Three years ago today, I had a stem cell transplant. The photo of me and Pat is from the day I was released from the hospital to go home after transplant. It is hard to believe it has been three years. And three and half years ago, my oncologist told me I had three and a half years to live according to the life expectancy tables.  I am happy to still be in my first remission. My oncologist told me he thought I would beat the tables.  I’m glad he was right. This has been an adventure that I would not wish for anyone. If you have good health, please enjoy every day.  You never know when your life will take a different turn. 

My annual evaluation is coming up soon!  May 13th will be a long day in Dallas. First test will be the PET Scan where I will get to drink a radioactive milk shake as prep for the scan. Then I will have blood work done. This will be followed by the dreaded bone marrow biopsy. They will drill a hole in my hip to extract some bone marrow. The last one I had was very painful.  I’m hoping I have a better physicians assistant this time. I don’t think the last one gave me enough lidocaine to numb the area. I will be happy when these tests are done. Then comes the wait for results. I’m hoping for good results that lead to monthly chemo instead of chemo every two weeks. All prayers are appreciated. 

We are enjoying our time in Florida. It is always good to be back here and catch up with friends. We didn’t get to see anybody when we were here in December because we were too sick with RSV. So this has been a nice vacation. Seeing my ocean and walking on the beach is good for my soul.  

I’ll close with the Tyler update. He absolutely loved Disney. He especially loved riding the Disney bus to the parks, taking the boat to the parks and riding anything that looked like a train. He loved Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger!  He drove the car as we went through the attraction. He fell in love with his cousin Ella (my sister Lisa’s granddaughter) and cried when he had to say good bye. The last photo is Tyler at home watching the air show from his back yard. The planes were going by too fast and he wanted them to slow down. 

So…bye until next time. Your prayers, support, phone calls, cards and messages are always appreciated.  

Love, Gail