Weekly Update

Another week and another week outside of the hospital...yippee!!  I finished up my chemo cyle yesterday and am looking forward to an upcoming rest week with no chemo.  I had to get a couple of bags of platelets during the week, but didn't need to get any blood transfused.  My counts are still pretty low, so I may need to get some more blood during the off week...we'll see how things progress.  All in all...good news on the medical front.

In this week's other headlines:

-  A big shout out to my relatives in Massachussetts who participated in the Race for Research in support of the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation.  See the photo of the members of the Fortney, Tambascio, Duplessis, Walker and Burns clans who braved rainy weather and raised over $1,600 for Myeloma reseach.  Thanks to you all!!

-  My Dad's household is attempting to set a knee surgery world record.  My Dad had both his knees replaced this summer and his wife, Kathy, went under the knife on Thursday.  Our thoughts and prayers are with Kathy as she begins recovery and rehab.

-  Speaking of world records, I'm writing this at halftime of the Florida vs Tennessee football game as the Gators attempt to set a new record for pass interference penalties.

-  The Beairds are officially in the market for a dog.  We've spent a lot of time searching Orlando-area rescue organizations, SPCA, etc for a nice lab mix or retriever mix (or something similar), but have come up empty so far.  If you know of a nice dog looking for a good home...let us know.

Thanks again to everyone for all your support and prayers.  Enjoy your time with family and friends.