Mac update

Well, the race was terrific. We had a great time. It was very slow, but it was incredibly rewarding to even be a part of it. I struggled during the week with the fact that I was strong enough to be back out doing what I love so much. It was a tremendous high for me, a terrific reward for struggling through this last year.

We finished 17th out of 20 in our section, which was not good, but at least I got to participate. I sailed us into so many holes with no wind it wasn't funny. But we had a good crew and we had a good time.

Honore and Hope went up to Mackinac Island the weekend before, and had a terrific time playing on the island. Hope kept pointing to the horses and saying "Moo!", which was very funny. She also felt the overwhelming urge to kiss the horses, which usually meant Honore or I had to chase after her to prevent an unmitigated disaster.

Hope is such a wonderful gift for us. For me, she represents the newness of life. The joy of each new experience, the curiosity she has for the world at large is so refreshing to watch. Also, she waves at everyone she sees and if you don't wave back, she gets all worked up. It's very funny.

I received Jeff Abbott's new book, Trust Me, which he dedicated to me with a very wonderful thought. I have started it and am enjoying it thoroughly. Thank you Jeff, seeing your dedication brought tears to my eyes, and Honore's also.

I had my six month CT scans on the Wednesday before the Mackinac race. The results came back negative, so the cancer remains in remission. I am so relieved, as according to Dr. Grinblatt the first year after a stem cell transplant is very telling. This puts me on a path to making 5 years in remission, which would be terrific.

I am still on the Rituxan regimine, so I get treatment every three months, but it's really nothing much. The worst part of the Rituxan treatment is the benadryl knocking me silly on the day of treatment.

Life otherwise is returning to some sense of normalcy. I know normal doesn't exist for us, but returning to a relatively normal routine is nice. We will always live in the shadow of my lymphoma, and always wonder when it will return, but we have adapted to this and have become very proficient at living life to the fullest while we can and not wasting our time or energy worrying about the cancer.

We are back to raising money for the Leukemia Cup Regatta, which will be the end of August. We're looking forward to it, and would love any support. www.sailtravis.com to participate. Email me if you have interest in attending the event, August 21 & 22.

I'm playing with posting pictures of Hope, so bear with me on the pictures column. Trying to find an easier way of posting them.

Love to you all,

Travis