Catching My Breath/A world Of Fun!!

Yes Its been just over a year from my last entry. I have no excuses other than I have been taken prisoner by life in every form.



You know its quite estrange to feel this way but at the same time there's a felling of normalcy I get when I don't want to do certain things. I have been wanting to write; I sit in my computer and I star making music.


I have been doing so many things and taking so many pictures and videos that I have now a cluster of information waiting to be edited and shown. I do want to share believe me but since I have got into this rhythm after my surgery I really know how fragile life is and how one must not missed any moment to feel so alive.



I won't promise this time I'll be back soon or reveal some of my skims. For now here's some pictures from last year and this one. Its been a mighty good time.

Love, Rowan

About Change!

Oh man!
Life its been much exiting these days. Changing season's as I change the pace of every day activity feels as such a natural progression. Life seems so perfect!

I have not let my guard down; I feel like one the things that have keep me me on my toes is the fact that I'm my best guide and solid judgment on my actions and situations I put myself into have allow me to stay on top of my game. My family is doing so well; we have finally sync into a beautiful rhythm; we are busy but happy we are exited and thrill and have so many adventures planned.



I've been wanting to write more but I'm so tired- tired in a good way every day! from everything that I feel I better just rest because I need my batteries up for the next day. I have not been able to focus to do it. I'm so physically engage on living that this feeling has taken over my willingness to sit down basically.

Music, biking, climbing, working, camping, hiking, traveling,dancing the list goes on!. It is time for me to get back in here for sure as I have some very interesting things to talk about and few projects I need to launch. I'll be blogging soon again starting with my Relay race in May running with the MHW team. I'll be blogging also about my bike commute to work and will be posting some pretty cool videos. The Catching my Breath movie project is also on the list along with a short book......Oh boy I better start soon. Alright just want to give a big shout out to everyone out there pushing themself everyday to live better lifes and to stay inspired. Remember the world is yours; focus on your breath!! Stay Tune.

One Love, Rowan

Going the distance!

Hey Lovely people,

I know its been a while but if you could only imagine what life feels when you can take the power back. I've been consume by the simplicity of my everyday chores; breathing and loving my family and of course indulging in every thing I possibly can specially my new healthy being. Its been easier experiencing life on my own skin and sharing it with my love ones than writing about it. I need to write for those who want to know and I will once again continue this challenge. In the mean time here's what's new this month and in celebration of my first year post transplant.

Come with me; I'll take you there!

“After a 3 year hiatus Bay Area’s Latin Alternative Power House OriXa returns Oct
24th (with a new set of lungs, literally!)”

San Francisco Bay Area, - September 23, 2009 - OriXa, one the most sought after Latin Alternative outfits from the Bay Area
and the US returns from a 3 year hiatus, performing live on October 24th at the Elbo Room in San Francisco. The Latin
Ruckus Crew: Juan M. Caipo/drums, Michael Cavaseno/guitar, Charles Gasper/bass and Rowan Jimenez/vocals and
percussion will be unleashing its explosive energy running through songs from the self-titled debut "Orixa", "2012 e.d" and
"Siembra" as well as playing for the first time new songs…with singer Jimenez showcasing a new set of lungs.
The end of 2006 took an unexpected turn for the band when co-founder singer/percussionist Jimenez learned that his autoimmune
condition known as Scleroderma had manifested in his lungs, thrusting him into a battle for his life. Forced to take an
indefinite break, OriXa and Jimenez redirected their attention on finding the clarity, perspective and necessary tools to battle
the situation. With the condition progressing at an alarming pace, in July of 2008, Jimenez was placed on the UCSF
transplant wait list and just 2 months later, on September 15th Jimenez received a bi-lateral lung transplant at UCSF.
The illness and recovery have been a remarkable journey for Jimenez and the band and just one year after the transplant,
Jimenez and the Latin Ruckus Crew are back in full force inspired by a fierce survivalist attitude. If you’re in too deep the only
way to go is deeper. OriXa’s return to the stage is a spectacle not to be missed.



About OriXa

Since the early 90’s OriXa’s relentless presence in the Bay Area music scene had established them as a hard act to follow.
Their unique blend of Rock, Hip-Hop infused Afro Latin grooves and Spanglish flavored lyrics combined with high energy live
performances earned them top reviews and numerous awards.
The group was at the forefront of the Rock en Español movement in the United States along with groups like Pastilla, Maria
Fatal, Volumen Cero ,and one of the first to help breakdown the language barrier in the Bay Area by performing at venues that
did not have a Rock en Español or "Latin" night. The group caught the attention of DJ No Name from the popular Rock Station
Live 105 and was featured on their weekly playlist as well as on Latin Alternative stations across the country and charting on
CMJ for over 15 weeks.
Shortly after the release of 2012e.d in 2001, the songs “2012” and “No Importa” were included on Ark 21/Universal’s CD
compilation Escena Alterlatina along with Los Rabanes, Kinky, Julieta Venegas, among others. In 2005, OriXa’s video/single
"Siembra" received daily rotation on MTVes and a Buzz Worthy nod by the network and was licensed for the ShowTime TV
series “Sleeper Cell”. NPR included Siembra on their 2006 Top 10 list Latin Alternative albums to have next to BajoFondo,
Cafe Tacuba, Caifanes, Manu Chao to name a few. Orixa appeared on LATV, Telemundo, LAMC and supported top Latin
Alternative acts on stage such as Café Tacuba, La Maldita Vecindad, Cypress Hill, Julieta Venegas, Molotov and Jaguares.
Other highlights of OriXa’s decade long career include a California Music Award in 2001 for "Outstanding Latin Album of the
Year" with their previous release “2012 e.d.” as well as an ASCAP Latino award for "Best Independent Band", SF Weekly
“Best International Group”, East Bay Express “Best Rock en Español group”.

