THE BEST NEWS

Dan and Kristen, taken several years ago

I find that in my month-long absence from blogging that Blogger has completely changed. I'm not liking the changes but that doesn't matter because I have wonderful news to share. DAN'S CANCER IS IN REMISSION!

Yes, he found out on Wednesday when he was in Fargo for his sixth (and now hopefully final, at least for a while) round of chemo. His doctor told him that only about 20% of patients respond to treatment like he did, and this is the best possible outcome he could have wished for. So of course we are ecstatic.

Hopefully he will now be able to start recovering from being poisoned by the chemo drugs. The fifth round really hit him hard, and he was still very, very sick when Kristen was home for Easter. We had been warned that the drugs' effects were cumulative, but we were not prepared for how sick he became. Kristen and I threatened to take him to the hospital to get IVs, but he resisted. (But if he had become sicker, we would have prevailed over him.)

So I am dreading the next couple of weeks, but Dan says even if he gets really sick again this time, "it's worth it". I agree.

I told my niece Lisa that I know her prayers helped achieve the remission, and I truly believe that all of your prayers, well wishes and good vibrations led us to this moment. I ask that you continue to keep him in your prayers, that the cancer does not begin to grow again, that he can grow stronger and gain weight, that he can actually eat and enjoy food again, and maybe even that his hair will grow back!

He doesn't even have to go back to Fargo for a checkup for three months, so hopefully we can have a great spring and early summer. Some of the earliest tulips are blooming, the apple trees are just about to blossom and even the  bleeding hearts are in full bloom. It is cool, cloudy and very windy today, but it promises to be in the 80s next week.

Finally I can celebrate spring. I hope you are celebrating it too, and bless all of you from the bottom of our hearts.