Good AM one and all!! It's Thursday AM and if things go as planned - as I anticipate they will - then I should be blessing you all with me presence tomorrow eve. I'll believe it when it happens.

I want to take this opportunity to thank all those involved during my health scare over this last year. Remember it's still not over and I still have roughly another year of rebuilding all I've lost (weight, strength etc..). Once again I couldn't have done this without the unselfish generosity of all those who participated in my healing - physically, mentally, spiritually and emotionally.

Robyn, thank you for sacrificing your time and energy. It means alot to me and my family. We are great full for all you've done.

Ma, I thank you for your sacrifices too. Even though we tested each others patience at times, it's all been well worth it.

To all my surrogate keepers - Heather, Paula, Brently, LizAnn and Don...you kids are awesome and I'll always owe you a debt of gratitude.

I look forward to seeing you all and apologize to any I may have left out. Stay strong and above all, stay healthy!!

-me

The journey has come to an end

Hi everyone, it's Robyn entering my last post. Corey and I are going up to Stanford today to bring Curt home tomorrow. Curt has an ITA appt in the morning and we meet with the Dr. in the afternoon to go over his restrictions and how he is going to embark on his new life.

We got on this roller coaster a year ago this month and as Curt and I have discussed numerous times; we could have never imagined what the next year would hand us. Life is full of surprises and it's not about what you're dealt but how you handle the hand. Curt has handled this diagnosis with incredible courage and grace. He has been humbled by our friends compassion and support and has had his strength tested beyond what most people would even be able to imagine. All with an amazing attitude and never ending sense of humor. I've been honored to be able to take this journey with him. Curt and I have known each other since 1990, but it became crystal clear why we were brought together at this time in our lives. God's timing is perfect.

I want to thank Heather Griczen, Brent Cavendar, Don McGill & LizAnn Engelhard for giving up their weekends and taking time off work to be with Curt on the weekends that I was with my son. I'd also like to thank Mary Wesnosky, Eric Meader, Dave Sneed and again Brent Cavendar for taking 4 days of cat/house duty on the weekends I was with Curt. Curt was lucky enough to have a match in the family (Cris); a same sex match which we have now learned makes his full recovery chances less risky. His mother's availability to be the primary caregiver to Curt this last 60+ days allowed me to continue to work and support Curt, Corey and I; a luxury that most families don't have when dealing with this type of situation. Curt's brother Cole has continued week after week to maintain Curt's landscaping business on the weekends (Curt still can't work for another year). Curt has been able to keep his house and not file bankruptcy due to the support of the above mentioned friends and family. And last but definitely not least, I want to thank my son. Corey has displayed such compassion and concern for Curt that makes me proud every single day. He has been there to help where ever and whenever he's needed and without being asked. He has been my angel during these last 93 days and I could have NEVER made it through this without him.

No one knows what the future will bring, but this year has taught me to never take anything for granted and keep my priorities straight.

God bless to all that have cared enough to keep up on Curt's progress~

Robyn

Greetings one and all! Today is Thursday 30, Oct and I just finished drinking in two full units of blood. How apropos for the impending holiday. I guess you all can figure out what I'm going to be for all Hallows Eve? A survivor!!
Regarding surviving...the Staff is pleased with me progress as of late. I've put on weight, eating much better (taste buds are cooperating) and am drinking more.
As the last entry read I did have a bone marrow biopsy last week and a PET scan on Tuesday - both procedures came back with flying colors...or are the flying colors due to all the drugs? I kid, I kid. In other words all clear of any cancers or irregularities. Great news for sure. As I write this I have an appointment on Monday next for the usual lab draws and weekly x-ray and meet with my Doctor on Friday next to discuss going home. Not 90 days and not 100 days but somewhere in between. I'll believe it when I see it. I do look forward to getting back to the homestead and familia.
Well blog hounds it's presently raining outside (nothing too heavy yet) and we need to get to the store. Thanks again for caring and I look forward to seeing you all again soon. Until then...be well.

-me

Side note: Lizanne (sp), Thanks for allowing me to be your "Stanford campus guide" last weekend and for the field trip into the SF to the exhibit at Golden Gate park...and of course Cribbage.

