Two Years

Hi all,

Well, on October 19th, it will have been 2 years since Dr. Gayle, my friend and physician, called me at work and told me my lab results. Results I knew immediately meant I had some sort of leukemia. I didn't know that I would have one of the worst forms an adult can have but it is a day I won't soon forget.

So I thought instead of mundane updates on me and my family, I would just ask you to read two quotes that I came across this week.

The first one is from "Here if you need me" by Kate Braestrup. It is book given to me by a good friend and colleague about a women who lost her husband in an accident and must explain it to her children. It reads " God does not spill milk. God did not crash the car. Nowhere in scripture does it say, 'God is a car accident' or 'God is death.' God is justice and kindness, mercy and always-always-love. So if you want to know where God is in this (your life) or in anything, look for the love."

Lastly, a passage from Lamentations 3:15, 21-23. (Come on-you did't think I let it go without quoting the Bible...ha ha)

It read like this from the NLT, "He has...given me a bitter cup of sorrow to drink...Yet I still dare to hope when I remember this: The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is His faithfulness; His mercies begin afresh each morning"

So as I approach the 2 year mark, I still try to smile each day and find the hope and gratitude that I am still here to enjoy my family and all of you.

Thanks

PS: June is our new family addition-rescue cat and very friendly:)

Summer is Almost Here

Hay All,
Well, as you can tell, my posts are getting farther apart as I am getting farther along. It really has been a little over a year and I won't get the green light from my docs for many, many years but I am continuing to trust Him and live each day well. The few side effects I continue to suffer from are pretty tenacious but well deserved I guess after the ridiculous treatment regiment they put you through when you have this transplant. But enough already, I am stoked to report that I was able to help coach Tommy's Babe Ruth team to a 2cd place this past week. It was great because I missed most of last year's games. I am, at this moment, off all immune suppressant medications and my cheeks have returned to normal I've been told:) Laura is still working at Best Care a few days a week and is involved in a "boot camp" athletic regiment at our friends place called Elite Sports (elitesportsonline.com) here in SLO. She is officially in better shape than me and I am stoked for her (However, you now I can't let this last too long...ha ha). Katy is doing great and she and Meghan are dancing still. I am working more each day and everyone at work has been so awesome and all the hugs are really fun...keep it up:)
My friend Curt, who is 8 months post-BMT, looks great and my other friend Basma (http://www.carepages.com/carepages/BasmaKasim) just had her BMT @ Stanford recently. Keep her in your prayers and send her your support if you wish as she begins her journey.
Please continue your prayers for all of us as I will continue to pray for my many friends and family who have supported me to this point. The fight continues and I am winning so far! Thanks!!

BMT One

Hi All

Well, as most of you read this it will have been 1 year since my BMT. Very cool/God Bless/Thank you/humbled/tired/collateral damage/friends/family/Laura/Beth/Mom-Mom/Mango/Surf/Golf/tri-sports/Cycling outside/running in the rain/alive/back to work soon/CAMA/disablity paperwork/Grace/healing...just a few random thoughts I decided to post.

My 10/10 sister match came to celebrate with me along with my Mom, Laura and the kids. Laura made a great red velvet theme cake (may not be so appealing to those outside the health care field:)) but looked amazing.

Really just wanted to thank everyone (you know who you are) for everything and I look forward to another year and another celebration. I am truly grateful for all of you.

Rich

PS: Peanuts philosophy I read recently ''Be Yourself, Everyone Else Is Taken!'

February is a good month

Hay All,

January came and went and our family enjoyed the easy pace after the holidays. I am doing great (always hesitant to say this as I feel like I might jinx myself-I know, not very biblical but superstitions often linger for us in the health care field) and trying to get my heart and muscles back in shape. Medicines are piled on but I am able to reduce them each week. Work hasn't started but I am trying to muddle through the paperwork and such so I can start the slow return in the next few months. I didn't expect to return 24 hours after being given the green light, (well maybe I did:)) so I am patient and my group is amazing and accommodating. I can't say enough about the people who I call my partners. They have stood by me the entire time and have patiently waited for me to return to work on my timetable, even encouraging and counseling me to take it easy despite my nature and desire to earn my keep. Wow...they are an awesome bunch!

Laura and the kids are doing great. At the risk of sounding like a cliche Christmas letter, I will take a moment to boast about them-"OK"...Meghan and Katy have been accepted into the American Ballet Theater's Summer Intensive program at the UC Irvine campus this July. It runs three weeks and I am excited for both of them. Tommy starts baseball this month and I think I will try and help with coaching or in some capacity as I enjoy being with the boys alot. He gets to use metal cleats and "fat bats" in Babe Ruth league so should be exciting to watch how they adapt to these changes and the 90 foot base pads too. The picture with my bike is after a long ride (at this point for me long is anything more than 5 miles) on a beautiful day so white face is my attempt at total sunblock so my docs don't cry foul if they ever see this blog. Next month is one year BMT anniversary so I will keep blog updated and pray for continued recovery of collateral damage and all the other "junk" that flies below the radar. After talking to so many people with cancer, I don't think anyone gets out of this unscathed. Good to be here though!

Love ya all,

Rich

2009..."Welcome"

Hay all,

Well it is obviously a New Year and I hope everyone had a great Christmas and Holiday Season. We celebrated together quietly and healthy and then the kids took off for Disneyland without us. They were escorted to the Magic Kingdom for 4 amazing days, including New Year's Eve by Aly Baker and Joey Williams. Aly and Joey are engaged and good friends of ours...and the kids are crazy about them too. It was a fantastic success and these two people will restore your faith in young people if you had any doubts before about our up and coming generation. They are wonderful Christan role models and we are truly blessed to have them in our lives.

Laura and I drove down and picked up the kids on the 1st of January after spending New Year's Eve alone (it was great). We stayed at our friend's house, the de la Vegas, and went on Friday to the Simon Wiesenthal Museum (http://www.museumoftolerance.com/) with the both families. That was cool and I highly recommend it. Tommy and I then took off for the Lakers/Jazz basketball game (Tommy's Christmas present) and that was even cooler!! Kobe/Gasol/Jack Black/Jack N. all in attendance...very fun as I had not seen a pro game in a long while and it was Tommy's first. The girls chose to shop at the biggest mall they could find since SLO is lacking in that area and we all slept in the next day tired from all the activity.

I am doing pretty well and my visit to Stanford on the 9th was unremarkable. It is a slow grind to the end of all these medications and tests. It will be a decade before I am ever given a clean bill of health but work should be a reality soon and I feel pretty good. I look forward to it but the red tape and logistics needed to reenter take time. March is my one year anniversary so my docs were right about the timeline I guess. I heard today that my sister/donor has a close friend with my exact same leukemia-found out recently. I offered any help I could and will keep all of you informed (if it is ok with him/her) so we can all pray for the family and lend our collective support. It hit close to home for me and I realized how blessed I am...again.

Please enjoy the New Year and 2009 and maybe make your resolution a simple one.

Here are three good ones:

'Be Here Now'-Buddhist philosophy

"How do you make God laugh?...Tell Him your plans"-Old Hebrew Joke

Read Philippians 4:6-9 each day

Feel free to drop me an email anytime. Thanks again for all your continued prayers and support. I still need them and use them as a source of strength and encouragement each day...I really do.