Eve

This is going to be a slightly different post than my usual. That is my usual if i had posted in the last month.

I've been mulling over the writing of an update for this blog for some time now. I even prepared a full entry about a week ago yet didn't post it. Why? I would ask myself. At first I thought that I didn't want to be a bother to peoples and keep back in private that which everyone asked for. A funny thing sickness. In high school I would have killed for this kind of attention. Everyone always interested in "what's new with you" or asking "how ya doin?'". They even actually want the answer! It's amazing. However, as I slowly began to reveal to family then friends of my diagnosis I quickly learned how much a normal conversation is worth. The ability to shoot the breeze without having to read into the clouds for a favorable outcome. A Facebook message about a new concert and not a new success story. Normalcy. However, as I pondered my reluctance on posting I think I'm stumbling onto a hounded idea that I've beaten many a horse in using, community. It's been truly amazing to see the depths of peoples giving in both prayer and speech. People I haven't talked to in years calling me up with encouragement learned from a relative or themselves. Having a friend hunt down an old bed frame that's lost amidst a dorm attic just so I can rest easy. I even had a complete stranger hunt down the head of a major pharmaceuticals company just on the off chance that they could impact the course of my treatment... It's astounding. I've often been a cynique of distanced relationships yet I have found myself humbled. I thank you, friend, for your love of my life. It shall not be easily forgotten. 

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Eve. Today is the eve of the end as I have come to call it. I first noticed a growth in my neck when I was 19, five years later I find myself on a Thursday night having removed everything from my room that I can't throw away or live without in anticipation the day. You know, every eve has a day. The culmination of our anticipation. A breaking point when you finally know that you've arrived. For some right now it's school or, for a certain group of friends of mine, a fantasy football draft. For me, it's an ingested dose of Radioactive Iodine that will kill off any malignant Thyroid cells in my body. What's at risk? This time it's just my salivary glands and my taste buds. Those and a particularly bad Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck painting a rainbow comforter. It was the only one that my parents felt okay to douse in radiation and toss. Who knew? Luckily I've reacted fairly well to the lack of my Synthroid (For a full explanation of what this means, look below for hypothyroidism). My energy is adequate and my temper... well, my parents and girlfriend love me so it helps. This whole iodine free diet that they had me go one so that my body will absorb the radioactive Iodine tomorrow isn't that bad. Actually, it's kinda great! Did you know that you could make your own tortilla chips by cutting and frying in a little oil filled pan some flour tortillas and then sprinkling with salt? Lord bless the Hispanic nation! Up to bat is my RAI (radioactive Iodine) that will put me at least 6 feet away from anyone for 5 days, 7 if you're prego/growing. Though my full body scan is wednesday the 7th, D day is either Thursday or Friday when I'll get my results. If you pray, hell even if you don't, pray for a clear scan. A clear scan means the cancer has not spread to my bones and my lungs. A clear scan means I can start my life, take my MCAT, apply to med school, chase a girl. Life. An unclear scan would mean less, much less. Friends I love you and I need your love. Please petition on my behalf for the radiation to do its work. Medicine is a remarkable tool, for man and for God. Clear scan. Ojala que. 

Stay tuned...