Memorial Day 2007

HEROES UNAWARE

By Mark A. Wright, HMC(SS)

22 June, 2000

I first saw him on a park bench

I've seen him every day

Sitting in a shady grove

Where my children come to play

Sometimes he feeds the birds and squirrels

Or whittles little toys

Sometimes he just sits and smiles

At the laughing girls and boys

And I never paid him any mind

'Till one day just this year

I noticed that he wore a frown

And on his cheek ... a tear.

Well I asked him why he seemed so down

He looked up, began to say

I lost half my friends 60 years ago today

He told me of the terror

As he fought to reach dry land

By the time the beachhead was secure

Half his friends lay in the sand

That was just in one long day

He fought on for 4 years more

And the 60 years from then to now

Have not dimmed His sights of war

He said they have reunions

Just to keep in touch and share

And for each comrade who has gone on

They leave an empty chair

Well, His park bench has been empty now

About 6 months or so

And if I'd never took the time

Then I never would've known

That sitting on that simple bench

With bread crumbs and little toys

Was a man who gave his all

To guarantee my daily joys

So give thanks to all the men and women

Who're still here or have gone before

And made the highest sacrifice

In both Peace time and in War

Because they bought our freedom

Paid their own blood, sweat, and tears

Then endured the heartache of those empty chairs

For all these years

So please do not ignore them

Or speed by without a care

'Cause you never know

When you might pass by

A hero, unaware

We owe a debt of gratitude to all the men and women who paid the ultimate price to secure our freedom and the freedom of others in different places in our world in many different wars. Originally this day was set aside to honor those who died in our Civil War. Now we honor all our war dead.

Since last Memorial Day, nearly 1,000 more men and women have lost thier lives in Iraq. No matter what your political beliefs or what you think of the war itself, we need to remember the mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, children and other loved ones who are grieving for the loss of that precious life.

Unlearned Lesson

Memorial Day

Of every year

The little valiant

Flags appear

On every fallen

Soldier's grave--

Symbol of what

Each died to save.

And we who see

And still have breath--

Are we no wiser

For their death?

~Dorothy Brown Thompson~

Overdue

Sorry it has taken me so long to update. I have been busy lately and VERY tired so when I get on the computer it is usually just to check mail, check the blogs I keep up with to see if there are new posts, and check the new posts on the CLL Forum. By then it is late. Over the holiday weekend I didn't do much but sleep late, take long naps and sleep some more in the evening. We did go to church and then out to eat on Sunday, but that was about it. I have gotten a couple of emails wondering about an update, so here goes.

I have been in class the last two weeks. The first week was here in Austin and last week I flew out to El Paso and taught class all week. I was tired every night and last week I would come back to the hotel room and crash for awhile, get up and fix something to eat in my hotel room -- I had a suite with a full kitchen -- check mail and crash again. By Thursday I was even feeling very tired in class. Usually I feel energized while teaching but this time it was a struggle the last two days. I guess it was because it was so close to the last (hopefully) chemo round. This time I tapered off the steroids and finished off the Wednesday I was in class here in Austin. That worked much better this time and I didn't have the big crash, physically and emotionally, that I experienced the last couple of rounds. I got my blood work a week ago Monday just before flying out to El Paso. Overall it was very good, especially the lymphocytes and the white blood counts. Platelets are still low, but not in the real danger area. Other areas were just slightly off. I thought the red blood cells and hemoglobin were going to be really low, indicating anemia, because I was so fatigued, but the red cells are only a little low and the hemoglobin number is perfect. I will post most of the numbers at the end for those who understand them. As you will see, my inner mouse/hamster continues to do his/her work well. This is a strange disease. There are other patients with all normal counts experiencing severe fatigue and others, who are anemic, but aren't experiencing much fatigue at all. I just wish I felt as good as everyone tells me I look. I am hoping that in a couple of weeks I will begin to regain energy.

Thankfully I tolerated all six chemo rounds MUCH better than many do. I never experienced nausea and for the last two rounds didn't even take the nausea pills as a precaution. I gained weight again this round! Now it is time to get serious and start losing the weight I gained on chemo because all my new shirts and pants I bought after losing weight are getting very tight. Some I can't wear now. But it is a small price to pay for getting through the treatments so well.

I will see the doctor next Monday, just before flying back out to El Paso for another week. I am hoping he doesn't suggest more chemo this time because I really think the counts are mostly very good. If he does, then I will make an appointment at MD Anderson to go back and see Dr. Weirda for his suggestions/opinion.

I hope all of you who are reading this from the U.S. took some time yesterday, Memorial Day, to remember all the men and women who paid the ultimate price with their lives while in the service of their country. We owe them so much for the freedoms we have today. There are many young men and women who are still paying that price today. I pray for the families they have left behind. Today is the traditional Memorial Day before congress changed it in the early 70's. I don't think the change was good because now it is just another three day holiday weekend for many folks and they never give a thought to what it is supposed to be about. When I was a little kid, my folks always visited the cemeteries and put fresh flowers or flags on the graves of our relatives. We always walked around and found markers of those who died in war. It was a special day back then. Yesterday our flag, in front of our home, flew at half mast until noon, as prescribed by the proper flag etiquette for the day.

Here are the blood results and I hope I won't take as long to post the results of next Monday's meeting with my hematologist/oncologist.

First is the count followed by this labs normal range. Any outside of normal are posted in red:
WBC 4.3 (4.0-11.0)
NEU# 1.9 (3.0-7.0) infection fighters
NEU% 44.5 (40.0-74.0)
LYM# 1.6 (1.0-4.0) *absolute number
LYM % 37.8 (19.00-48.00)
MONO# 0.7 (0.1-0.6)
MONO% 15.1 (3.0-11.0)
EOS# 0.0 (0.1-0.4)
EOS% 1.1 (0.0-7.0)
BASO# 0.1 (0.0-0.1)
BASO% 1.5 (0.0-2.0)
RBC 4.38 (4.70-6.10)
HGB 15.00 (13.00-17.00)
HCT 41.20 (37.00-49.00)
MCV 94.0 (80.00-100.00)
MCH 34.3 (27.0-34.0)
MCHC 36.5 (32.0-36.0)
RDW 12.1 (11.0-15.0)
PLTS 99 (140-400)

Again, thank you for your expressed concern and your prayers. I truly believe it is because of you and God's grace I tolerated the chemo so well.