5-29-03 Journal Entry

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Sweat is pouring off my bald head as I sit in the waiting room awaiting my last treatment of the week, and hopefully the last treatment for a while. I’m not sweating due to anxiety, however, I am sweating from a great bike ride. I rode to work today because the morning was just so beautiful and I couldn’t let having a treatment in the afternoon keep me from enjoying a great ride. So today I’ll get treated while wearing wearing lycra biking shorts. What a sight I must be.

After today’s treatment they’ll wait about three weeks and test my bone marrow. If my marrow is free of any residual disease I plan to take a break from treatment and pray for a lengthy remission. If there is residual disease in the marrow, then I’ll have some tough decisions to make. I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it. I’m sure I will consult Dr. Keating in Houston regardless of the results.

Currently my counts are doing well. My platelets stay between 90,000 and 100,000 and my WBC count is around 4,000. I had a good hematocrit of 38 on Wednesday, which is the best in almost a year. Sure makes the cycling and other day to day activities much easier.

Enjoyed a great Memorial Day Weekend with my 14 year old son CJ. He played in a big basketball tournament in Reno, Nevada and the two of us flew down. His team placed third overall and just missed playing in the championship game by a buzzer beater shot the other team made at the end of overtime. I had a great time watching CJ play and took advantage of the one on one time with him. I am certainly blessed to have three great boys.

Tonight I plan to attend a local Relay for Life Survivor Walk. I go to this event every year because I like to celebrate and give thanks for each year the Lord has given me since my diagnosis back in 1994. It has been almost nine years now. They give out medals at these events and I hang them in my den right by my Lance Armstrong picture. My Lance Armstrong picture shows him riding his bike up a difficult mountain pass with the words ‘Impossibility Defeated’ written below him. I get inspired every time I look at my survivor medals and the picture.

A wonderful Christian lady at my school has this great quote hanging by her desk.
It reads, “If God brings you to it, He’ll bring you through it!” I pray that I can remember that God is always with me and regardless of what challenges lie ahead, He will bring me through it.