18 days and counting!!

Between finally having some nice weather, the regaining of a lot of strength and energy, and, oh yeah, getting ready for my marriage which is in 18 days (!!!!!), I have neglected my blog a little bit. I am sorry about that. I have just been so excited to be able to be outside and to have the strength to walk more than a few steps. It has been great. There are still lots of fears and some difficulties….i am taking a fistful of pills everyday and still need to have blood drawn twice a month and get IV chemo and a spinal tap once a month (i.e. this treatment is not all that fun), I have also had a pretty under the weather the last week. I think it is just a normal cold and my immune system isn’t quite back to its old self yet so its is just kind of lingering around. But, for the most part, I am feeling so much healthier and life is very very good. Plus, the thought of making some vows to the prettiest girl I know in a couple weeks kind of keeps me going strong.

Besides trying to gain my weight back (I have added about 20 lbs from when I was at my lowest), watching my NCAA bracket go up in flames. I consider myself to be a pretty lucky guy and I have had some successes at gambling, but Mach Madness has never been my forte. I am always so confident and usually using up the ink on my red pen by the end of the first weekend. I still love the tourney though and have been hanging on lots of the games this year.

An acquaintance of my cousin Lisa is in the running for a grant from Pepsi Co. She is the mother of three beautiful children and has lost 2 of them to infant ALL. It is heart-wrenching to even write that and I can’t imagine the heartache she must have experienced. The remaining child is a twin of one that passed away and is also very susceptible to the cancer. Somehow, this mom has garnered the strength to stand up and fight. She wants to open a center for other families in similar situations. That is why she needs this grant. If everybody could take the time to vote for her at (www.refresheverything.com/ErinsDream) and to spread the word about her remarkable story, I would greatly appreciate it. Her website is www.erinsdream.org. Her story, her attitude, and her faith put things into perspective for me and I hope that she wins so that she can use her story to bring peace and love back to the minds of other parents. During Lent especially, this is the kind of sacrificial love that truly inspires.

Anyway…..thanks for the continued prayers for myself, my dad, my family, and my upcoming marriage. They have been my strength and my security this year and will continue to be. I’d be lost without my friends. I’m gonna keep knocking this cancer down until it has no chance of standing back up and, no matter what............

ALL Will Be Well

“Love Never Fails”