One year ago today....

Some times it's hard to remember our blessings. That I have a roof over my head, food on my table, the three cutest kitties, support in all I undertake from friends and family, and my health. We are reminded of the work it takes to provide food and shelter, and kitties remind you of there existence every time they expect a meal. Friends and family come to visit, go to lunch with you, or call and you are happy to hear from them and support them back. It is health that we so easily take for granted.

I closed on my first home on Friday, March 25, 2005. One of my closest friends, Randy, went with me that afternoon to buy paint, door locks, etc. All those things you need for a new home. Some other friends came that evening to the new place and Randy picked up Pizza to have a picnic in my new home. Over the next several days Randy and other friends and family came and helped me paint the rooms of my home different colors. Finally on April 1, I was preparing to move the next morning when, while talking to Randy on the phone, he mentioned his back was stiff and he might not be as helpful as he would have hoped. The next morning he was as strong as ever and the move was finished in a short period of time. Over the next two weeks we would learn that the sore back that night before and next couple weeks was a symptom of a much bigger problem.

On April 23rd Randy called me in the early afternoon. He was going to the ER because the pain had become so bad he was having trouble breathing. After I joined him there the doctor removed his shirt and asked me where he had received bruises all over his body. I had to say I did not know. As the day turned to evening I found out from the doctors that something wasn't right with Randy’s blood counts. At this point we decided I should call his Mother. A call neither she nor I will ever forget. I told her that we didn't know what was going on yet but we were not looking at a simple pulled muscle in his back.

Randy was diagnosed with leukemia, Acute Leukoblastic Leukemia, to be exact, and to add to the difficulty of this disease it was found that he had the Philadelphia chromosome. Chemotherapy was started, and within a day or so and Randy felt much better than that first night. As a testament to his strength and courage he breezed through treatment after treatment with very few side effects. Hair loss, some insomnia, and the worst to him.... the hiccups.... Leave it to Randy to get the silliest side effect and take it to the extreme!!! At the time of the second treatment all tests showed no sign of the cancer and he was declared to be in remission with 6 treatments yet to go. This was a fantastic outlook. However the presence of the Philadelphia chromosome worried the doctors. The leukemia was expected to return within 3 to 5 months after the chemo treatments finished. When leukemia returns the prognosis is rarely good.

He decided to undergo a bone marrow stem cell transplant. The transplant must be done while the leukemia is in remission. A "perfect match" was located and in late November he was given his new donor cells. All went very well and he was home in his apartment for Christmas with his family. On December 31st he was admitted back to the hospital with abdominal pain. In time the doctors would diagnose the problem as Graft vs. Host disease and for the next weeks Randy would fight harder than he had ever had.

Randy lost his fight on January, 29 2006.

Cancer effects everyone differently, the victims, the family, the friends. This is the effect on me. Randy always inspired me to work harder. When things got tough he gave me his strength too so I could get through. I can only hope that I was able to do the same for him.

Now he inspires me to help raise money to find a cure and to spread the information of the effect cancer had on my life and that we should all be careful that we don't take our health for granted.

I was lucky to have shared many things with him, running, movies, TV shows, video games, we did homework together, and defended our theses and graduated in the same semester. He stood by me when I wrote my thesis and helped edit it, and was there to watch as I defended it for my degree as I was there when he defended his less than a month earlier. He taught me about curling, pitched for our department softball team, and helped me with repairs to my new home. More than anyone else he believed (almost more than I did) that I would close on the house I wanted so badly. He took care of my kitties if I went out of town, watched football with me, went to a baseball games with me, and even threw a surprise party for me when I got full time and a raise at my job.

I was lucky to have known a friend like Randy and honored that he called me friend back.

I was lucky to have the all too short time with him that I had, and I miss him so much.

One short year ago today I took my health and my friends health for granted. And this was one of the longest years of my life.


*This post fulfills one of many requests from the american cancer society to place the I fight cancer ribbon on my blog. Please click on the ribbon on my sidebar and check it out.