I've always heard of the Alcatraz swims but never thought I'd actually do one. About two months ago, my friend Corvin — a determined athlete who is losing both his sight and hearing due to Usher Syndrome — asked me to guide him for the Escape from the Rock (Alcatraz) duathlon. Impulsively, I agreed to guide him for the 1.5-mile swim leg. About two seconds after I sent the email, it hit me that I’d just volunteered to swim from Alcatraz, in shark-infested waters, with extremely strong currents, tied to another person. Does this qualify as temporary insanity?

Caius Jon Eros Golling, a 4-pound 6-ounce boy, was born to Desiree Jean Ventura and Jonathan Samuel Golling of Boulder Creek at Dominican Hospital in Santa Cruz. He was born at 8:45 a.m. on July 29, 2014.

As part of my cancer treatment journey, I have developed a pretty severe case of peripheral neuropathy of my feet. I was warned that the chemotherapy could cause neuropathy, but I didn't know it would be quite this uncomfortable.