March 29, 2009 11:15 PM 60 days to go

It was a great day with family gathered around to celebrate my sister-in-law's birthday. Since I can't get out, the event had to be held at our place. And it does place a burden on my wife as everything must be cooked within our four walls - including the birthday cake. Nothing can be ordered from the outside.

Two weeks from now is Easter and my sister-in-law will host for the day. This means, of course, that I cannot attend - so it is going to be the loneliest Easter that I have ever spent. Obviously, I cannot go to church and I am forbidden to eat anywhere outside these four walls for the duration of the 100 days. But, as one of the doctor's said, we are not looking at this year - we are looking at the years to come. And, for sure, that prospect looks pretty bright at this time.

I was reading a newspaper column today that included the reaction of two people to chemotherapy and it was certainly not pleasant. The experience for each of them was horrible. Each time that I hear of stories like this, I feel so blessed that I have suffered none of the debilitating side effects that so many people have to endure.

Why has God chosen this path for me? What lies ahead for me? There must be a reason! But it almost makes it impossible for me to share my experience with anyone because I did not undergo any of the usual effects of that experience. I am not complaining, mind you, but it is hard to relate to these negative experiences that I hear and read so much about.

The last hurdle is rapidly coming up and that is the graft versus host disease(GVHD) and, if anything is to happen, that could begin to commence in the next few weeks. We'll just have to pay close attention and watch for any bodily changes.

So, to cap off today's entry, of course I am feeling fine. This, of course, begged the question that was raised once again today. Did I ever actually have leukemia? My only comment was that even if you were perfectly healthy - undergoing chemotherapy is no walk in the park for 90% of the people.

I am so blessed...

Bob