Good News and Thank Yous

Hi to everyone from Eric. Normally, my wife Susan has pictures of beautiful handmade cards posted on this blog. But I had to hijack it this one time in order to share some good news and give thanks. As many of you know, I was diagnosed with Burkitt's lymphoma, a rare form of cancer, in March of this year. Obviously, that was a shock to everyone. I literally woke up one morning and Susan noticed that my thyroid was swollen and you could see it sticking out through my neck.

I saw several doctors over the following three days. Everyone one I saw bounced me up the chain saying I needed to be seen by someone with more expertise as soon as possible. At the end, I ended up at Texas Oncology, which is located at Baylor Hospital in Dallas. Over the past 6 months, I have had 6 rounds of chemotherapy, 6 spinal tap injections and 3 extended hospital stays. There were times when the chemo made me feel miserable. But Susan was very patient with me and supported me every step of the way.

A week ago, I had a PET scan (which is similar to a CAT scan) which would show if there is any cancer in my body. At my doctor visit today, we discussed the test results. THE SCAN SHOWED NO SIGNS OF CANCER, IT IS IN REMISSION!!! I will be getting a PET scan every 3 months for the next year to make sure the cancer doesn't come back.

While I was receiving treatment I received numerous cards from some of Susan's scrapping friends (ya'll). Every one of them was beautiful and lifted my spirits. Also, many people made donations through Susan's blog, which helped our family make it through a difficult time. Finally, many of you said prayers for our family. I believe the prayers were an essential part of making it through this situation.

Of course, thank yous also have to go out to Dr. Christopher Maisel, and Nurse Linda. They're in the picture at the top of the page. They are absolutely amazing, very attentive and always calmed our fears.

Most of all, I want to thank you everyone associated with Susiestampalot who helped out during the last 6 months. It is incredible to think about how many wonderful people Susan has met through this blog.

As you can tell from the picture, my hair has just barely started to grow back. When it does come back, I plan to let it get long enough to do a "Fabio" style, then post another picture. Susan absolutely loooves Fabio.