Freedom

The fireworks are starting all around me now. I guess as I am getting older, the awe and wonder of it all has left me and all I can think about tonight is how blessed I am to live where I do. I am thinking of all those who are fighting for their lives, their homes or some meager existence that doesn't begin to be a decent life. Why was I so lucky? How is it decided who gets to live abundently rich, spoiled lives while others must go hungry each day and die of diseases long since erradicated in our country?

Mocha sort of sums up the past couple of weeks in this photo. I was diagnosed with a chronic disease on June 25th, 2007. It is called essential thrombocytosis. I don't understand it all yet, but basically my bone marrow is producing too many platelets. This can lead to blood clots, strokes and heart attacks. It can also convert to certain types of leukemia. It is a rare disease and data indicates that less then 1 in 100,000 people are diagnosed with this. Future treatment may include bone marrow biopsy, chemotherapy, bone marrow transplants, etc., depending on how it progresses. I am trying to process all of this and just come to grips with it all. I wanted to update my blog and thought I would share this with anyone that wants to read it.