Hi everyone it's Robyn giving you an update. Since Curt only goes to the clinic twice a week now he doesn't get to check the blog as often as he would like, so I'm filling in. After my last 2 visits with Curt it became very apparent that he is suffering from sleep deprivation. We all know that when we are tired we just don't feel like doing anything and that is definitely the case with Curt. He's too tired to eat or rinse his mouth as often as he should. I'm convinced that the sooner we can get him home, the better. A couple weeks of good sleep and he will be a new person. He had a biopsy on Mon and has a CAT scan scheduled for next week. If we get the positive results we are hoping for there is possibility Curt may be able to come home in 90 days which would get him back to SLO on Nov 1. Today is day 77. Worst case scenario if he has to stay the full 100 days, puts him back in SLO the weekend of Nov 15th.

Rich and Laura O'Neil came to visit us last Fri and it was so good to see Rich living an almost normal life since his BMT. He's 7 months into the process and such an encouragement to Curt and I. Our prayers are now with John Fiore who is also from SLO and had a BMT earlier this month. He's in the midst of the mucuisitis that is so painful - hang in there John!

Take care~

Robyn

Good afternoon voyeurs, I mean readers. Lol. It's a beautiful day here in Palo Alto. Mr Sun is blessing us with presence and warmth. Yesterday me Mum and I spent the latter part of the day perusing the gardens outside the museum - specifically the Roudin exhibit then we finished up with a cruise over to the quad area by the Church. Robyn, Brently and Don have all experienced the same tour so I'm sure they can relate. For those of you who can't relate...get yer ass up here! Time is limited!
In case I failed to mention it I am down to two days a week at the ITA. All's going well aside from the issue of weight. I was also given a new prescription today to add to my repertoire. I'm not due back until Monday for routine labs, x-ray and.......oh yeah a bone marrow biopsy! Oh well, someones gotta do it may as well be me since I'm already here.

As for all the comments folks have been leaving please don't think they go unnoticed. I appreciate each and every one and more over the fact that you feel I'm worth your time. I thank you from the depths of me heart.

You all have a wonderful weekend and stay healthy!

-me

What a contrast from yesterdays joyful entry. Allow me to paint a picture for you: The day began as usual with a good stretch in bed followed by my routine of heading to the bathroom to purge me mouth. From there I wandered into the kitchen to prepare me Carnation instant Breakfast. With breakfast in hand I proceded to the couch to psych myself up to take my multiples of pills (I'm presently downing 12? pills daily - not including this one med that is an extremely bright chrome yellow and by far the most difficult to down). So far so good.
One more thing to do and I'd be on my way to me appointment. I just had to purge me mouth one last time and I'd be off. This is where routine turned to obscene. Not only did I purge me mouth but I went a step further and volunteered my stomach contents too! What a way to start the day. The wacky thing is is that it tastes bad enough going down...coming back up -MMMM!
It's also not helping me keep any weight on if I'm so freely giving it away.
I think I'll end it here. Thanks again for caring to keep up with little 'ol me and I hope to see you all in approximately 40 days or so.

-me

Hi everyone, this is Robyn and I just wanted to add something to Curt's comments. Like Curt mentioned we had a fabulous weekend together. It was the most normal weekend we've been able to have since the middle of July. I was so happy to be able to take Curt to Half Moon Bay on Sat to do something he wanted to do, instead of something he had to do. He did get lots of stares from everyone he passed and at the 18th hole when they asked everyone to be quiet at the green, all you could hear was Curt breathing. I wanted to throw a cloak over him and say 'May the force be with you!' Seriously, it was so good to see him actually enjoying himself and getting back into the real world again. We've been so concerned about his health these last 2 months that we never even realized what an amazing campus Stanford is. There is so much art, architecture and beautiful gardens all over the place. We walked around for hours on Sun taking it all in, taking pictures and just enjoying the gorgeous day we were blessed with.

Today is day+64 and when I look at the big picture, it's gone by very fast. But on a day to day basis, I miss him terribly and there isn't an hour that I don't think about him. Thanks go out to everyone that has posted comments, come to visit, helped me with cat duty or just listened when I didn't think I could take another thing going wrong. You are all angels in our eyes.

Only 36 more days to go!

Robyn