Spring's Sprung

That's Kenyon, behind that beautiful Rainbow and those Foster Grants

            I'm always apologizing these days for lagging between blog posts, but in fact it is a good thing.  I tend to update more rapidly when there's a crisis brewing and I need the prayer warriors to engage.  I guess that's human nature.  Tell you what - my cell # is 919-649-4926, and I invite you to call between posts if you're anxious because you haven't heard from me.  Seriously - feel free to call, and thanks for your concern.

            Kenyon and I went for a 2 day fishing trip out in East Tennessee this past week - we floated the Wautaga River for a couple of days and took about 25 early spring Rainbows and Browns.  Very good therapy!  I don't generally brag on my kids - except to say that we are a close family - but I wanted to share with you something Kenyon shared with us while Renee and I were in Houston.  With Rachel at college, he was on his own here at home - he had some adult supervision, but being without us for 3 to 4 months was a  real challenge for him - he did great, as did Rachel out at UNC-A.  This is a song that he sent us that he said spoke for how he felt.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m-sZvY2-tIw&feature=related

That truly pierced my heart - I can tend to be critical and the song just nailed the situation - Kenyon was becoming a man through this trial.  That's one of the many great things about music - all types of music can speak to me - and the lyrics don't have to mean to me what they meant to the writer.  Jonny Hetherington may have been writing about a girlfriend, but I can hear my son speaking to me through the same words.  I am so thankful for my children!

            Quickly on the medical front - my white count got really high - ANC was up at about 8,000 - as I responded to the neupogen shots and the medication for the CMV was reduced.  Very thankfully, my last 2 tests for CMV (March 16 and March 9) have been negative.  We backed off on the neupogen shots earlier this week and my ANC is back down to about 2500 which is "normal".  Other counts - hemoglobin, platelets - are good, but still below normal.  I feel very well, and I am working out every other day on the stair master, and doing outdoor walks (last one was 4 miles) on intermediate days.  Spring is in the air which means there is a TON of yard work to do, but I am under doctors orders to do no such thing for a year.  And no, I am not happy about it - I love to be in the yard.  So, guess who it all falls to?

Renee on "creek duty"

Yes, unfortunately it is Renee.  It's a labor of love for her (and me), but we are really looking for a part-time helper to get a lot of it done.  We've bitten a lot off over the years and we continue to bite off more.

Anyway, I need to run - hope all is well in your end of the world.  And if I don't speak to you before, have a wonderful and blessed Easter.  Dan and Renee

Oh, one other thing - my return trip to MD Anderson for my 100 day assessment will be the week of April 23 - we moved it from March 26 to accommodate my 1st T-cell infusion.  More on that next time.