Love.
Let me get it clear. I’m no sappy romantic who will cringe at every word in Jodi Pocult’s novels. Well- I never read any of her works, but you get my drift, I hope. Instead, I am thankful for the love I have witnessed and for the unconditional love I have received from family and friends. In a sense, you could say that love is the root that ties the humanity together.
Let me share what I have been blessed with during my treatment.
· Countless e-mails from family and friends for support
· Numerous cards to lift my spirits
· Two 49ers games at my friends’ expenses (and 49ers won BOTH games- ain’t I a good luck charm?)
· One customized disc with my face and inspiring quote on it
· Three gorgeous weddings
· Plenty of gatherings filled with good laughter (especially at Monterey during Memorial weekend)
· Couple of visits from my out-of-state friends
· Visiting Alcatraz Island for very first time with my siblings and sis-in-law
· One unforgettable trip to majestic Desolation Wilderness in Lake Tahoe
· One mind-blowing music video in ASL created by very own cousin
· SF Giants WINNING the World Series!!!
· Witnessing SF Giants’ victory parade with friends
Plenty of love, no? I am sure I missed out on some more stuff, but my point is that I am beyond gratitude for the unconditional love I got from everyone!
Not only that, being able to witness so much LOVE at all three weddings in last two months was truly touching. Ironically, all of them happened to be in southern California. Oh wait a minute… I just realized that I drove/rode approximately 2,580 miles in good name of love! :) Seeing all three couples getting married and catching up with old faces at weddings were simply amazing! Luckily, I was able to take pictures of all couples kissing first time as husband and wife with my trustworthy Blackberry Tour! Check them out!
Mr. and Mrs. Dennis and Kristy White
Mr. and Mrs. Bobby and Tanya Polstra
Getting goosebumps from seeing all of those pictures, I’m sure? The power of love, indeed.
I am currently in Florida, spending my Thanksgiving week with my relatives (my father’s side), especially my 89-years-old grandfather who I always admire. Already looking forward to Thanksgiving dinner with my loved ones!
Oh yeahhhhhh- I need to update y’all about my treatment, don’t I? ha- let me make it quick. Thanks to few friends, I realized I haven’t posted the result of my previous CAT-scan yet. In a nutshell, the doctor was pleased with the results. There was no new malignant growth of any more lymph nodes, and all of the enlarged lymph nodes were decreasing in size, all according to the treatment.
I am done with two weeks of radiation therapy so far, and am taking a week break due to Thanksgiving (with my doctor’s approval, of course). I basically have two more weeks of radiation therapy before I’m all DONE! Dec. 10th is the date! Hard to believe, I must say. However, as I mentioned before, I’ll have to wait for either one or three months (can’t recall what exactly my doctor said) before I can do PET-scan to confirm if I am in remission or not. The reason of waiting period is to let my inflamed cells (from radiation therapy) heal and resume back to their normal size.
Radiation therapy is definitely an interesting experience, and much easier than chemotherapy, I have to say. However, I will talk a bit more about it in my next entry, because I plan to take one or two pictures of me going through radiation therapy for you guys to get a better idea (it’ll be a bizarre sight, I can assure you guys). So keep your eyes peeled for this entry (and it’ll less than a month this time!).
I have said enough, as I intend to enjoy my thanksgiving week in Florida from now on! But before concluding my entry, here’s a treat for all of you. I am going to post up the music video my cousin made for me! Before I do so, let me explain you guys couple of things. My cousin is hearing (all of my relatives on my father’s side are hearing), and before this music video, she was only able to fingerspell, nothing more. She is currently a “female swing” on “Mamma Mia!”, a Broadway show in New York City! After I was diagnosed with my condition, she made a decision to take ASL classes discreetly and filmed a music video in ASL, all just to inspire me! So imagine my utmost SHOCK and AWE when I saw my cousin, Rachel, signing beautifully for very first time in this video! She has been learning ASL for only two months, but it sure looks like she has been practicing it for months and months! Am simply amazed at how shockingly fast learner she is! So mazel tov to her for this amazing piece of work! The song is “You Are the Sunshine of My Life” by Stevie Wonder. Every time I watch this video, it never fails to make me smile. :) Have fun watching the video!
A lot of love was put in this video, yea? :) anyway, now you know why I’m thankful for love. Thanks for the love all of you have shown to me! Happy thanksgiving to y’all!
til’ next time,
adam j.
