Let me check my calendar

Good Morning All:

Chemo is underway, already have two treatments under my belt and will get another 6 or so during my in patient stay. By the time I leave here early next week I will have crossed off all but one hospital stay and all but one spinal tap.

As I wrote in an earlier entry, it is time to get my head up and looking to the future. For now, that tends to be the next few months as we try to plan for my return to work, our summer plans (vacation, summer camp for the kids), and Audrey's first day of school. In this process I have been surprised by a very seemingly innocuous occurrence that has meant quite a bit each time it has happened over the past couple of weeks.

As time has gone by and we've drawn closer to the end of my intense chemotherapy treatment we've also drawn closer to events at work and at home that I SHOULD be available for. It has been quite a downer throughout all of this to routinely have to reply to invitations that I could not possibly predict until much closer to the date of an event whether or not I would be available. I tried making educated guesses and was burned about as often as I was right. I was left to simply make very late RSVPs or, if pressed for an early answer, to decline with an explanation unless I was sure I'd be available.

Now, we are starting to approach events that are to occur in mid to late March. My delays in getting started on round 7 throws that timeframe into a bit of a shadow but my availability is clearly shifting from 'unlikely' to possible and even probable. This is a very welcome change and a source of optimism for me as the days go by.

This isn't to say that there isn't still trepidation about leaving the safety net of having routine treatment from the top notch health professionals at Hopkins. I think at this point, however, there are so many positive changes that come from a return to 'normal' (I will still be taking chemo medicine orally and have periodic follow ups at Hopkins) that there could be more health benefits in the form of positive 'vibes' to be realized that go beyond the pumping of medicine into my body and I'm ready to realize those benefits. I guess I could say I'm ready to join my mates inland on the island of Sicily--are you all ready for me?