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.