-to Indy and back-

Hello!

I can't believe that it has been about fifteen days since I've written any kind of an update.  That should serve as a very good sign to all of you - and it is.  The short of it is that Kurtis is doing fantastically.

In the last two weeks we've been soaking up summer. 

We've spent a lot of time sitting around and watching tv - mostly "Lie to Me" and "the Tudors" which are both things we don't watch during the school year but have access to on Netflix.  I've been getting ready for school - purchasing supplies and writing lesson plans - and we also finished painting our room and the basement.  Our room now has beautiful black frames with pictures of our family and friends covering the walls along with a new cover for the comforter that we like very much.  Not only that, but we also found time for a few rounds of golf, several Rockies games, and time family. 

This past weekend, we returned to our ever favorite place (in the entire WORLD might I add!), Indianapolis.  Kurtis needed to have a six-week checkup with Dr. Hanna.  In planning the trip, we didn't have a lot of time, so we ended up spending two nights in Indy instead of just one.  Although it is not our favorite place, we had a good time.  The Drum Corps Championships were going on which was very lucky!  Our first evening was spent at a neat bar and grill and then to the park to watch the drum corps warm up.  Kurtis probably learned far more about marching band than he ever wanted or needed to, but we had a great time.  Sunday we hung out in the mall (it was a dreary day...the day following a bad storm where the stage blew over @ the state fair killing several people if you heard that on the news)...which was a lot more fun than it sounded.  We ate at the new California Pizza Kitchen and played an 18 hole round of glow golf topping the whole thing of with a movie and dinner at a cute place on Mass. Ave (the only moderately cool place in the whole town). 

Monday afternoon Kurtis had an appointment - so we spent the morning strolling by the river and checking out the animals at the zoo.  As soon as we got back to the IU med center memories started to flood back. We've had a lot of experiences there reaching back over six months and the sights, sounds, and smells always bring back feelings of being back in there. 

The appointment went really well.  Dr. Hanna checked Kurtis over and went through the details of his treatment and recovery.  Men who respond to the stem cell quickly (Kurtis did) have a 50% chance of being cured completely.  Men whose numbers normalize after treatment (Kurtis' did) have a 75% chance of being cured. Considering that Kurtis had both of those things happen - he is in a really good place.  Dr. Hanna let us know that the next year is important, but if we can get through the first year without relapse that we're in a great place!

We're feeling very thankful right now and extremely happy.  Thank you to everyone for all the support, love, and care over the past ten plus months. 

Here is to the next step in the journey - - -

Love to all -
Liz