Vince's Journey

In case you were not on one of the several e-mail distribution lists I've been updating everyone with, here is the latest in my current bout with follicular lymphoma. As I reported in my previous blog entry, there were no noticeable changes in my CT scans following the 4 rounds of Rituxam in April. Anyway you look at it, that could not be good news. A telephone conversation with Dr. Leming last Wednesday confirmed that suspicion. Apparently the effected lymph nodes are no longer going to respond to Rituxam so now we need to look at other options of treatments. Dr. Leming said there are definitely other avenues to pursue and we'll take a look at what the best options for me might be at my next appointment on June 23. He also said we probably get started on some other course of action within the next couple months. Needless to say, we're not very excited about this. (That's probably the understatement of the century!) I just hope the next step does not require a long recovery period. It took me about 18 months to feel halfway decent following the chemo I received back in 2006. In fact, it wasn't until about a year ago that I really started to feel like my old self again. I actually feel fine now which makes this whole thing even more frustrating to accept. But all I can do is stay positive, trust what the doctor says I need to do and focus on getting through this next chapter. Once again I guess it's time to 'get busy living. '

We leave for New York on Thursday. I'm looking forward to our TNT ride and hope it will serve as a little diversion before we get back into 'treatment mode'. I sure hope the weather on Long Island is better than what we have in Cincinnati today - 90 degrees and 95% humidity is not exactly ideal cycling weather! I can't imagine how much Gatorade you'd have to drink to stay hydrated in these conditions. So keep your fingers crossed that this Saturday on Long Island is a beautiful, crisp day with high temperatures in the mid-70's!

We're very proud of Abbey who once again has achieved First Honors at Mount Notre Dame High School. She's now officially a Senior in high school and looking forward to having a great year in 2010/11. We're excited for her and it should be fun as she goes through the process of selecting the right college for her.

So it would appear that we're just a year from being empty nesters but not so fast my friends. Judd recently announced that he intends to move back in with us following college for two years so he can save some money. I guess that would be fine, I'm really not looking forward to the kids being gone. And I guess Aaron will probably take Judd's spot when he finishes up with college in 2013...so the empty nest days are further away than we might think but as long as they don't drive us crazy all the time and eat us out of house and home, I guess that's fine with me.

I have an edit on my Top 100 songs which I listed earlier this year. I'm adding 'He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother' by The Hollies and sending 'My Maria' to my list of guilty pleasures. I totally forgot about The Hollies tune and found it on an old CD I had made about 10 years ago. It's a great song about friendship and unconditional love and it means more to me than the $50 tip I received for knowing BW Stephenson sang 'My Maria'. The next song in danger of slipping to the guilty pleasures list is 'Heart of Glass' by Blondie.

I guess I'll end for now. Be sure to check in soon when I'll be listing my Top Ten Favorite Athletes - you don't want to miss that!!!