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Son's Cancer Inspires Teacher's Chicago Triathlon Bid

By Justin Breen | August 23, 2016 8:26am | Updated on August 23, 2016 7:42pm
 Foreman teacher Nicoline Shoffer said her 6-year-old son, Henry, has never complained about his cancer.
Foreman teacher Nicoline Shoffer said her 6-year-old son, Henry, has never complained about his cancer.
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Nicoline Shoffer

CHICAGO — Nicoline Shoffer doesn't mind training 12 hours a week as she swims, bikes and runs through Chicago.

The Dunning resident and English teacher at Foreman High School is prepping for Sunday's Chicago Triathlon — which consists of a .93-mile swim, 24.8-mile run and 6.2-mile run.

It's nothing, she said, compared to what her 6-year-old son, Henry, has been through since he was diagnosed with leukemia when he was 3. Henry, a first-grader, takes a crushed-up chemo pill mixed with juice or milk daily, has chemo injections once a month and has a four-times-a-year chemo spinal tap at Lurie Children's hospital in Streeterville.

His chemo treatment is scheduled to end in December, his mom said.

"If Henry can get through the horrible experience he's gone through, I can honor his struggle with a couple of hours of training a week," said Shoffer, a St. Ignatius College Prep graduate.

Nicoline Shoffer (center) with fellow Foreman teachers Audrey Phelan (left) and Vanessa Summer. [Nicoline Shoffer]

Shoffer has had company in fellow Foreman teachers Audrey Phelan and Vanessa Summer, who also are competing in the Chicago Triathlon. The trio for the last two years has biked scores of miles up and down the Chicago River trail starting and ending at Caldwell Woods on the Northwest Side. They also take their bicycles on most of the Lakefront Trail from Lakeview to Hyde Park.

For runs, long loops at Portage Park and Riis Park in Belmont-Cragin have fit the bill.

Their summer swimming has taken place at the Lake Michigan lanes off Ohio Street beach. During the school year, they're at Foreman's pool, 44 laps to a mile.

"It's a long time to be biking, swimming, running, so it's great to have two other people to talk to as we are transitioning from our swim to bike gear, or getting ready to run," said Summer, a Foreman science teacher who lives in Ravenswood Gardens. "Also, some days I might not feel like swimming or biking, but if we have planned a workout, there's no excuses: I have to go out there and do it."

Phelan, an art teacher from Belmont-Cragin, said Shoffer is so prolific in training, that she and Summer call her a "beast."

"I had a fear of open water and Nicky stayed with me all the time and if I couldn't go on, she would turn back as well," said Phelan. "Now we're all swimming like fresh-water porpoises. Nicky is the best training partner and truly a good friend and a devoted wife and mother."

Shoffer, whose husband Trevor is a history teacher at Foreman, said the teachers there donated sick days to her and her spouse when Henry was first diagnosed so they could have the time off they needed.

Doctors found cancer in Henry's bone marrow after he initially was in so much leg pain, he couldn't walk.

Shoffer said her son, despite the agony, has never complained.

"When it was really bad at the beginning, he'd get really sick and throw up, and then ask if he could play," she said. "He's just a happy, healthy kid right now. He's like a little miracle man."

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