6/18/2012
We’ll skip the dictation software today – too many
spelling and syntax errors to make me want to use it for public consumption
before I’ve mastered the necessary speech rhythms.
Yesterday was Father’s Day. I have been enjoying the chance to be a
father in direct contact with my four kids, my grandkids and others important
in their lives. I certainly “got what I
wanted” for Father’s Day as Diane and I watched these four uniquely different
young adults laugh and retell stories together as they remembered plenty of
things that I’ve forgotten but find quite believable. May you guys always be able to laugh at
yourselves and each other in the best sense of laughter. Also the game we played was hilarious.
I continue to get a kick out of the double-takes
that happen when I see folks that I know well who don’t recognize the bald
guy. So many politely and dutifully give
a weak “Hello” in response to mine and then a few beats later, sometimes with a
hint or two, the “Hello” becomes much more heartfelt and genuine as they
realize it’s the guy they’ve been praying for over the last five months. It doesn’t take much to entertain me these
days!
Speaking of prayer, I continue to be amazed at the
number of people who tell me they’ve been in prayer on a regular basis. Many have prayed daily. Here’s the crazy part – I haven’t prayed daily
for my situation. Sometimes I haven’t
had the strength to pray – at its’ worst I don’t think the “groanings” we utter
when we don’t know what to pray for were even a bit out of reach. Sometimes I forgot. But all over the world are people who have upheld
Diane and I every day. That is way cool!
Recovery continues in fits and starts. Early in our stay in RI for two days in a row
I walked the Pier beach – something I so looked forward to and what I hoped
would be some sort of equivalent to walking Kandern’s hills. My legs were sore for a week. Beach walking must use muscle groups in an
entirely different way than “Nerdic” hill walking. Late last week I began to notice a bit of
strangeness in my lungs, a feeling almost like I had run a vigorous race in freezing
cold weather and irritated my upper bronchial region. It hasn’t passed yet and I’ve been a bit
shorter of breath so I hope to get a chest X-ray, etc. later today to rule
things in or out. Research online
certainly underscores that there can be complications of certain chemo drugs
that impact the lungs and I’ve had a bunch of them. My hope is that it’s actually some sort of
treatable infection/disease rather than any kind of long-term damage. We’ll see.
