Good MRI results/back from camp

I just got home from 5 weeks away working at Camp Taum Sauk, my second home in the Ozark foothills. It was amazing as always and I had a blast with the kids and the incredible staff. It was my second summer as a program director and I did the staff scheduling. It was a great job for me, kind of like putting together a puzzle each day with 30x7 pieces. I spent as much time as I could on the river doing canoe and tube floats and also spent a lot of time driving van trips to local hot spots and state parks. This was my 11th summer down there over the past 14 years. It's like one big family and it was the best possible place for me to finish my immediate recovery from treatment.

This past Monday I had my first post-treatment MRI and got the results Tuesday from Dr. Linette. The results were "good" according to the report and the doctors, but it wasn't the overwhelming kind of "GREAT" that I was hoping for. Dr. Linette seemed a little apprehensive. He said that in 3 months instead of doing another MRI, that we will do a PET scan, which I've had before. It can pinpoint metastasized activity and can be compared to the past PET I had 6 months ago that helped plan the course of my treatment. He said the best thing to do at this point is move on and that's what I plan to do. However, it still frightens and depresses me a great deal that the doctor seemed a little apprehensive about things being totally gone and gone for good. My next diagnostic procedure will be a bone marrow biopsy coming up in 3 weeks or so on day +100 from my transplant. This will give us a better idea if the intense chemo was able to kill all the cancer in my bone marrow which is really important. I am really hoping the results of that one are good.

Otherwise, I am preparing to move forward with my life after a summer of working recovery. Camp was excellent. I have been hanging out with camp staff friends all week and am returning to work at The Center this afternoon. It looks like I will be working 25 hours a week there for the next few months until I get a full-time job. I am planning on getting my resume revised a bit next week and starting the big search all over again. It's really deja vu from last fall. I was doing all this at the exact same time last year, looking for a job and then planning on looking for an apartment or condo. I really hope fate lets me move forward with everything this time around. I am doing everything I can to stay healthy--eating well and exercising and staying on top of my health, but it's nothing I didn't do before.

I should have plenty of time to check in more regularly as this summer winds down and the fall begins. Please continue to support me, as this journey is far from over!