EDIT: Congrats to raffle winner Allison Riddle!!
Enter to win a Bark longboard, all proceeds going to Wally’s fight!
Prone paddleboarder Wally Buckingham has been fighting Double Hit Large B-Cell Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma, a very aggressive cancer, since March. He was at City of Hope hospital in Los Angeles and just came home today (6/11), after undergoing three rounds of chemotherapy as an outpatient and inpatient Autologous Stem Cell Therapy, which included seven days of high dose chemotherapy to eradicate the cancer cells and a bone marrow transplant last Thursday to replace bone marrow damaged during the chemotherapy with healthy stem cells that were transfused from Wally prior to his treatment. Wally is now in phase of his treatment where he has no immune system (today his WBC count is 0.1 and decreasing), and the infused stem cells are grafting to his bone marrow and starting to make new white blood cells, platelets and red blood cells. He is also experiencing gnarly side effects from the transplant, including severe mouth and throat soreness and gastrointestinal issues.
Navigating through Wally’s intense cancer treatment is like racing the Catalina Classic prone paddleboard race. He has paddled from the Isthmus across the channel, passed the R10 buoy and is in the most physically and demanding part of the race. He has put his head down fighting through the pain to battle the current and swell. He is determined, taking it one stroke at a time sighting on the Candy Cane smokestacks. Everyone on the beach at the finish can see the outline of Wally’s support boat in the distance and are rallying for him to finish strong. If you know Wally, you know his grit and determination. He is fighting for his life and will cross the buoy at the Manhattan Beach Pier.
Wally is called a “Legend” by many and a very recognizable figure in the paddling, lifeguard, running and Ironman communities. A former San Diego Lifeguard for 20 years, Wally discovered long distance prone paddleboarding and has been racing since 2010. Five years ago, he was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma and trained through his chemo treatment while joining the Ocean of Hope Paddleboard Team with the hope of helping others. He has been influential in creating awareness and raising money to support the Sarcoma Alliance and the sea of people affected by cancer. In fact, Wally is one of Ocean of Hope’s top fundraisers.
Along with numerous other paddleboard races, Wally has completed seven Catalina Classic Paddleboard races (32 miles from Two Harbors, Catalina Island to the Manhattan Beach Pier). In March of last year (2019), Wally suffered a heart attack two miles out in the ocean during a paddleboard race. His right coronary artery was completely blocked, and he had a stent put in. But this didn’t stop him. He was determined and used his fitness to recover and come back stronger than ever. Wally was the oldest finisher and podiumed at the 2019 Molokai 2 Oahu Paddleboard Championships, was the oldest finisher at the 2019 Catalina Classic (finishing in the top 50), and finished second in his age group at the 2019 Chattajack 31 race in Chattanooga, TN. This is no mean feat … just to finish one of these core races is an accomplishment.
Over his athletic career, Wally has completed and podiumed in numerous triathlons, including 15 Ironman World Championships in Kona. One of the OG’s of triathlon in San Diego, Wally was a member of the Encinitas triathlon training crew and he won the second triathlon that was ever held in San Diego.
He raced with the Jamul Toads at Grossmont College and was coached by the famous running coach, Bob Larsen. He was a nationally ranked runner and raced the Olympic Marathon Qualifier Trials in 1980. He continued to run competitively, winning and placing in numerous 5k, 10k and half marathons.
Words by Loraine Gruber
#teamwally #buckinghamstrong #beatcancer #doublehitDLBCL #nevergiveup #fighttolive #gobecauseyoucan #20forwally #cityofhope #stemcelltherapy #BMT #paddlefamily