The Stage Is Set

Rush – Limelight, 1981 (Need to hear the lyrics to understand the reference this time)

So, I was not expecting to provide any update this week as I thought I would just be doing testing all week. Like my progress has been so far, I should never assume anything.

I was in today for my bone marrow biopsy. Fun!!! It was performed by my ex-best friend, the oncologist. After performing the procedure, we had a bit of time with him to get more information about my condition and the plan. Non-chalantly, he mentions that I have stage 4 Lymphoma. Granted, we had assumed this already but I was expecting a bit more of a presentation of this news, like a parade or at least some balloons to soften the blow.

The good part about our conversation was that he mentioned when I can expect to start chemotherapy. It looks like it will start the week of April 4th. This gives me about 1.5 weeks to prepare and enjoy my hair, the little that is left. Given that the lymphoma is in my abdomen, I am really hoping that the chest and back hair goes first!

With that, it looks like I will be stopping work soon to rest and deal with the chemo side effects. The even better news is that I get the summer off. Too bad that I can’t fire up Rita and really enjoy the time off.

On Friday, the family and I will be heading to Toronto to spend time with my mom, my brother and his family. It will be good to see him to swap war stories and gain some more motivation for the journey ahead.

Today was not all bad though. I received an amazing and inspirational gift from my work colleagues. Knowing how much I like hockey and the Senators (maybe not so much lately), they presented me with a signed Chris Neil jersey. I know that most of you reading this do not know much about hockey outside of the Maple Laffs so I will explain the significance of having him sign it.

He has been on the team since he started his NHL career, since 2001. (While looking at Hockey DB on Chris Neil, I found a surprise. I did not know he played for the North Bay Centennials! Dad is smiling now.) Plays on third or forth line mostly and has been an alternate captain for the last few years. What he is mostly known for (un)fortunately is that he is a fighter. He sticks up for his team and teammates and is a true grinder. Given that, my colleagues hope I can take some inspiration from him and fight this as hard as he does on the ice. What is even more magical is that they told him about me and my fight. This is amazing as he has always been one of my favorite players. I hope that one day I can get a chance to meet him and thank him for this gift. This jersey is my inspiration to fight and will become my victory trophy when all is done.

Finally, I hope I was not too severe in my last post as there have been no comments on the blog. Please continue to comment here even though I may not reply.