Informative Update

Because I'm not in a very good place mentally, I'm going to keep this post largely factual.

1. On 19 April, I will begin my transplant from an unrelated donor. Roughly one week prior to the transplant, on 11 April, I will be hospitalized to begin total body radiation and a very heavy round of chemo prior to the transplant.

2. Physically I am starting to recover. I am eating normally and trying to fatten up so I have some weight to lose, and I am exercising. Today I ran a 5k in just under 28 minutes. Although this would have been nothing to brag about prior to treatment, I'm surprised that I did this well. When I was first diagnosed with cancer two years ago, I could barely walk after the treatment. However, I am told that I'll be severely disabled for several months after the transplant. I'm trying to go in as physically strong as I can.

3. For those who pray, there is a request: In order to undergo the transplant, I must be free of any illness because even a common cold can become deadly without an immune system. Unfortunately, I have contracted the common cold. If I don't get better soon, the doctors will postpone the procedure. A change in timeline, could affect the availability of my donor; it is not uncommon for a donor to back out because of a schedule change. This donor is ideal for my situation, and I would like to keep things as scheduled. Also, time is not on my side (if you get my meaning).

4. It looks like I will be losing my dog for a year. I'm rather upset by the lack of communication in this whole mess. Nevertheless, if that's all I lose in this process, I'll consider myself lucky. The silver lining is that I have arranged it so that I can reclaim my dog after about a year and a half.

Other than that, life is extremely busy, and I must cram a lot into these next two weeks. I will continue to post developments as they arise.

I said that this post would be "largely factual"; nevertheless, I will insert one random thought:

I’m very tired of seeing Che Guevara romanticized. He was the cofounder of an evil police state that has enslaved and murdered countless individuals. Somehow, he's the Trotsky while Castro is the Lenin of the group. I'm not saying Trotsky was good; I'm saying that both are often romanticized as the "good" or "pure" communists. That's like romanticizing Satan for being "pure" evil. Okay, I've been saving that for awhile. More to come...