Thank You.......and Buy Stock in McDonalds

I just read about a man who was diagnosed with stage 4 esophageal cancer in September ‘08, the same as me. He began chemo in October ‘08, the same as me. He was just told that his cancer has spread, the tumors have doubled in size, and there is nothing else that can be done for him; not the same as me. You see, I am one of the lucky ones. Sure, mine will probably come back with a vengeance sooner or later but I have been blessed so far. Blessed with a body that has responded well to the treatments. Blessed with more time than a lot of people in my situation get. Blessed with a support network that makes that time worth living and fighting for. Last week, following my little depression, my daughter Heather and her boyfriend and my son AJ and his girlfriend all came for dinner. We hung around the pool until it got dark and then made a fire and hung around some more. I was able to talk Terry into just letting us order take out so she was able to spend more time relaxing and chatting rather than playing hostess. It was definitely quality time. The next day Terry and I joined our friends Linda, Phil and Taryn for a brief excursion to the Delaware water gap. Today we went to my mother’s and spent a lovely day with her and her companion and my sister and her husband. So you see, just when I was feeling down my support team jumped in and pulled me out of it. Yesterday Terry and I were hanging by the pool and I couldn’t help feeling a tremendous sense of gratitude that I am still here to enjoy it. I really didn’t think I would be when this all started. Thank you to everyone in my support network, family, friends, strangers who take the time to email me or post a comment on my blog and strangers who write about their own personal battles which helps me with mine. You all have done more than you can know to help me through this. Thank you for all the prayers. They’re working. Next week will be my third consecutive chemo free week, more than I have ever had since beginning treatments. I’m curious to see if I get any taste buds back. If I do I’ll be spending the week at McDonalds. I know it’s junk food but I’ve been eating way too healthy lately. It’s not good for me. If the buds reappear McDonalds stock is sure to go up. Carry on. -----------------------------------------------------------------