Saturday October 24 2009 9:00PM Tickets $10
Orixa with Kapakahi
Elbo Room
647 Valencia St
San Francisco, CA 94110 Ph: 415.552.7788
For more visit:www.myspace.com/orixa- become a fan http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=547994430&ref=profile#/pages/Orixa/117581633897?ref=sgm


Contact: latinruckus@gmail.com (510 ) 418-6985

Life is short; rock on, Rowan

Catching my Breath:Part 6- "Now What"

I'm not sure if I can make you understand what's going on inside of me but I keep writing because I want to transfer my feelings and experience to people, I want to show you something special to make you smile to make you go Wow...Let's go! Now what; I tell you now what.I have been back at work since last Feb. at full throttle. One can only imagine at times while at the brink of disaster how things can possibly be turned around and in a split second; just a split second everything plays in your favor. This is my story...or at least for now. I wake up every morning around 5:15 am; I sit still for a second and take a big breath...BIG BREATH! I take my vitals and go straight for the toilet...Ah! little pleasures of life. Once I've done some waste management I go back to weigh myself. This is part of the process involving taking my vitals but I'd rather weigh myself after my W.M.S(waste management session) for accuracy you know. Most consistently I would get myself ready to hit the gym by 6/6:15am and kick a 1 and half hour work out that includes, a half hour to forty five minutes of cardio and the rest with some stretching and weight lifting. I should be at work by 8. Again I say most consistently because there are days where I just want to kick it, make some coffee and wait for the girls to wake up. It's a lovely thing to see and I look forward to it every time I make that choice. I have been actively playing and making music. I have developed a keen sense for playing trap and have gone as far as to assemble a beautiful set..it's so therapeutic just banging away in true rock n roll fashion completely uninhibited and wild!!! I love it. I have been doing great stuff with my family - camping trips, rafting, fly fishing, rock climbing. I'm also riding my bike to work twice a week for a kick ass 16 miles(8 in and 8 out). This something I'm very proud of and it feels freaking amazing!! I mean can you imagine that nine months ago I was hooked up to an Oxygen concentrator and waiting for a lung transplant; can you say Crazy! I can. Nothing is mundane these days as I soak every minute of every hour with boundless appreciation of the moment. Even as I injured myself last month while climbing; which I wrote about on my last post. That experience itself made me feel so alive. There I was just like anybody else paying the price for playing hard and loving it. I maintained a focused frame of mind and I brought myself back in the game. There's no time to waste this time around! My life is in full motion. I can't even crop a future plan its just wide open. I still find myself at times trying to process what I have gone through. I've been thinking about trying to get in touch with the family of my donor but I think I will wait for the year to be complete. This is something I have been really contemplating. I also keep thinking of what kind of work I'm going to be doing to give back to this amazing journey and learning experience. I definitely want to become an organ donor advocate and get involved with some organization regarding the need to create awareness and to encourage people to get involved and become organ donors themselves. One thing I think about everyday is how my life has been touched by that action and the effect that took upon my family and I wish for the process to become something natural for people; for them to believe that they will become an extension of something greater than the life they live or we live for that matter. I still wish to keep being a donor myself and continue to live by example. Just had a birthday last Friday and look forward to many more; nothing seems impossible these days. As the future can be uncertain I keep my frame of mind in check and visualized one day at the time; this allows me to maintain a cadence and I don't skip a beat. In September will be a year since the transplant and it will be a mile stone as well as the beginning for the foundation of the years to come. I have learn so much about myself; I can't wait to find the best vehicles to transfer knowledge, motivate and inspired people. I'll be back with more notes, I'm getting ready for some doc visits and some final tune ups regarding my Scleroderma. Keep on coming and following the blog this is just getting better. I want to Holla at my dear friend Ethan Pringle for the awesome article on the recent 277 Climbing magazine issue and of course to Andy Outis for the magic and Climbing mag for the amazing support. I'm back in the saddle and cracking full time again. One love, Rowan

Basic Up-Date!!

Hello There Beautiful People,

Let's see...I have been very busy getting myself in shape and enjoying everything about my new life; it has been incredible. I feel so strong with a nice pack of muscles back in my body, biking, weights , playing music/singing and yes a bit of climbing.
I'm currently taking a break (by default) as I dislocated my ankle while doing the latter mentioned; believe it or not in my 16 plus years of climbing I had never injured myself. I thought about it a bit and Oh well shit happens! No, but seriously, my small injury was caused by a combination of 2 things:

-Being so pumped about life and feeling the power of my body slowly surging up; I mean off the couch I was doing V3 and V4 ( easy but not so easy) and finally just about 2 weeks ago sending my first V6(hard but not too hard). This was a great accomplishment so I pushed a little harder.

-Being a little fooled by my own stubbornness and wanting to keep getting stronger I lacked the judgment to say to myself keep steady. Regardless it could have happened to anyone and its a great lesson to be learned.

At this point the ankle is looking good and I will be back on my feet by next week. PT again is on my list and this is something I'm very familiar with, and I'm very consistent so do not worry. As my dear abuela "Chena" used to say..."Just another stripe for this Tiger".

I will continue writing my chapters once I'm back at full swing but I wanted to let you know a bit of what I have been up to.

