Long Absence

It has been so long since I last posted that I almost forgot how to find this blog site.  I could say that it has been too long, but that would grossly understate the situation.  Anyway, like a Phoenix, I have arisen from the ashes.

Early arrivals at our tent

The MMRF Boston 5K Run/walk was held at Carson Beach in South Boston on April 30.  This was our second year for this fundraising event.  Team Epic for Bill raised over $8,500 for Multiple Myeloma research!  While this was a little short of last year's total, it was a very successful fundraiser, and I'm very happy and grateful that so many people contributed to this worthy cause.  We had 25 participants show up to walk or run with us that day.  The weather was pretty good.  It didn't rain, but it was somewhat chilly.  I'm very proud of myself.  I walked the course in 1 hour 8 minutes, which beat my last year's time by 2 minutes.  Who knows how great I might be next year?

Team Epic for Bill

The Boston 5K event raised over $640,000 for the MMRF this year.  Pam's sister, Michelle, provided us all with tee shirts.  The bright green color allowed us all to identify each other easily in the crowd.  After the event, we celebrated by gathering at Coppersmiths in South Boston, where we enjoyed a delightful brunch with a fantastic Bloody Mary bar!  It was a wonderful day!  By the way, the dog in the team picture was not an official entrant.  ;-)

Brian, Pam, and Logan at Half Marathon

 Last weekend, I went to Pennsylvania to watch Brian and Pam run in the Pittsburgh half marathon.  I stayed with my brother, Terry, and his wife, Sherry, which was delightful.  We also got together with my sister-in-law, Kathy, and my grand nephews, Chase and Lincoln, while there.  It was a nice family reunion, which we don't get to do often enough. I also got to spend some quality time with my grandson, Logan, which was a treat.

As to other things going on, Gretchen is finally recovering remarkably well from her esophagus surgery.  It's been a long time, but her appetite finally is back and she has stopped losing weight.  It's been a tough time with all the medical events, but I think things are starting to settle down.

As for me, I'm still doing amazingly well.  I had a bone marrow biopsy in March which showed that the myeloma is still in remission, thank goodness.  All my other blood tests are coming back normal, so it's all good.  I've been very lucky so far.

As for my diagnosis with squamous cell carcinoma, I got some weird suggestions from my local dermatologists, so I decided to go to Dana Farber for expert advice.  I found an amazing specialist, Dr. Chrisalyne Schmults, who agreed to do Mohs surgery on my forehead.  She did the surgery on March 15, and she got it all on the first try.  I've healed up well and you can't even notice the scar.  I can't praise Dana Farber enough!  Thank goodness they are there for me.

I'm not sure when I will update this site next, but I hope it will be sooner rather than later.