Livin' on Cloud 9

It has been quite a bit of time since I have written here and so much has happened in the last month…..all very good! The highlight of my 29 years came true, along with all my dreams, when Hanna Jo walked down the aisle toward me on April 10^th. I could never have imagined a more stunning bride. We celebrated our sacrament and then celebrated all evening with many of our family and friends. It was truly a perfect day and I thank everybody that was there, everybody that couldn’t make it, and everybody that was thinking of us and praying for us as our day approached. Our parents played such a huge role, as did all of our siblings, and I thank them all so much. And after 11 days of marriage, I have to say that I am a big fan so far…haha. Life is awesome. I wish we could have spent more time with loved ones who made the trip, especially those that came from far distances….Colin and Kathleen, Jason and Erika, Sally, Uncle Sonny and Aunt Penny, Uncle Laddie and Aunt Aurelia……and lots more. Anyway, I am still residing somewhere in the vicinity of cloud 9 and plan to stay there for quite some time.

The next bit of good news is that I have been accepted and fully funded into the PhD economics program at George Washington University in Washington DC. I’m really excited to further pursue my studies and begin working toward a long-term goal of becoming a college professor. I had been hoping that this would work out for quite some time and am so excited that tings are finally falling into place. I had to defer a similar offer this time last year because of my ALL diagnosis so it is awesome to get back to where I wanted to be. Hanna is already living and working in Alexandria, VA so I’ll be joining her down there in less than two weeks!!! I am so ready for this and so excited to start our married life together down in the DC area. We will both be on school schedules too so that should leave some good time this summer to visit family, hit up some weddings, and do some traveling.

Because of all this, I have been looking for a place in the DC area to continue my treatment. It is looking like that place will be Georgetown Hospital Cancer Center but that is still not confirmed. I am waiting to hear from one of the oncologists there. Hopefully, that will be confirmed this week. My treatment is still far from routine but I am getting used to it, since it will be a part of my life for the next several years. I am taking two chemo pills orally, a steroid, and receiving IV chemo and a spinal tap on a monthly basis. None of that is all that fun but it is worlds better than what I was going through a few months ago. One of the oral pills has a very high dosage and that caused my blood counts to drop last week and Dr. Claxton advised that I stop taking the pills for a week. My counts bounced back a bit and I re-started yesterday, after a meeting with Dr. Claxton. I will be out at Hershey for chemo on Friday and that could possibly be my last time out there. I can’t say enough about the care that I received from Hershey. Dr. Claxton and all of the nurses, PAs, NPs, and staff of the Infusion Center have become like family to me. I could not have asked for anything better. I will miss them all but look forward to staying in touch with them and meeting the new staff down at G-Town (hopefully!)

This month has been one to remember and one full of unbelievable highs. Thank you all for being a part of this journey with me…..i truly don’t know where I would be without you. Your love helped me to stay strong, keep my faith, and stay focused on the finish line…….and, although I am not there yet, it feels good to be many strides closer. I ask that you continue to pray for my health and continue to pray for so many who are afflicted by cancer….particularly my dad and a good friend in NY who will be having surgery in the near future. Still believing that….

ALL Will Be Well

“Love Never Fails” -- 1 Corinthians 13:8

".....Hope Can Set You Free"