This month April 28Th I will be showing my short film "Full Lung Capacity" and doing a bit of a talk about my life post transplant. This is a series of presentations sponsored by The E campaign as part of the Coalition of Organ Donation Exponents’ (CODE) Organ Donation Awareness Lunch Seminars. I will encourage everyone to join the UCSF campaign for Life – a campus campaign to encourage the entire UCSF community to register to become organ donors.Here's a couple of articles.
http://synapse.ucsf.edu/articles/2009/april/9/organdonation.html

http://today.ucsf.edu/stories/with-thousands-in-need-of-transplants-ucsf-intensifies-efforts-to-promote-o/

I stopped doing my art for a minute but will get back into it ASAP as I may have some incredible opportunities coming my way....more to come here!!! Music wise I started to do some work with my friend Melissa Hutchison who will be backing me up on vocals in a few cafe shows I will be booking this summer. So stay put and come to celebrate; she's got some beautiful pipes!!

My family is doing great, Heather as usual always so supportive and just my rock for life...love that woman. Kaya just turned six and boy she's a handful...but nothing that I cannot handle. I'm currently the assistant coach for her soccer team "The Cherry Bombs" and we are having a blast.

Please stay in touch and follow up with me. Love to read your comments and love to know what are you up to as well. A new chapter for "Catching my Breath " is in the works.

Much love!

Rowan

Catching my Breath: Part 5-"Coming Back from Space Travel"

My eyelids felt like they each weighed 50 pounds; I could hear voices around me and quickly id my wife, Heather's sort of coming from the left side of the bed but there was another female voice on the right side I did not recognize.....He got a very nice pair of lungs; one of the best I've seen in a long time. They were beautiful!

I immediately felt like I wanted to open my eyes and see this person's face but again it seemed virtually impossible. I decided to moan! MMMMMMMmmmmm
Heather asked me if I was Okay and I guess I must have said yes in some form. I had been out of surgery for quite some time but I was just barely regaining consciousness. At first, from what my friend Chris explained to me, I was connected to a respirator; a pretty large hose ran through my throat down to my diaphragm helping me to breath. For several hours after the surgery I was not quite ready to breath on my own so while I became stable and some of the anesthesia wore off I needed to be assisted in this way. Eventually the system was removed and everything was in the right place....and my body kicked into action. I guess soon after is when I found myself trying to open up my eyes. I felt so tired but at the same time I could tell that there was something different, that something had taken place and that I had gone somewhere and come back. Even though at this point there was still a cannula on my nostrils I could feel my breath going in and out without hesitation.....I felt I had been through a time machine and I was coming back from space travel.
I could only imagine what had happened while I was gone; while I was out; traveling. It took nearly 9 hours from the moment I arrived at the operating table since I made it back. I refrained for trying to open my eyes and started to recreate in the best way I could a picture of the happenings. My gown removed, needles going in, fluids injected, my chest and arm pits shaved and cleaned with antiseptics to make my skin fully sterile and basically exposing it as an open canvas for scalples to trace a line of entry.

I was given a clam shell incision; probably about 25 inches across my chest. It is not a straight line and to be honest its quite a fancy cut. A small incision was also done to my sternum and finally my rib cage lifted to create the grand entrance for probably one the most complex surgeries around, a bi-lateral lung transplant. I'm not a doctor but I read enough about it and by the time I signed myself up for this, I knew this was no joke and that were anything to go wrong well then lot of things would've turned wrong. Everything came together as I had planned. I expected not less from myself, the preparation and all the stamina built up to this moment had been tested and yes I had run my ultimate race with unprecedented results. I was breathing again.

Taking the first few breaths after the doctor ordered the nurse to remove the cannula was an amazing experience. I clearly remember Dr. Hoops saying; " Why is he still on oxygen? I want him to start breathing completely on his own , this is overkill take it out."

Having been connected to an O2 concentrator for the past several months prior to this moment was something I was not psyched about; although I knew it was absolutely necessary for my survival I longed for this moment. There I was, back breathing like a normal person, like you're supposed to; getting oxygen wireless again!

I immediately felt an incredible surge of energy and my brain could not keep up with everything I was thinking about. When can I walk? When would I be able to sing again? How long before I'm out of here? When would I be back home to my family....I mean the list went on and on and on and the craziness of it all settled in more and more....Well kind of. I mean I don't even know that I can still completely fully understand. It is not that I don't know what happened but if I stop to think about it for a second, I am breathing through someone else's lungs; absolutely mind boggling and truly incredible.

I felt I was coming back from space traveling because it really felt I had gone beyond my own space. I had gone to a place where everything about myself had been meticulously deceptive. Who I was mentally, physically and emotionally and some how I felt revitalized, I felt somewhat like everything was new. I had been working mentally so much towards specific goals but now my mind felt different about everything; I could multitask; there was no need to think about one thing at a time I was just exploding and showering myself with ideas, scenarios and all kinds of different plans. My brain was fully oxygenated. My oxygen saturation levels were up and this made a world of difference and my body was kind of in shock but stocked.

I could see everyone's face in amazement of what had happened and how suddenly I was right back at my sarcastic punk ass self. I could see their smiles and I just knew...its gonna be alright. My wife could not stop looking at me and just go wow, my brother kept saying amazing just amazing and my friend Chris was like "Dude you are back"...all I could think of was I wanted to see my daughter Kaya and tell her what an awesome trip I had and that I was coming home soon with out oxygen. After all once you're back on earth from space traveling you don't need oxygen anymore.

Come back for Catching my Breath:Part 6- "Now What"

Catching my Breath: Part-4 "Ready, set, Go!

On the night of the call several things ran through my mind, but the one that overwhelmingly took most of my attention was how lucky was I that at only 7 weeks I was already where I wanted to be. I don't want to sound like a superman or anything that makes me greater than life but I really knew within that all the things I had been working on had enabled the flow for the events about to happen; I just needed to get to the hospital for my ready, set Go!

