Every day gets me closer to life without all of the medicine that was a large part of the last few months. It takes awhile for the various poisons to completely get out of your system. Side effects will be present until that time arrives. Odds are that the chemo is pretty much flushed out by now. Seventy two hours or so passed since my last steroid. That should also be moving on out during the next day or so. Sometimes just the thought of all the stuff my body absorbed during this journey is enough to make you feel sick. It honestly turns my stomach on occasion when remembering the physical abuse of the last months. God was and is gracious in aiding my recovery experience. I don't know how to compare this but it sure feels like my system remained fairly able to adjust. Have no doubt but that my honest gratitude goes to God for this.

Now the recovery from the recovery can get underway. We are starting that process this week. Today was a fast trip to the clinic through the storms for lab work. It went against my better judgement but I did step onto the scales. Prior to diagnosis my usual weight remained around 215 give or take a few either way. Today the scales registered a full 230 pounds. Much of that is steroid related along with the side effect of eating more than usual. My daughter had someone take a photograph of the two of us at the ballgame on Saturday. Looked to me as if I might weigh 250 pounds or more. One of my first adjustments will be to get serious about diet and exercise. Much of my motivation is financial rather than vanity. I can't afford to buy a whole new wardrobe. So my goal is to return to the clothes from a lighter weight.

My daughter and a few others are telling me that the hair is returning. They are being so nice to the old and bald guy. The usual answer as to hair returning is six weeks. But my hair never did totally disappear. Wonder if the miracle grow stuff for yards will work on hair? My patience is doing fairly well on waiting on hair. Odds are good that I will sometimes miss how easy it is to get ready in the mornings now. It may be awhile before anyone confuses me with Samson. I am again just grateful for how long it hung in before giving way to the chemicals. All there is to do now is wait and see what type of hair returns. Who knows? I may end up a blonde.

One last update on the health for this evening. About three weeks ago my doctor had me undergo a Cat Scan. Those results came back negative. Medical experts refer to this as "no evidence of disease." Next week will be another scan that is even more revealing. So today I asked my nurse about what to expect. If the first scan went well would it be a good sign for the next one? No professional can say anything with 100% guarantees. But it seems the usual consensus is that we can hope for results just as promising. My heart still longs for total remission by medicine or miracle. Combining those two ideas is acceptable to me. Normal may be more difficult to embrace than before but I sure will try. No matter what I am just grateful for every miracle both small and large. The road is harder than I could imagine. But the blessings are far more than I could ever deserve.

Bro. Trey