Endocrinologist Appoinment-7/06

Today I had a follow up at Sloan with my endocrinologist.  All is well.  He said my thyroid numbers are exactly where they want them to be.  He says that the thyroid surgery has healed very well and that I look very strong and healthy. :)  I told him that I am having trouble sleeping and I am too hungry!  He told me that I can take the synthroid 6 days a week instead of every day.  I will repeat blood work in September when I come in for my lymphoma follow up and see him again in February.

Help needed for a friend

My friend Lindsey needs a bone marrow transplant. You may be the one to help.

When I was in Sloan-Kettering last year, I met a girl on my birthday while doing crafts that day.  Needless to say, I was not so happy to be there on my birthday, but she was the kind of person who can cheer you up with her smile.  We have stayed in touch over the past year and I just found out she had a relapse.  Lindsey is a 26-year-old law student in New York City. She's a Native New Yorker and graduate of the University of Maryland . Just 2 classes and a paper shy of graduating with her JD, Lindsey took a leave of absence from school in May 2005 to battle leukemia. She recently learned that she needs a bone marrow transplant to get better, and her family and friends are going to search until she finds a match.

Please go to her website and read what it is all about.

MatchLindsey.org

Roses

It has been a while since I have written about St. Therese. Anyone who has been to my home knows that Steve is an excellent gardener. But for some reason he has not had much success with roses. If you go back to my earlier journal entries, I explained that last summer we had so many roses growing in our garden for the first time ever. And, St. Therese is known for her miracles through her "shower of roses".

I was very excited when our first rose bloomed this year. I was sure that again we would have beautiful roses all summer long like last year. Unfortunately, our rose bushes are back to the way they were before last summer. They produced a few roses in the beginning of the season, and now they are pretty much bare. We get a rose here and there, but nothing compared to last summer. Those two little bushes that surprised us last year did not produce any roses.

Yes, I am sad that there are not as many roses as last year. But it actually makes me believe in the "shower of roses" even more. Is it just a coincidence that the year that I most needed a miracle and spiritual comfort, my yard was full of roses? I don't think so. I was not looking for it, it found me.

Here is a picture of the first, and one of the few roses, in my garden this year. It is a perfect rose, and when it bloomed I just had to take a picture of it. I believe that it is a reminder to me that St. Therese is still looking out for me. But I am now strong in every way and I don't need as many roses as last year. And God always gives us exactly what we need whether we know it or not.

Desiderata

Yesterday, I had a conversation that made me think about my favorite poem, Desiderata.  It was written in the 1920's, but it's message transcends time.  Each time I read it, it takes on new meaning for me.

Desiderata

Go placidly amid the noise and haste,
and remember what peace there may be in silence.
As far as possible without surrender
be on good terms with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly;
and listen to others,
even the dull and the ignorant;
they too have their story.

Avoid loud and aggressive persons,
they are vexations to the spirit.
If you compare yourself with others,
you may become vain and bitter;
for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.
Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.

Keep interested in your own career, however humble;
it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.
Exercise caution in your business affairs;
for the world is full of trickery.
But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;
many persons strive for high ideals;
and everywhere life is full of heroism.

Be yourself.
Especially, do not feign affection.
Neither be cynical about love;
for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment
it is as perennial as the grass.

Take kindly the counsel of the years,
gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.
But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.
Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.
Beyond a wholesome discipline,
be gentle with yourself.

You are a child of the universe,
no less than the trees and the stars;
you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you,
no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore be at peace with God,
whatever you conceive Him to be,
and whatever your labors and aspirations,
in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul.

With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams,
it is still a beautiful world.
Be cheerful.
Strive to be happy.

Max Ehrmann