I was rolled in on a wheel chair by my brother Juan, my best friend Chris and wife Heather following by my side. Chris had his camera on and he was filming everything he could. Registration and getting into a room went smoothly and we all settled as people came in and out to collect information, draw blood, take my vitals etc. Again I found myself very much focused on conserving energy. I knew I was going to need everything I had in me to sustain what was about to take place in my body. I had arrived at the hospital by 9:45 pm, at this point it was about 12:15 am and the traffic of people coming in and out had stopped and we were all left kind of in limbo. We did not know yet when I was going to get in. The lungs had just arrived at that point but several things needed to happen. More tests and match of anti-bodies, blood type and sizing all needed to be confirmed......We all gazed at the clock incessantly and wondered; I felt I needed to rest and Heather was so tired she laid with me on the bed and we both fell asleep. My brother followed and Chris stayed up filming. We woke up around 3:00 am and realized several hours had passed. Heather wondered if they had found something unexpectedly wrong with the organ; I knew that was a possibility, however, I had previously redirected this scenario in every affirmation session I had engaged in and I went again to dismiss it by locking myself into place with my frame of mind. At this point Heather decided to ask a nurse for an update. Surprisingly, the nurse responded: " Oh everything is set and ready; he is scheduled for surgery in the next few hours".

Well I guess this is it, I said to myself; we all looked at each other in a bit of despair; I would call this excitement because really this is how I felt. In the next 20 minutes an IV will be hooked to my arm, my vitals rechecked and a bed will roll in to take me to the operating room. I got one last coughing attack as I was getting transferred from bed to bed. This is something I will no longer experience, I said to myself. The anesthesiology team came to meet me and talk a bit about the drugs to be used and of course, sign some more paperwork as part of the protocol. All kinds of risks are involved in such type of surgery and so everyone needs to be clear about the facts. It's about 3:45 am as I'm rolled out of the room and my brother, Heather and Chris, with camera on hand, are following me until we hit the restricted doors. The doctors explained they still had not taken the lungs from the other body and there was still a chance they may need to abort. I kissed and hugged everyone, it was particularly hard for Heather and I totally understood what was going through her mind. I could sense a little fear as I gaze deeply into her eyes, I knew I was going to come back soon enough and we will be able to plug into our love for life and into our family. I whispered in her ear not to worry and locked into the sweetest kiss. I briefly made eye contact with my brother for one last affirmation exercise and never said good bye; I said I see you all tomorrow. I raised my fist and called for my brother a famous Che Guevara quote "Hasta La Victoria Siempre". The doors locked behind me but the entrance to my new life was just about to open up.

Once I got into the room I decided to focus on my mental state and immediately started reciting my mantra. "The Breath of Life Will Easily Flow Through Me". The team in the room made me feel so relaxed right away, we chatted and made small talk as I was getting connected to all kinds of different little apparatus and a few more IVs. I kept focusing on my breath and momentarily reflected on my good old lungs while in my mind demanded for some neurons to fire on immediately the proper commands for the new ones to get on with the program. I think about it sometimes and I felt a little crazy but good crazy! Finally one of the anesthesiologists asked me: "How are you doing buddy?" I said good. "Do you need something" he said as he heard me mumbling my mantra and I said "No thanks I'm just meditating out loud". "Well alright I'm going to give you something to relax you a little, Okay?" I said sure.



All I remember is saying my mantra a few times before everything went out but just right before I would completely surrender in a split second I wondered, how many dimensions would I transcend and if anything would change while traveling on the journey ahead. Finally I'd said let's go.

On January 15th will be 4 months since my surgery; my body has done so much and so well it is beyond anything I can explain. Nothing is mundane anymore and life is priceless as everyday I get to take the biggest breath while I listen to Kaya's little voice: "Papa let's get up and play a game". I've been playing it rather well.

Come back soon for Catching my Breath: Part-5 "Coming Back From Space Travel"

Catching My Breath: Part 3- Frame of Mind

Given the opportunity to receive an organ transplant is half of the equation. The entire time while researching the possibility I was making myself very aware of what I was getting into. Time was of the essence but I had to look into many important aspects of the path I wanted to undertake. First of all, facing my own mortality was something that would change my views, constantly, although, I have to say I was never afraid to die I did think about it quite often. This subject was particularly hard to talk about with Heather; it broke my heart everytime and I would fall deeper in love with her. While doing a hypnotherapy session my teacher asked me that question and I explained to her that it was difficult for me to be afraid about death simply because I had not experienced it and that, when the time came, I would just move onto it as another chapter in my life or a time to travel as the Mayans would have considered.

To be honest, basically my brain could not register something that I had not experienced. I know you may think, well Rowan, you are crazy, you can't experience death; once you're gone you're gone. True and that's a fact, the point is that I was very much alive; I love my life and I wanted to keep on living so even thou I thought about death often some how I just new inside my time to move to that level was not to arrive yet; at least not now or until I had finished what I set out to do with my life. Living my dreams and on the way try to enable at anytime possible other people's dreams. Specially those of who I immensely love most; my family.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that I was not afraid of death myself but the reason why I thought about it so much was because of the things I would not had been able to do if I would die. It killed me to think I would not be able to see my daughter Kaya grow in to a beautiful woman and see her become her own person and see her living her dreams. It totally pissed me off to think about would I be death not to be able to enjoy the rest of my life with the most wonderful woman I had ever known. Heather and I have been married for 15 years. Our life have been so rich and we have had so many adventures and gone through so many things together,she is my best friend. At times I felt if that were to happen it was like I had been cheated. I thought of how we had built this amazing place in our hearts for each other and now what: I'm about to bolt......No way man; Heather to me had become more beautiful than ever, she is my soul mate and to add to the equation she's become so hot ( I have to say this is very important in a relationship; and she's all that) as the years have passed by again....no way Jose; I'm not ready to check out. I said to myself; dude dying its not an option here.

