Hello old friends, Eric here... just got the above news from my doctor on an MRI I had earlier this week (my third such good report since finishing treatment in September). I think the word "Yippeee!!" comes to mind...
I realize I haven't been here in awhile (I'll explain that below), but I wanted to share the good news with so many of you who were by side through my ordeals of 2003-04.
My life has been a whirlwind since my last rad and chemo treatments. My wife and I moved back to North Carolina in October. I quickly started a new job, which keeps me hopping probably 60 hours a week. Then in November, my wife and I began the process to adopt a baby girl. This is what has made my life crazy -- the birth mom is a 17-year-old family relative (on my wife's side). She's been all for the adoption from the start. But the birth dad decided pretty much last minute that he's not in favor of it. So a major -- unforeseen -- legal battle has ensued. The birth mom still officially has custody. But she has moved in with us so that we can still be in the role of parents. It really has been a soap opera -- better than a soap opera in terms of script.
To be honest, the job and the adoption stuff (plus being a new dad and all that entails) has been pretty exhausting. I frankly just didn't have the energy to come by these boards too much (which I regret) or to do too much else other than sleep and eat. It is catching up to me physically now...
In all truthfulness, this adoption stuff has been harder on my wife and I (especially me) than the cancer stuff. I guess when fighting cancer, you know your enemy and everyone's rooting for you and alongside you. In this, I'm not quite sure how to proceed. The birth father is a 17-year-old kid. He says he wants a "role" in his child's life (a good thing). But he's also a high school dropout, marijuana user with a criminal record, "anger management issues" and a propensity for lying through his teeth (and he's told some whoppers already to us, the courts, etc).
The best way I can explain it is you know the agonizing time between taking a cancer test (MRI, PET of whatever) and the time when you finally hear the results? I feel like I've been living in that time for the past three months waiting for courts to decide whether or not our adoption petition will go through -- all the while this soap opera is playing out around us and including us.
Sorry to rant about that. I guess I should be thanking God that I'm even around to be a part of this, eh? Maybe I had better re-read what I just wrote and that will calm me down... Anyway, best wishes to all.
Eric
