> 03:29.830 mile of the Ironman course . 13 hours 03:29.830 --> 03:32.149 later , she crossed the finish line . 03:32.309 --> 03:35.380 The atmosphere is really spectacular , 03:35.710 --> 03:37.488 especially when there's so many 03:37.488 --> 03:39.599 spectators to watch you race . It was 03:39.599 --> 03:41.710 fun . Not just an Ironman athlete , 03:41.869 --> 03:44.270 she's a friend , a mother , and cancer 03:44.270 --> 03:47.710 survivor . I always pray that I'm 03:47.710 --> 03:51.699 grateful to be alive . A survivor faith , 03:51.779 --> 03:54.240 strength , survival army strong . 03:55.660 --> 03:57.779 Cancer . Krista Mack , Fort Bliss 03:57.779 --> 03:59.139 Garrison Public Affairs .