The second thing on my list was the complexity of the surgery. This was as incredible as it was scary but beyond that was Third; the wave of changes I would have to adjust my life to. The amounts of drugs I will have to be under for the rest of my life didn't come without a price; the side effects list was long overwhelming and at times certain. Loosing hair, tremors, swing modes, loosing a bit of sight but the big "C" (Cancer) pose the biggest treat; I mean I have already been dealing with Scleroderma; my autoimmune condition for 6 years and look where it had got me to. I could not possibly get a grip that if I could fix the problem I was in by going through the transplant that could put me be back at the beginning of another race for my life yet again. All in all after I would do the math, there was no a single excuse in my mind not to take my chances. It was all worth it; I wanted to live and the feeling of leaving this wonderful place I was in didn't set in my brain as a choice however; taking the risks did.





I read a couple books while I was getting worse by the weeks but one that really got my attention was Terry McBride's "The Hell I Can't"; the book was given to me by my dear friend Morita who herself was a believer that one can enable yourself to cure oneself. Terry's story was compelling and gripping, although different than my experience we shared a common ground. Our spirits and willingness(called stubbornness) would have so much to do with our drive and passion for life that it will serve us as the greatest vehicle for self discovery, curiosity and most importantly enabling us to create the conduit needed to move into and under take the biggest obstacles we were faced with. Regaining control of our bodies, mind and finding the tools to accomplish the ultimate goal. Contributing to the healing process; yourself. I had chose a completely western approach to under take my situation but I also new that that was only half of the ticket; I need it to play a roll within; be involved in the process and so I went on a quest to find my new "Frame of Mind".

Meditation, Affirmation, I started doing art, I started a blog to open myself to anyone that would read my notes, I had my friend Tyler come in once a week and fly me with Acro Yoga, massage to help my blood circulation and we would also do energy work; most importantly I never gave myself a break regardless that my capabilities were getting cut short. Mobility was very important to me and so I kept myself as active as I could rather than feeling down I went on a trip to finding beauty in everything, in every action and cultured the value of being at the moment. Then I started to focus on how soon I wanted this to happen; I new I had limited time and my body was working hard. I have had the chance to know how it felt to be fit and I new what being strong felt like. My body was going down but my mind had all this knowledge and even thou physically I could not perform the neurons in my brain that were designated for those tasks were still shouting commands at me. Rowan; you are on your way stay focus and visualize everything materializing in front of your eyes; I would say this to myself everyday and especially during those 7 weeks before my transplant. Things came to reality so suddenly I'm still processing the levels of complexity that has taken to come to this side of the road from where I was. At times when trying to explain this to people still seems very surreal or like it never happen. but I know where I was and where I'm now, my life has taken me to some amazing roller coasters but my new "Frame of Mind" has empower me beyond my wildest dreams. Life is so beautiful and when your mind has the capacity to soak it all in and you are ready to surrender you can realize that dreams do come true. You have to put your mind into it.


Please come back and check: Catching my Breath: Part- 4 Ready-Set-Go

Full Lung Capacity

Dear Love Ones,

Words can not convey a feeling when as powerful as the one I'm currently experiencing. All through out this journey I have been able to touch so many lives as well as the lives that have come to touch mine alike. My journey has been an incredible vehicle for awareness of goodness in this amazing community I'm so honor to be part of. From day one people came from so many places and with so much support it is just incredible to say the least.

The two main fundraiser; The full lung Capacity Comp at Iron Works(The Melvin Gang, you guys are amazing) and the Recycle Life Fundraiser at Pizzaiolo (Charlie everything you touch , you make it good) could not have been better in fact there were egregious and of course they could not have come to reality thanks to the high energy and amazing work of such an incredible committee, you guys rock the house in truly ruckus fashion!



So many people to mane it will be almost unfair just to list a bunch here, you know who you are. From family and friends to people who just happen to come across my blog and became involved just because this journey touch a note they could not disregard; may all our life's keep on rising.


Four key people I want to acknowledge because I really tested their strength to the full extend of human capacity are, my wife Heather to whom I'm for ever grateful to have been sharing my life for the past 15 years and now the endless possibilities that await us. You truly held it together to the core, your man is back so lean on me. I love you so much. My daughter Kaya whose energy, witty personality and love inspired me everyday, Heather we made a good one. My brother Juan Jose who team up with me from day one to bring me back to self and while living in SF played a major roll in my early recovery after surgery. We walked miles and miles and listen to a lot NPR, I love you negrito. Last but not least my dear and best friend Chris Bloch who so unconditionally gave everything he had to give in every spectrum to see me rise.Yo Chris; you're a rock star, you have brought so much happiness to my life and family, we wish to be able to be there for you for the rest of our lives; you are one of us and we love you so much. You are my Dagw; we made it man!!

It is hard to keep it simple when something of this magnitude takes place in someones life; so I will cut this now because I want to keep writing in the year to come and I know there will be so much more to share. I will after next week continue posting where I left regarding my trip to UCSF and all in details for you to revive that with me; so come back after Dec 15Th for another chapter of Catching My Breath! It only get better and better.

Much Love, Rowan

Catching my Breath: Part 2- One out of Five

In 2003 I was diagnosed with Scleroderma, an autoimmune condition that could potentially take a turn for the worst. I was in the best shape of my life and potentially building my career as a Rock Star. This was a serious event but I took it upon myself to fend off any negatively creative views of my future. I fought the condition with resilience, taking every moment to reflect on life and do my best and decided that this will not stop me from enabling my dreams. On the clinical side I was able to find a specialist who helped me to stabilize the progression of the condition through some severe drug therapy. On the emotional level, family, friends and music played the greatest role in letting me achieve even more stability. I went ahead and pushed forward, trying to live as normal a life as possible and continue pursuing the dreams I so much aspire to.


