Today was my final day for chemotherapy. These six days are among the longest in my life. The session today took about five hours for all the medicine to go into me. Part of that time was spent taking a nap or two. Just like you my medical nap was interrupted by a nurse waking me up for another bag. But you should also know that I stopped to thank each of those ladies when my day ended. It was another day for them to work short handed. There were also more patients taking chemo that seemed very ill. I will always be grateful to them for their time and attention. Then I made my way back to the doctor area to express my gratitude to the ladies there. Many of my earliest questions were answered by the nurse who assists my doctor. Whatever money they make could never be enough for a job that must take a toll emotionally as well as every other way.

So where do we stand at the moment? I will go every Monday for the next three weeks for lab work along with a Pet Scan on my second visit. This is a fairly new procedure that will reveal even more than the Cat Scan. Fasting is involved but at least this time my scan will be in the morning. My last one was in the afternoon. Week three will be a visit to the doctor for the results of that scan. This is when decisions will be made on the next course of action. It is very possible that my disease will not show up yet again. If that happens then it is my lucky day to go through another bone marrow biopsy. My first one showed a small amount of sick cells there. If this regimen works as it appears to be doing then we may find that there is evidence enough to refer to my condition as being in remission.

My situation is a tad confusing. Unlike other people who have tumors removed along with treatment my disease takes a different road. Odds are good that not every single cell of my illness is gone. Medical experts refer to my path as being incurable but manageable. That does not mean that a cure may not be far away. Science is making huge strides in developing powerful new approaches to lymphoma. Also remember that more than a few athletes share this affliction but are performing at a high level in their sport. One friend is going on twelve years now without needing to repeat any form of medical treatment. Does this mean that my heart is giving up on a miracle? Being declared "no evidence of disease" after only three rounds is proof that God still does amazing things. While it is true that no one can predict the future my hope is still for a long, full life. Remission is well within my reach at this point. But now is not the time to slow down on praying for this to happen.

My emotions are pretty calm at the moment. As much as today is worth celebrating I just don't want to slide into gloating. There are so many people who are fighting this good fight for me to be complacent about my small part to play. I did celebrate by going to eat my favorite meal of shrimp and oysters. Always a good idea to do that before the steroids foul up my taste buds. Then I went to buy my son a video game he wanted. Dad always is a hero when he does that. My last task of the day is to purchase baseball playoff tickets for Saturday. My favorite daughter's favorite team will be playing for a chance to go to the World Series. Those tickets will be expensive but worth it. Smiles and hugs from my children make any day easier to bear. That is reward enough for me.

Bro. Trey