Day + 112

Hi everyone. First off, I'd like to thank everyone for their heartfelt condolences about Van. Every one of us is feeling it and I know that everything that has been said and written over the past couple of weeks has helped me.


On the medical side of things, everything is going extremely well. The results from my latest bone marrow biopsy came back in record time and could not have been better. My body is still in 100% remission and there is not a speck of cancer anywhere. There were no signs of immature cancer cells which could be an indicator that there is still a problem, but that looked perfect as well. All in all, the results could not have been better, and as a result they have said that I will not need another bone marrow test for 6 months. That is great for two reasons. The first reason is obvious which is these things are painful as hell and the longer I have to wait for my next one, the better. The second reason is the more important one. The fact that they can wait for six months means they have a huge amount of confidence that I'm good to go for a while and I have very little to worry about in the short term. That is a huge vote of confidence for my health as it relates to the possibility of me relapsing which the doctors are resoundedly betting doesn't happen.

I am feeling better overall. I'm still a lot weaker than I was two weeks ago but I feel myself gaining strength every day. I'm back to walking which is tougher than I thought, but I'm getting there. My legs just don't seem to work together the way they used to. I walk like a beat up old football player, but I'm hoping that with more walking things go back to normal. If I ever want to run again like I used to, that is going to have to get fixed. On another note, I seem to be past the Gastroenteritis which is really a fancy word for the stomach flu. No idea where I picked it up. It could have come from someone close to me who had it or possibly from something I ate. Doesn't really matter to be honest with you. I'm just happy to be past that nightmare. I don't wish that experience upon my worst enemy and I pray I will never have to go through that ever again.

My appetite remains strong and I've gained 12 pounds with more to come. All systems are go my friends and I can only hope I remain on this track. I'm feeling better but also have no illusions that things could turn for the worse at just about anytime. The good news for now is that people tell me I'm looking better and my doctors are telling me my recovery couldn't be going better. How much better could life be? Thanks Van, I couldn't have gotten here without you bro. I have a long way to go but things are looking good. Thanks for reading everyone and please take care of yourselves!