Busy days

Well, I had the distinct privilege of having this blog locked! They said that because I had "been identified as a spam blog" that I had to request a review and after two days I would be unblocked.

So I requested it and was duly unblocked. It's totally amazing how many words I had in my head when I could not post, how much I had to say but as soon as I saw that I was free to post on there again - woooosh - gone are all the words!

This is a very busy month. My youngest daughter and her husband arrive for a 10 day visit on Saturday, my mom turns 80 this coming weekend, and a tremendously agile and spritely 80 she is too! and then we leave for Canada to see if we can cath those northern lights (aurora boreallis) in the last week of August sometime - as soon as we can get packed up after Joleen leaves.

And Steven has a doctors appointment on Thursday this week when he will be given his PCR results. I have resisted calling and asking for them and will not be going to the appointment with him either. And amazingly, I am ok with both. I just hope that the results are back already or that hissy fit that is now dormant will grow and feed on me again. So, I am going to keep being cool and calm and otherwise occupied until the second he walks out of the doctors office with the results.

I am getting much better at dealing with this waiting time and my sincere prayer every PCR time is that I keep having reason to be cool and calm about it all.

We are organizing a marrow and blood donor drive here that will be held on October
25th, about a month after we get back from Canada. This is part of Adrian's Army - you have read his blog, right? (http://baldyblog.freshblogs.co.uk/) If not - go there and leave a message, send a prayer and a happy thought.

Adrian is the reason I have shifted my rear end out of neutral and am doing this donor drive. He has achieved incredible things with awareness about the donor drive, in the Uk, and just from reading the comments on his blog, I can already see that he has and will be adding substantially to the donor registry.

Now - this is how it works........... a donor over there in the UK could save the life of someone over here. If Steven ever needed to go to transplant, he could find a match because of the effort Adrian has gone to literally in his dying days. This gift is incredible and can only be repaid in one way - help add to that Marrow Registry too! It's all about balance........

I have the need and responsibility to Pay Forward, make a difference. If you can, tell someone that its not a terrible, horrible, awful process to donate - join the registry, or even organise a donor drive in your community.

Normally it costs $52 to join the Marrow Registry, but I found out that if we put together a combination blood and marrow donor drive, that the fee is waived for those that register. I simply could not pass up this opportunity to try to make this happen. There will be educational articles in the newspapers, and hopefully the tv and radio stations will play along in getting as many people to come along and also be a part of Adrian's Army.

I never would have dreamed that one of my children could possibly need this procedure one day. And I remember well that day when we sat at Vanderbilt under the sign that read "Bone Marrow Transplant Section". My blood still curdles at remembering those thoughts and fears. None of us match Steven and so in a way it is a selfish act to do this drive, but at the same time, how wonderful would it be if by doing this, someone's life is saved?

I know that cancer in one person affects a whole community, literally, and by having a drive like this I believe the community can take a serious stand against cancer too. I think its phenomenal that by the simple act of registering here, one could save someone in another country or right next door. I wish I could do this for Adrian.

Ok - thats my burbling for the day.

Love and light (special dose for Adrian, Kay, Carrie and Keith)
Annie