Round 2 - %#@!&

Why does it always seem to be that I get sick when there is a major soccer tournament going on? I'm not complaining, but it's a great coincidence. The first time I was diagnosed with Leukemia, the European Championship was going on. When it comes to soccer tournaments, that would be second to the World Cup. So two years later, my relapse hits after 500 days of remission and the World Cup starts. Luckily for me I'm a huge soccer fan because it's giving me something to do every day. Trust me, when you're idol like I am and your productivity has come to a grinding halt, you need stuff like this to take your mind off of what's going on in the real world. Thanks to the World Cup, I can disconnect for 6-8 hours a day and not have to think about test results, Dr. visits, blood counts, "procedures", whatever...I even sometimes forget about my headaches. You can't argue with the power of sports. Having three teams to root for is a bit tough though. From the beginning I've been pulling for South Africa (Where I was born), Germany and last but not least, the US and A. Need a big day tomorrow to salvage this World Cup. All the marbles are on the table for both Germany and the US. It's going to be quite a day of soccer. Unfortunately, South Africa got knocked out, but they had a great World Cup and totally blew away their expectations. And how sweet was it to see them send the French packing with a loss? Sorry if you like the French team, but they are a huge mess.

So enough of the stuff that has absolutely nothing to do with my current condition. I've been heading down to San Diego once or twice a week. It depends on what's on the calendar as far as tests, labs, etc. Lab results have been solid since I was released but seem to have dipped a bit in the last week or so. My doctor says it's nothing to worry about so I'm not worried, but I'm very interested to see what they show tomorrow. White blood cells are in the 7,800 range which is good, but that number is about 5,000 lower than the prior week. That much of a dip always raises my eye bros, but again, if doc says don't worry, I'm good with that. All of my other counts are well within the "good" range as well, so from a blood work standpoint, no worries.

My energy levels and overall feeling changes from day to day, but my as long as my blood counts are good, I've got to believe that everything behind the curtain is good. I'm not going to lie to you...it sucks when one day you feel great and you've got a ton of energy, then the next day comes around and it's the complete opposite. Don't cry for me yet, when the bad days hit, I can just take it easy, relax and watch the World Cup. Not a bad way to deal with a rough day right? Luckily for me those days are far outnumbered by the good days. It's amazing though, a bad day can make a week of good days a distant memory. The fact still remains that even on my bad days, there are people out there having days that are much worse than mine, and that doesn't only apply to illness. Thinking about that knocks me back into alignment pretty quick.

For those of you who have been wondering what's next, my timeline of events is starting to get a little more clear. I have labs tomorrow which should hopefully show an increase in my WBC count. Then on Friday I'm back down in San Diego for a chest CT scan (Catscan). This is a test I am really looking forward to. It's pretty much the only way my doctors can tell how the Pneumonia is doing. I definitely still have it by the simple fact that I continue to cough up junk all day long. Another thing they can do is listen to my back with the stethascope while I take deep breaths, but it's not even close to as good as the CT scan. So that's on Friday with the results hopefully coming back that same day. I've been on this new medication using an IV which I'm taking specifically for the pneumonia, so I'm really hoping these results come back showing a lot of improvement. It's been a huge hassle for both Evey and Tommy to hook me up with the IV and then 90 minutes later, disconnect it. I can't do it myself so they are the lucky ones who get play Florence Nightingale and take care of me, which they are doing a great job of. I'm a lucky guy for sure. So back to upcoming stuff...a week from Friday I go back down to San Diego for a bone marrow biopsy. This is the one that will either give me the red light or green light for transplant. If I'm still in remission, I get readmitted to the hospital on July 8th, go through four days of light chemo and get my new bone marrow cells on July 15th. That would then become the new Day 0, and the count begins again from there. I'f I'm not still in remission and the leukemia cells decided to show their ugly faces, then it's back to the beginning and they hit me with some sledgehammer type of chemo. I'll leave that where it is for now, but the next couple of weeks are going to be very busy and very heavy. I'm just happy I have my wife, family and friends around me to help me get through it.


All of the above, from a timeline perspective hinge on the fact that they collect my donor's cells on July 14th. Actually, this is a great opportunity to thank all of you who sent him thank you cards. I am not kidding or exaggerating when I say the stack of cards was easily 7 inches high. the response from all of you was unbelieveable, but I shouldn't be surprised by that at all. You all have proven to be the best support system anyone could ever beg for, so when it comes to stuff like this, nothing surprises me anymore. With you all in my corner on the support side, and my donor in my corner for the medical part, I'll be able to get through anything. In fact, just when I thought the donor couldn't kinder or more amazing, I'm proven wrong. I was just told that he had a vacation planned on or around the transplant date. When he was told of the plans with the dates, he moved his vacation to accomodate the procedure. It's just crazy how cool he is. I can't wait to get my butt to Sweden, learn his name and buy him a beer. It may be a while, but if he is good with meeting up, Evey and I are on a plane with whoever else wants to join, and Sweden here we come. I just shake my head in disbelief every time I think about what he has done and sacrificed for me. It literally brings me to tears and I just hope that one day I'll be able to show him how much I appreciate what he has done. This is an amazing person, and once again, I must have an angel on my shoulder because nobody deserves this kind of luck.

