The Blog Arises From Its Slumbers

Hello, friends and devoted companions who have used your valuable spare time to come here and love us and check on our cowboy.

I am hoping that after March 22, when Bill has his body scan, I will have only one post to put up. It will say that Bill is all clear and still miraculously (really miraculously) cancer free, and I will be saying that I won't post again for 6 months. For this I pray.

There will be two points made in this post: (a) symptoms; and (b) Dr. Torti's letter.

SYMPTOMS

Unfortunately, we do have a lot of "symptoms." Bill has struggled 7 days a week with debilitatingly intense nausea. Using every medication and a lot of things like Pepto, and such, he has managed to not miss one class all semester. My cowboy, my hero. But he has been so miserable. Abdominal pain, fevers, headaches, knee pain, hip pain, all-over body pain, and VERY EXTREME "digestive system" problems I can't really mention on the blog: We just rotate between these sufferings ever since that last bout of MEGA chemo. They told us this would go on for a full year. In June, it will be a year, and he has paid a mighty price for the chemo.

But for all that, thank God, he has lived FAR past his "expiration date." It is scientifically in the miraculous zone. No, I mean it. Empirically, even the Supreme Genius Dr. Torti told us he had only "months" left, in fall of 2010.

And look at us now! Beatin' the odds! Dr. Torti and God: the source of all this time we never thought we'd have.

LOSING DR. TORTI

Oh, sadness. If you're a follower, you know we've always said that this is the doctor of doctors--in one's life, one may never encounter such a soul as Dr. Torti--if Einstein and Ghandi had a love child, it would be Frank Torti.

He wrote a personal, hand-signed, individualized letter to each patient, saying goodbye. Check out his creds if you don't think we were lucky to have this guy: He was one-time head of the entire FDA, and now he has taken the position of Exec. Vice President of Health Affairs at University of Connecticut and DEAN OF THE UNIV OF CONN. SCHOOL OF MEDICINE!

omg! He begins there May 1.

Our new doc's last name is Thomas. I have thousands of relatives in Winston Salem on the "Thomas" side of my family, so I hope he's a distant cousin. :)

Here was Saint Torti's closing line to Bill: "...Know that I am thinking of you. I will miss you."

So between now and the 22nd, I may post, but not sure I'll have much to say.

But on the evening of March 22, please check here for detailed results of the scan. Pray for a full-lifespan miracle.

We love you all so profoundly. Beffie (and her cowboy)