Thank You Everyone

I knew I had to get on and post tonight about my benefit and I really don't know where to begin. To say we were overwhelmed would be an understatement. I had no idea what to expect coming into a day like today and I never could have imagined that it would be like it was. I would like to thank, from the bottom of my heart, my family and friends that organized this benefit on for us. It's obvious that you put a lot of work into this and I love you all so much. It couldn't have been more perfect and Shana and I want you to know how much we appreciate it.

I was told, at one point this week, they were expecting over 300 people to attend and I thought to myself, "no way!". Then, before I left tonight, I was told the count had exceeded 550 people and I don't know what to say except that I have never felt more loved than I did tonight. It was great to see everyone - the people I see all the time, the people I haven't seen in a long time and the people I was meeting for the first time. To everyone who came, everyone who donated and everyone who contributed thank you. Please know that we appreciate everything that everyone has done for us, and we are humbled by it. There were so many people there tonight to support us and you all mean so much to me. I only wish I could have spent more time talking to everyone. I feel like I spoke to 500 people for one minute each and I hope everyone knows that if I could, I would have spent MUCH more time catching up with everyone. I tried to thank everyone personally, and will continue to try to do that, but please know I have so much gratitude in my heart for everything everyone has done.

My positive attitude and approach to this disease is a direct result of the love people continue to give us. The best thing about having such a great network of family and friends is that I don't feel alone or scared, I feel motivated. I don't feel depressed or angry about having cancer, I feel lucky and blessed to have the people I have in my life. This is a battle that couldn't be fought alone.

Here is a quick update on how I am feeling, which is still pretty good. I am starting to feel the effects of chemo a little. The worst part is the fatigue, I am pretty much tired all of the time. I am getting a lot of joint pain (this is an expected side-effect) in my knees, ankles and hands and sometimes it's mild, others it hurts. I wake up in the middle of the night sometimes and it feels as if someone had just taken a baseball bat to my knees...wierd. I have only been sick a few times and the meds they give me for the nausea work pretty well. I have four chemo treatments left until they decide the next steps (I am hoping for surgery!) and I should know by sometime in mid-January.


I thought this was pretty cool: http://www.cnycentral.com/news/video.aspx?id=235236

And this: http://www.9wsyr.com/mediacenter/local.aspx?videoid=250047@video.wixt.com&navCatId=5