Greetings, cancer comrades and muggles!

During the last weekend of February, I dragged Nick on an uneventful outing to the botanical gardens. I didn't anticipate just how sparse the gardens would be at that point in the winter, though I empathized. Winter was rough for me, too. I came home from a Thanksgiving trip to KC with RSV and parainfluenza. Two weeks later, I was in the hospital for relapse, getting out just in time for Christmas.

I felt rough after the holidays. Hospital deconditioning sapped my energy and strength. I had some biopsy site pain and tumors that were growing unimpeded until I was able to start treatment in January. The temperature was bitterly cold for a while and dreary for even longer. I caught another virus. Each week brought hours at the cancer center for treatment and testing. It was a disheartening time.

But that Saturday in February was a warm, sunny day. My energy was picking up and I hit my daily step goal. I was preparing for two friends, Anthony and Tess, to visit the following weekend. I thought I'd check out the gardens for the first time in months to scope out activities for their visit. Though I enjoyed my day there, I knew the gardens weren't yet up for the task of entertaining.

So we made other plans. We checked out the mosaics at the basilica, cooked a huge Italian meal, and got a taste of the nightlife at the elder millennial-friendly hour of 8pm. The highlight of the weekend was a cheesy mall photo shoot. Truly, Anthony and Tess kept me on my toes. We laughed, drank bubbly wine, and danced to Whitney Houston. I even exceeded 10k steps for the first time since relapse!

I'm so grateful for Tess and Anthony's visit. They're generous, kind, hilarious people, so of course we had fun. But they also heralded a bit of a springtime renaissance for me. I've been out more, walking and running errands and setting new goals. The last two weeks have seen the blooms of daffodils, tulips, and magnolia trees, and I've reveled in the reawakening of nature.

The day Tess and Anthony left, I had a PET scan to check on the status of my leukemia, and I've had the results for about two weeks now. I guess I've been sitting on this update because I've been waiting for the other shoe to drop. The results were better than we expected, and the investigational drug cleared a lot of disease. I'm not sure how to feel about that. It's wonderful news, of course, and I hope it means that my treatments will be successful. My current treatment plan is to do a few more rounds of this drug before trying another stem cell transplant.

This time has been a gift. I've already outlived the average life expectancy for relapsed AML patients with my mutations. Though the future is opaque, I remind myself that with this investigational drug I am the future. I'm on the frontier and I'm setting new expectations for patients like me. Maybe, by extending that life expectancy a little bit, I can be a light for those who come after me. That notion gives me hope and motivation to keep moving forward.

If you'd like to be a light for other folks, consider:

• Donations of blood and/platelets. There is a huge shortage of both and especially platelets.
• Give to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society 
• Volunteer at or give to Siteman Cancer Center
• Register to be a stem cell or bone marrow donor, or host a registration event. The registry really needs more BIPOC donors to meet the needs of BIPOC patients.