Wednesday, March 23rd

As last weekend rolled around following treatment last Tuesday, 3/15 I had one word in mind, “woof!!”. I’ve had it tougher but now that I’m through 4 treatments the cumulative aspect of chemo is starting to present itself. All in all I’m feeling “ok” at this point and hope to get in my usual every other weekend bike ride this weekend.

My white blood count was down to 3.6 for this treatment and we continue to watch it. My guess is that it will be even a bit lower come next Tuesday and that we’ll be introducing neulasta to the routine again. Not a problem from my perspective as it will keep me out of the hospital. We’re also going to be changing my pre-treatment meds a little to try and make treatment day itself a bit easier.

Sasha is on her way as I type to visit Bailey in Bloomington for a long weekend. That is in lieu of her being able to join us there in early May for Bailey’s graduation since she’ll be just starting her finals week then. The excitement for Bailey’s graduation and her transition to grad school in Miami is definitely building. The Mintz’s will be hopping around the country in May-June to get Bailey situated as well as to help Sasha in her move off campus out in Fort Collins, CO.

It’s been a slow start but the wheels continue to turn for Mintz’s Mentschen 2011 and our participation in the Philly LiveSTRONG event in August. In recent years my fundraising has happened kind of organically and as you all know I’ve been deeply moved by your support and generosity. This year, however, I’m going to try and kick things up a notch by sending an email blast to a large distribution. This will be a way for me to reconnect with old friends that I have lost touch with and will hopefully attract more donations and Mentschen team members.

As usual, here’s a link to my LiveSTRONG fundraising page. Click here.

Oh, and something else that has been on my mind lately... as my new normal enters it's 4th year I'm definitely feeling the challenges from a different perspective. Please know that the cards, email, Facebook msgs, etc. that you all send me really does help to lift my spirits. They bring a smile to my face and quite often also a tear to my eye.

Thank you all.