Mile 13
My lungs were on fire. The lactic acid in my legs was building and they begged me to quit. I found a faster song on my iPod shuffle. More motivation. I looked at my Garmin running watch. One mile to…
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stem cell transplant
The Daily Grind
Some days it feels like two steps forward, one step back. At least that’s still forward progress, right? My frustration comes from a setback with the GVHD in my eyes. For a few days, they were almost normal. But since…
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For the Rest of My Life
I almost laughed out loud when the nurse practitioner recommended that I start taking Centrum 50+ for Men. I’m only 37 years old, but these days I have more in common with old men and pregnant women than men my…
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Masterpiece
My daughter, Emmy, is becoming quite the little artist. She draws a mean Larry Boy and her rendering of Olaf is pretty good, too. She doesn’t draw them from memory but will look at a book or a picture of…
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BK and Me
Not long ago, I wrote that we were entering time of recovery. I believe that, but the road to recovery is still laden with trip wires and I’ve triggered a few lately. I debated whether to even write this post,…
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Outlier
out·li·er [out-lahy-er] noun 1. something that lies outside the main body or group…1Wow, what a difference a blog post makes. The last time I wrote it was through squinted eyes, large font, and inverted colors. After yesterday’s visit to the…
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Insider Attack
I think I may have underestimated my opponent. Actually, graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) is more of a welcome adversary than a foe, but he sure isn’t letting me off easy. The last three weeks have been a constant battle with eye…
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Promises
I never would have thought it would be so hard. I hadn’t even met him. I didn’t know who he looked like—Christi or me—as if that mattered, or whose personality he would take. I had thought about hiking and playing…
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Why Jesus?
Walking through the halls of MD Anderson is a multicultural experience. There are patients and doctors from all over the world. On busy days there exists a steady cacophony of various languages interspersed with medical jargon. It is impossible not…
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Mountain View
I used to love hiking as a young man. I had ample opportunity in the Boy Scouts and looked forward to every chance to take to the mountains. My favorite event was the annual 20-mile trip along the Mischa Mokwa…
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