Back in the early 90's I had spearheaded a new movement that would eventually create a new demand and forge a new category for music in Nor-Cal. Although Rock en Espanol had its early beginnings in this country dating back to the 50's and 60's it had never taken a full identity. Rock en Espanol became the new talk in town through the Bay Area and right after showcasing my new band a surge of new groups started to clone. Los Angeles had seen the same surge and demand for the ranga but being so close to the border the sound generated was highly influenced by Mexico. The Bay Area wide cultural diversity offered something different and the movement was in its infancy. Clubs all over started opening the doors for this new sound eventually giving birth to "La Rockola", the best and only place to see the cream of the cream of the new movement of latin rockers emerging in the Bay. "La Rockola" was featured every Sunday at the famous "Berkeley Square". This venue was brought to reality by the Caipo brothers, Eddie and Juan Manuel who at the same time, along with me, would plant a seed for underground sonic history. OriXa became one of the most sought after Latin Alternative outfits in the US; the brain child of myself and long time music partner Juan Manuel Caipo. My life as a local celebrity in the music scene of the Bay Area was a humble achievement. By 2003 the band was ever demanding and we had started working on our upcoming album "Siembra"; a process that would takes us 2 years to complete and what later would become our breaking point.

At the same time my life was taking another turn…my daughter, Kaya, was born in April 2003. By the end of 2003 it seemed as though I had conquered my menaces; Scleroderma didn't pose a threat anymore or at least it seemed that way. Kaya gave new meaning to everything. Without her and without the support of my family and friends I think I would have fallen into darkness. As time passed I learned more about my condition and all of its possible scenarios. Undertaking this situation would force me to face the greatest battle of my life.

No one could prepare me for my next chapter. Having stabilized the condition for almost 2 years gave me great hope and I kept on trucking. Early 2005 "Siembra" was a reality and the boys and I were ready to take over the world. The record was hot and all we needed was the right timing and the right place to diffuse our artistic concept. By 2006 OriXa was going strong. We were on the top of things - MTVes was giving us love, due to our our strong single "Siembra" with a video directed by Leonardo Ricagni from Mojo- A Band Apart; a small independent film company owned by Quentin Tarantino. We were playing great shows and doing what we love. I was in heaven. Even though I knew I was fighting a monster I was still able to hang in there and do what I was made for, music. Playing great shows with some of our peers, hanging out, playing the Fillmore with Café Tacuba, El Tri, touring with La Maldita, hitting New York, LA and our very own Bay Area. I was breathing it, living it. My life seemed perfect. Kaya was thriving, family life was beautiful and music was there to support me. I was a Rock Star.

Towards the end of 2007 we all started to fade within our circle. OriXa had been at it for almost 13 years, especially Juan Manuel and I. The band and I started to lose momentum and what had begun as a great year was slowly deteriorating, and so was my health. One of the potential issues that could occur with this condition is that it could attack my internal organs. I was diagnosed with a mild form of systemic scleroderma, however, that was not enough to rule out the possibility for it to turn into something fatal.

OriXa and I decided to take a hiatus from the scene; this was something we all had personally agreed to as we felt we have had a good run for awhile and were due a much needed break. Our last release “Siembra”, which we were very proud of, seemed to have done great things for an independent band but, in the end, we were overshadowed by the greater forces of the industry, lacked a strong management team and most of all, any financial backing to enable our work to be marketed to reach the masses. “Siembra” did not tap its highest potential. At times we felt sad, frustrated and even angry. Letting go felt very hard but we all took space, went in different directions and decided to focus on our personal lives and interests.

2007 began with a strange blue feeling. It was hard to imagine that OriXa would be asleep for a whole year or even more but I was okay with it and it was time to get back to raise my game regarding my condition. I was in it for life so I had to really take the time to focus my energy and pour myself into finding what could make me better. Not having the pressure of the band would give me more time to stay focused.

In April 2007 I started to notice that I was running out of breath rather often. This sensation had started towards the end of 2006 but since I was always a very active individual I didn’t pay much attention. In fact, OriXa’s performances were always praised for the high energy I brought into it. I mountain biked, rock climbed, snowboarded. I never questioned it and convinced myself that I was just a little out of shape. After taking a Pulmonary Function Test it was clear to me that that was not the situation. Reality had struck again. The condition had manifested in my lungs, and a very slow but certain progression was at work. Relentless amounts of tests determined that this was real, and I was put on a new trial of drugs to find the perfect cocktail to stabilize its progression. By the end of the year I had lost 20 pounds in 6 months. This was due to the fact that I had lost 50% of my diffuse capacity, the lungs ability to transfer gases. Scleroderma was thickening and damaging the alveolar walls of my lungs. This made my body work 3 times as hard, consuming 3 times the amount of calories than an average person. Basically I had turned into a runner without running at all. Breathing had become a very difficult task, I had to move slowly to avoid exerting my system, at times needing supplemental oxygen to keep my oxygen saturation levels up to pace.