I know I have no idea how many of you are out there pulling for me and supporting me, but if I could wrap my arms around you all and pull you in for a big bear hug, I would. And yes, that includes all of my friends out the in the Philippines. Sorry I forgot you guys on my last message but it goes without saying how much a love you all. As you can see, I have a pretty crazy few weeks coming up, but have no doubt that all will go well and you guys will be right there with me either physically or in spirit. We'll get through this and be on the road to transplant and recovery in no time. Thanks for reading everyone and I hope you are smiling that summer is here. Even though I have to be careful with the sun, I still love it and couldn't be happier that we've turned the corner and we're headed right into the sunny months. Take care everyone, enjoy the outside and stay tuned for more updates.

Round 2 - %#@!&

Hi everyone,

I send this update from the comforts of my own couch with Floyd to my right and a my beautiful Samsung flat screen in front of me. Yeah, you could say that's a far cry from where the last couple months have been spent. I think the last time I wrote I was sitting right here in the same spot just being home for two days recovering from the roller coaster ride of my life. I'm still not completely sure of what happened during those few weeks of pandemonium in the ICU and wherever else I was, but here I sit writing to all of you so something had to have gone right. My doctors tell me my recovery, since the absence of all of the tubes and breathing machines, has been going very well. As I said earlier, I'm still really fuzzy on everything that happened so all I can do is go on what people tell me and what reactions I get when people see me, and from what I can tell, I must have been in a pretty bad place. Kind of scares me when I really think about it, but I guess I scared a lot of people during that time, so fair is fair.

I've been home now for a couple of weeks which when I was released, was told that two weeks would be all I had at home, but due to the severity of the pneumonia I contracted during chemo, my doc now wants to keep me at home until the majority of this subsides. My assignment now is to walk every day, stay active and strengthen up for the transplant which is right around the corner. Don't get me wrong, I'm still clocking some good couch time here in front of the old tv, but Evey, Floyd and I are out just about every morning for a nice walk. Coming from where I was physically, progress comes quickly, but I do feel like I'm getting stronger and putting weight on. I left the hospital about 40 pounds underweight which has been cut in half since my release. I am eating like crazy due to one of the medications I take. It stimulates my appetite which has literally turned me into an eating machine. I've gained a solid 20 pounds in the time I've been out...all ready to shed back off once I go back in for more treatment and transplant. The really scarey thing is that I think when I was at my worst in the hospital and came out of my induced whatever, I think I was down to 130 pounds. I haven't weighed that much since 10th grade. I could only imagine what I must have looked like. No worries though, I'll be back in fighting shape soon enough for them to take it all away once more.

With respect to future plans, I'll be out of the hospital for probably another 4 weeks or so, then it's time for another bone marrow biopsy. The results of that test will determine what comes next, but for arguments sake, let's assume I'm still in remission. If so, there is a good chance we'll skip consolidation chemo and go straight to the stem cell transplant. My donor in Sweden is ready to go so it will take a week of prep, then transplant, then 3 weeks of recovery. At that point it puts me at the end of July and barring any complications or setbacks, I'm back out of the hospital and sent home for recovery. A lot has to happen and fall into place to make all of these assumptions hold tight but I'm feeling pretty damn good about it. Until then, it'sa ll about hanging here at the casa with family, friends and Floyd and working on getting stronger mentally and physically.

The past 3 months have been one hell of a journey, but all I can say is I'm sitting here, still breathing and married to one of the best women anyone could ever hope for. I'm back in remission and my pneumonia is slowly but surely subsiding away. Things could certainly be better in my world, but they could sure as hell be a whole lot worse. All I can do at this point is rely on the support coming in from everywhere, and not just here in the US. I'm talking places like Germany, Croatia, Canada, Puerto Rico, South Africa...and probably someplaces I've missed. It's just unreal to try to try to get my arms around...I can't thank you all enough for the unbelieveable outpouring of love and support. I know it's a huge part of why I'm still here bothering you all...so you do your part and keep it coming and I'll do my part by trying to get stronger and staying positive. More updates to follow as plans get more solid. Take care everyone and be well.