The Healing has begun!

Ok...here is a pic as of this morning of my surgery scar. As you can see, you can hardly tell that a little over 3 weeks ago, they removed a 3" tumor from my temporal lobe.

It just blows me away how quickly this has healed! I figure that if I can heal this quickly from a 12 hour surgery, that I can definitely handle this Radiation and Chemo stuff!!

Just a quick note, one of the side effects of the radiation is that I will lose my hair. Keep in mind, I haven't started the radiation yet. :) That would be the side effect that I am least worried about. Kojak, here I come! :)

As life has begun to return to normal and the waiting game has begun for my treatment (starts 1/28) I have been thinking about what normal life was like. My mind immediately jumps to two areas, one is getting back to work, which keeps me challenged and the other is the vacation that Kim and I were on 2 weeks before this all happened. We went on a cruise with 3 other couples. Our longtime hockey friends and us went on a 7 day cruise to the Southern Carribean. It was an amazing vacation. We went to Aruba, Curacao, St. Maarten, St. Thomas/St. Johns. We snorkeled at one of the most beautiful places in the world, Trunk Bay, St. Johns, in addition to Aruba. Kim was able to make a new friend Sandra at her new favorite jewelry store in St. Maarten, and we spent a week constantly laughing with our great friends. Before the trip, I got a new digital camera. I took 138 pictures and have about 4 good ones. :) I am not a strong photographer.

I am sharing some of these pictures for a couple reasons. 1. They truly make me remember great times, and 2. I thought you all might enjoy something other than my scar. :)



My wife, Kim looking stunning (as usual) on one of the formal nights on the ship. Just one more time, this woman has been absolutely amazing throughout this entire ordeal. Between her, my family, and my friends, I am truly the luckiest guy in the world.










The Sunset as the ship leaves Aruba. WOW! Not a bad pic for a hack of a wanna be photographer. :)













The wanna-be photographer, studying hard!!!















The entire crew enjoying the beach at Curacao! Thank you guys so much. Remembering the laughs and the good times of this trip keeps me going. Not to mention, that Kim and I have to go back to visit her new jeweler friend in St. Maarten!!! I vote for a return trip in late 2008 after I have kicked this cancer crap into remission!






Here is the last pic I will force upon you. :) This is truly the best pic I took during the entire trip and is what I believe to be one of the most beautiful places in the world! It is Trunk Bay on St. Johns U.S.V.I. It is an amazing place and is now the background on all of my computers. I hope you enjoy! Thanks for listening/reading my babble today!