Just a great big thank you from Joan and myself. The thoughts and prayers from you all, and the e-mails, the cards, the personal visits, the telephone calls all were deeply appreciated and helped get me through this challenging situation. It`s a wonderful thing to have friends and family from near and far, some of which you have never met personally, but feel very close to them. If you ever need a prayer sent your way, don`t hesitate to ask.

After 24 days, too many IVs to count, drains here and there, lots of pain, daily lab work, and 20+ days of sleepless and uncomfortable nights in the bed designed for contortionist’s I finally was given the word that the surgery was a complete success and that all of the cancer was gone, this from all of the pathology reports. A strange tidbit, I weight 2 pounds more leaving the hospital than when admitted. That’s after removing the organs I used for all of those years, not eating for almost three weeks and in general feeling that the world had turned against me. They said I was bloated, probably correct, my waist is about 10 inches larger, look for the day when it goes away and I see my real new weight.

Looks like it will be many weeks, possibly a few months before I see a reasonable recovery, but that alternative was the best outlook I could have imagined. For the present I have some home health care, physical therapy, a walker until I can gain the strength and balance to negotiate the hazards of every day life. The most important is my wife who will be at my side until she feels comfortable that I can manage without help.

Again, thank you all for the support

Richard and Joan