Reports I Like

Dori's regular monthly check-up at Vanderbilt went well today. She was a little concerned about a small bruise on her hand, but I gave her a hug beforhand and said that's the price of having a sometimes-crazy dog around the house.

Dori called me with the good news before 9. Her red blood cell and platelet counts hit new highs, and her white blood cell count continued to be strong. It's always a relief to hear this, as blood cancer patients know. Yea for Dori, her medical team and everyone who enabled her to make it this far. That's millions of team players, by the way, who include marrow donors, researchers, fundraisers and many others.

After her appointment, Dori went by to see Kara Lee, the lymphoma patient I mentioned the other day, and another friend who checked out of VUMC later in the afternoon. Leaving Vanderbilt Hospital feels good, no offense to the wonderful staff.

I heard an encouraging story this morning on NPR about progress against multiple myeloma. Listening to surfer dude Hardy Jones was invigorating. Check it out.

Recovery from Tuesday's basketball game took two days. I blew off scheduled runs Wednesday morning and again this morning because I felt like Tim Conway's Old Man on The Carol Burnett Show. By lunchtime today, I felt 95%. Tonight, I ran four quick miles that felt fantastic. I ran about an 8:30/mile pace, feeling no stress. Maybe the basketball speed work has helped already.


I guess it's official. I look and sound like Robert Gibbs, President Obama's press secretary. About 10 people have said so since last week, though a few have been kind to say "minus 30 pounds." At one point today, I was standing next to a TV playing a White House Press Conference and a few folks started freaking out. I foresee a fun April Fool's joke if my marathon training goes awry.