A few months after I started researching and learning about lung transplants I came to very much contemplate the possibility. I had learned through my research that I was a potential candidate for it. Learning about the risks but also the high cost of it completely shocked my world and emotionally taxed my spirit. This is something beyond what I had ever imagined. Emotionally there was no parallel however; there was something beyond my own understanding that was telling me this was my window of opportunity and I had to take my chances. This would not cure me from the condition but would bring me back to somewhat of normal functionality, making me breath hard and strong, allowing me to sing again and, most importantly, to achieve what everyone should have - a better quality of life. Lung transplants are very much at the cutting edge of technology and most people with transplants get to live fuller lives. Within months, in most cases people are back to riding bikes, exercising and having pretty normal lung capacity. Of course, there are lots of risks involved such as rejection and infection, but these are part of the road to take and that feeling inside me kept telling me I needed to tackle this moment without hesitation if I were to enable my own dreams. I learned that 1 out every 5 calls of a potential donor may turn into a false alarm; this was because at times the organ my not be what the doctors are looking for. I basically reprogrammed my mind and told myself: Rowan, one call one time we'll fly.

Stay tune for Catching my Breath: Part 3- Frame of Mind

One Love, Rowan

Catching my Breath: Part 1- The Call

It had been just about seven weeks since I got listed for a lung transplant. The first week felt like a long year and then the following ones kind of went on a glide rule by the mundane of my daily grind. I'd wake up around 6 am or so and just kind of stay still on the couch and enjoy that moment of a regular heart rate at about 88/89 BPM while breathing 8 liters of O2 per minute; however, anticipating that the moment I would decide to move into a sitting position, my pulse would race fast like a pika looking for a hole to hide from its predator. This, along with my need for a higher saturation of oxygen, would send me into what would be part of my ultimate daily task - Trying to catch my breath.

Breathing is such natural thing to do. It is very hard to explain in words the feeling of not being able to do it. I would first try to put my mind into a ready face. I'd slowly remove the covers and proceed to a sitting position; in less than a minute my pulse would get all jacked up as high as 120 BPM, oxygen saturation would drop and the acceleration of my breathing would set off a coughing attack that decreased the chances of catching my breath even farther. Taking control of this will take me at least 20 minutes in which, at that point, I would be so exausted from hacking leaving me feeling like I may as well never have tried to get up to begin with. This was not an option for me; I would just cope and take myself through the process and give it a positive outlook. I would say to myself, Rowan, if you get up you can make it to the stairs and then to the bathroom...ah taking a dump, brushing my teeth and washing my face made the challenge worthwhile and so I will just troop and get it done. This was one of many tasks and I was getting pretty good at it, although the idea of getting good at something of such a nature wasn't appealing. My goal was to keep myself self-sufficient.

Keeping myself active became the name of my game and I would play this hard everyday for the weeks to come. I was very lucky to have been allowed to work from home; this kept my mental and emotional state of mind very high. I also became good at this quick. Working at my desk at home also had me setting a routine that enabled me to stay on top of my game and truly it felt great.

On Saturday Sept 13th Heather and I had a real challenging conversation about my physical state; it had progressively gotten worse in the past 2 weeks and the daily grind was getting a lot harder. Heather had been so strong, so willing and was already so overextended herself to the maximum human capacity that I was determined to do my best to try to keep a balance and do as much as I could on my own...but we both knew reality was creeping in and we needed to assess our next move. I had had a pretty shitty night. I was restless and woke up around 4 am and never went back to sleep. I had spent the day feeling completely taxed. I felt tired and very low energy, so by the time we started talking later that day it was obvious things were about to take a turn for the worst. Just the week before my dear friend Bruce Cornell had dropped a wheelchair for me so I could be taken out for my lab work and possibly some little outings to get fresh air; I had been home bound for over 5 weeks and I longed to see the bay. At this point, taking 5 steps would send me off into the void or what at times I started calling, falling into a bottomless pool. Yep I would have to wheel around.

Heather and I talked about the possibility of maybe bringing someone to assist me during the day, to help me with meals and kind of keep an eye on me. This was something I was not thrilled about but I could see that it was inevitable. Heather simply could not bear any more weight on her already endless responsibilities. I simply replied, "Don't worry, I'm still feeling very strong and I will let you know went I get there." Sunday came and it was a very cool day. I felt great and somewhat energized. I had a feeling of real awe that I could not quite put my finger on so I just rode on that high and did some affirmation work. Heather, Kaya and I had spent the day together playing card games, doing art and hanging out. Kaya was such a doll. After dinner that evening we all sat on the couch to cuddle and we were looking for a movie to watch. Around 8 pm the phone rang and as we sat screening the call, Heather jumped up to grab it when she heard it was UCSF hospital. I was not quite as alarmed since "The call" was supposed to come first through my cellular phone however; this would not be the case.

Heather answered and she was asked if Mr Rowan Jimenez was available; again we were both very unsure about the call until I took the phone and said: "hello, yes this is Rowan Jimenez" and the nurse said, "Mr Jimenez, Dr Hoop wants you to come here tonight for a lung transplant." It took a moment to register the sentence but once she asked if I could be there before 10 pm it just set in. Our jaws dropped and immediately we went into autopilot. I mean it had only been 7 weeks and we were still getting our plot together. Emergency contacts, who will take Kaya while we went to the hospital etc. There was so much we had not completely prepared but the call was here and there was no time to waste. Kaya was calmer than both of us. On her own, she went upstairs to her room and packed a bag with a change of clothes and any other necessities. While in the car driving to San Francisco it all came together; I had been so focused and my aim towards the goal I've been wanting to achieve was about to materialize. Hold fast amigo! I was on my way to get a bilateral lung transplant.

Stay tune for Catching my Breath: Part 2- One out of Five

One love, Rowan

Together at Last!

Dear love ones,

This is one the most amazing moments in my life; together at last. This past weekend I was able to go to the beach with Kaya and Heather, we went to the park, took several walks. It was truly something out this world; I pick up right where I left it about a year ago. I'm so happy.

I know I have not write much about what went on after the call on Sept 14th but believe me that I will; there's just a lot to put together but I wil make sure I share this with you soon. Thanks for the support and love. Also don't forget about the Full capacity comp Nov. 1st at Iron Works; its going to be off the hook!!!!!

