3rd week

Hi Everybody:

My friends from Home Depot sent these flowers a couple of weeks ago. I just loved them. They added a spot of brightness to my room. Of course I had to photograph them!

Thanks Home Depot for starting a collection cup and thank you Vicki and Sue for making icecream sundaes for everyone to help raise money! Wish I could have been there. I miss you! Thank you Julie and Rhonda for thinking of me and sending your kind words. I've heard from Ernie too!

I was so saddened to hear of Anne's passing. She was just too young yet. She always had a smile whenever I spoke with her. It is hard to think she is gone.

I have not written in quite a while. I've been having problems with pain, sometimes very bad pain that goes on for days. It has been quite a tiger to tame, but I think I finally have it under control. Besides the pain, I had other discomforting issues going on like not being able to eat, nausea, etc. It's been a few days now and I think I've gotten a handle on all of this. Bad pain can play with your mind. But I am feeling pretty good now. I'm able to sleep again. And one of the first things I wanted to do was write to everyone.

Arizona Heat and Wildlife

Where to begin? Well, I think I am getting used to the heat here. I'm surprised how fast you can adjust to the change. It is 107 degrees one day, 113 degrees another day. Just unbelievable. If the humidity stays low, it is bearable. I had my first wildlife spotting. A giant beetle was climbing up a glass door and I could not believe the size of it. This thing was not a bug; it was a small animal. With legs and antenna, it was the size of my hand. I know what they mean when they say "throw a saddle on that thing." I just kept thinking, I hope nothing like that ever finds its way into my room. I'd have to wrestle it to the door.

Visits From Friends and Family

My mom came for a few days and we had a very pleasant visit. We took a drive to a place called Sedona. It was one of my first days of feeling good again and I thought, "ok, I'm feeling good, I can take a drive." Well we did. I even took some pictures - hope you enjoy them. Of course I spent the next day in bed recouperating from my little excursion. But what a beautiful place! If you ever get the opportunity, visit there. It will take your breath away.

Arizona Vegetation

I do love the landscaping here. For my gardening friends in hot climates, you must get a Mexican Bird of Paradise. Get several. They look great in groups. The ones I see here have flowers with a mix of red and orange colors. They just catch your eye. It looks like they need about 4 feet for spread and just about as much room for height. I'll try and add a picture of one next time. Talking about gardening, I saw a Hines truck making a delivery and thought of my friends in gardening at Home Depot. Hi Kris, Faye, Dustin, Lauren, Gail, Zeke and April. Miss you guys.

Complementary Medicine

I want to tell you something interesting about some testing that was done on me and the subsequent findings. The first day I was in treatment, they did something called chelation. This was a treatment given to me intervenously that removes heavy metals from your body. It was found that I had two heavy metals in great abundance. One was mercury, which didn't surprise me because we have it in the fillings in our teeth and it's found in fish (which I love). But something else was found to be in very high levels in me which did surprise me - tungsten. The only thing I know about tungsten is it's found in the filiment of light bulbs. The most common way that I have since read, to acquire high levels of tungsten, is to work in the metal industry - cutting metal - something like that. So where I got it from is anybody's guess. Now here's the interesting part. Tungsten is believed to interfere with the metabolism of molybdenum. Molybdenum is an antioxident found in the body which is said to prevent the development of cancer. Sounds like a clue to my condition! That is something that complementary medicine looks into which is not part of standard medicine's practice. I am so glad I had this done. Now I have to be detoxified for these metals.

Thank You's

I'd like to wrap up with some thank you's. There are so many people to thank. You all give me my most potent healing. The human bond is the most important piece of this whole process. It has qualities that science cannot measure, but that can definitely be felt.

My sisters Lucy and Linda made very generous donations and have given me immeasurable support over the phone and with their prayers. Don't worry so much guys. I know you're far away, but I'm strong and your love is strong and is helping me in ways you can't imagine.

My sister Lucy's mother-in-law and father-in-law, Ann and John Cates, made a very generous donation. It will make a difference. They are very nice people - a big Irish family from back in New York. God bless you both.

My beautiful niece Anna's boyfriend, Chris Nappi, raised money at his bar in New York. Thank you Chris. This will make a difference.

My Aunt Julie and Uncle Bob from New Jersey - a big Italian family (and boy can she cook!), made a very nice donation. Thank you both.

My cousin Joseph and his wife Dale from Long Island also donated generously. Joe just went through his own battle with cancer, and I am happy to say is in remission. Good health to you Joseph. Thank you.

My Aunt Regina in Florida gathered money in donation cups at various locations. Thank you Regina. You know how much I love you.

To all my close friends and family, who are there for me on the other end of the phone, what can I say. You are beautiful and I love you. You are my strong believers. Could not do it without you. God bless you for your belief in me. Aunt Julie, Aunt Reenie, Marianne & Dan, cousin Lisa, Lauren - my good, good friend, Bruce - my bio-dad who is battling his own illness right now - God bless you Bruce, Tricia in Texas, Tina, Bridget & Mallory, Jeremy - whose smile I hear over the phone before I hear his words, John in flooring who has kept in touch - he's my photography buddy, my old and good friend from NY - Mike Turner, who's been calling and fills me with hope, and Dr. Dias - my old boss and friend & a great lady. I always love to hear from you. A special thank you to my mom who is staying strong for me, and to my brother Geoff whose belief in me just blows me away. I love you Geoff - you are special. And my brother Jim - who has been my friend since we were kids together. The closest one in age to me. I don't remember life before you. I can't do this without you. Thank you for your love and support.

I will write again soon. Miss & love you all.