Feeling like a Pamplona bull!!

One love, Rowan, Heather and Kaya

Life's a Beach: 15 Days Post-Transplant by Chris Bloch

Incredible!!

Dear love ones,

I hope you understand; I'm still putting everything in perspective and letting all that just has happen settle in my head. I will let you in pretty soon so hang in there. For one thing the thought of being able to joying my family with my new physical state its so exiting I won't lie and selfishly so its the first thing in my mind and the first thing I want to do. I can't wait to see Kaya and for her to see that papa is not using oxygen anymore; her words on my episode one video stuck with me through out the entire process and hyper fueled my willingness to stay strong and to put on my full metal jacket everyday. I have missed her so much and of course to be able to salsa dance with my beautiful wife Heather again; something she loves so much and that now I'll make sure we do every day.

The next year is going to be critical for my full recovery. Theres a lot ahead but I'm prepare for the task and I'll have my brother Juan as my care giver living with me for the next 6 weeks; I'm so exited for this as he has been such a rock as well and of course all of you whom constantly keep me on your minds and when the moment came blasted the positive wave of energy that carried me through........please don't stop I'll need to surf in it for a while!

OK I'm being release today and I will have a plan for seeing people soon, please e-mail me at rjstonefly@yahoo.com and will give you an update on a blast. I won the belt on this fight and now as a good champ I need to defend my right to keep it. Bring it on!

Breathing deeper everyday.

One love, Rowan

The Breath of Life Flows through Me!

Dear Love Ones,

I'll be brief but I won't lie I have so much to say...... all I really want to say right now is that it has been a remarkable experience; although my battle its not over yet I have pass through its power crux. Thank you for helping me built the base of such of monumental road. I had a chance to lightly brisk through all your e-mails and I'm so happy to have just a circle of people that care...it took my breath away; but guest what ? It took a second for it to come back!

Much Love from the UCSF Hospital,

Once again, the Rowan you've always known!

One Breath at the time!

Dear lovely people!

Well its been awhile since I posted some notes; I hope you have enjoyed the videos. My friend Josiah has done the Episode series and Chris "The Block" Bloch did the climbing; I'm so thankful for everything that has happened in the past few weeks. It seems like everything is falling into place and I'm getting closer every breath I take.

Its been 6 and half weeks since I've been on the waiting list and about 5 weeks since I've been homebound. I have been working from home and just staying put for the most part; as you've seen in the videos I've been trying to stay busy and physically strong as well as doing a bit of art for the zazzle store.

At the moment I'm not looking as much as the stud I used to be...but let's just say that given the circumstances being able to stand on my 2 feet is quite a great accomplishment; notwithstanding I'm still making my meals, taking showers, etc all in a kind of slow motion but efficiently.

My dear friend Bruce Cornell a special sponsored athlete from MHW, the company I work for, dropped one of his fancy wheelchairs for me this week. Now let me explain; I'm still able to walk and move around but long distances are definitely a big task so having someone pushing me around if I need to or want to go out is the way to go; I can actually enjoy myself more rather than getting all worked out trying to catch my breath. I had the chance to go out twice this week. These were by no means leisure outings - on Monday, courtesy of Mr. Bloch, I went to get some blood drawn for the Inmunogenetics lab for UCSF, this is for tissue matching...and yesterday, courtesy of my brother Juan, I went to get a bone density scan which is also part of my exams for lung transplant. In all it was great to be out although this didn't go without great physical effort. I have to say that while its been hard adjusting myself to living in this condition I don't complain; I feel it's a waste of time and I'd rather focus on affirmations towards my goal; it was hella fun to be out.



A few days back Heather called my transplant coordinator to check in and jokingly mentioned that we were going to start checking into E-bay for some lungs....she laughed and said don't do that yet. She mentioned that they were getting busy and that a few transplants had been done in the past 2 weeks and that probably I was very close. Again there are a few factors such as size, blood match and quality so.....but I won't deny I'm hoping it comes soon!!!

Anyhow please stay in touch, buy some shirts for the holidays and let friends know how cool they are...and come to the climbing comp/party Nov. 1 at Ironworks in Berkeley. Much love to everyone out there.

Peace, Rowan

Flying With Rowan - Episode 2 by Josiah

Rowan on Climbing with Scleroderma by Chris Bloch

Video Documentary - Episode 1

I'm still Juiced!!!

Hi Beautiful People,

I keep meeting people through the internet; via my blog , facebook and just people I have come across while surfing the net (one of the time killer things I do on the daily). It's really amazing; the stories of some of these people are very invigorating and really inspiring however; at the same time I have come across some pretty sad stories. This situation has at times bring me to the edge of both spectrums and at times takes me to the "what If's".

I won't lie to you; I have some days where experiencing despair is inevitable; I mean no matter how much positive energy I try to focus on and try to generate for my actual reality I do end up coming across the entrance of what I call the black tunnel. This is why I keep a flash light in my hand; that is my spirit. Somehow this brings me back to a safe place a serenity space where I can call all the shots and view my choices. I'm choosing to fight and to stay alive; I'm determined to stay focused and to visualize my future. I'm a husband, a father an artist a climber but most importantly I've always been a dreamer.

I believe that dreams come true when you are focused and invested in your life on making them happen. I'm fully invested, I'm focused and I believe. I feel for some of the sad stories I've read and I'm glad that they bring perspective to my own story not withstanding I guess we are lucky in our very own way. I'm lucky to be here right now and I'm lucky to have the oportunity to regain my life though this experience. I will continue to stay on the same page, taking one day at the time, one breath at a time and one smile at a time.