Merry Christmas everyone from the Johnson Family.

We have had a wonderful holiday here in NC. Today, Addi got her first dollhouse. She was so excited that she really did not look at anything else Santa brought until the afternoon. It was very cute. We had Bill, Jo, Aunt Bobbie, and Tracia over for lunch today as well. Tonight, Addi can not stop taking pictures with her new Fisher Price camera. A lot of pictures!

My holiday really started on Sunday when we went up to Hendersonville for the Johnson dinner. A lot of people were there and it was really nice. We then went to my Papa's house and opened up presents. Addi had a lot of fun. Papa gave me something really to treasure. When my grandmother (Mama) was still alive, she was such an influence on my life. She was really a great woman, and really funny. Any way, for their 50th anniversary, Papa gave Mama a liberty 50 dollar gold piece on a chain. I always loved that piece and thought it was awesome. Papa gave it to me for Christmas. It is very special to me and it will be something I pass on to Addi so she will have something of my grandmothers. I was very shocked.

Monday night we went to Jo's house. Just in case you do not know, Jo is my Mom. I call her Jo because of work, and it has just stuck. (I know when Lena reads this she will be yelling at me to call her Mom...) Daniel, Andrea, Joe, Scout, Mike, Caroline, Christi, Addi, Aunt Bobbie, Jo, and Bill were there and we had dinner and opened presents. It was really fun. I think everyone had a great time. We left that night, and went home to help Santa get ready for Addi..... :)

Back to our house today - Addi's third Christmas was so cool. She really understood a little better about Christmas and what it means. Don't get me wrong, we still have a long way to go.

Christi and I had a good Christmas as well. Christi hit the jackpot! So did I. Honestly, we just enjoyed each other and Addi. I hope all of you understand how special EACH holiday is. I will be seeing my KS family soon!

I hope everyone had a good week. As you can see from the last post that Christi did, my family is really a great asset. I love Christi and Addi so much, and I hope that I do not leave them. Addi has been so sweet about Christmas and I am really just glad I am still here to see it.

Update on me: I have been hearing a weez lately when I take a deep breath to cough. Susan heard it as well when I was at Duke. What could this be? It could be the cancer blocking my airway, or I am hoping it is still the talc from the collapsed lung. To be honest, i am not sure. I am coughing a lot more....

I am very excited about Christmas and the thought of spending time with my family in NC and KS. When you are in my situation, you never know if this is the last one you will have. I try my best to have the best time and not think of it, but I do think of this all the time. I have tried to ask God to take it away, and I still think of it.

I wanted to say thank you to everyone that has given money to Addi's Cure this year. We raised more than last year, and we will be giving Duke a lot of money this year. They are amazed at what you are able to do. Yes, I said YOU. Our next Addi's Cure function will be this spring in Cornelius and will have a Jimmy Buffet theme...... SOUNDS FUN!

Hello Everyone Christi here...things here are good. Addi is really into Santa Claus which is so fun. I might be a little crazy taking her everywhere to see Santa, but Christmas is only one time a year, Right? Anyway things went at Duke as we sort of expected. They are not completely on board, yet...but hopefully with some perseverance and information we will sway them in time. Bo really believes this is his best chance, so a lot of prayers would be great. I just wish he didn't have to do something so scary and serious (sorry i can't think of a better word), but I guess cancer is pretty scary and serious. I knew life with Bo would be exciting and never calm, but I just hope the holidays will be and then we will know what to do. Take care and have a wonderful Holiday Season.

Love Christi and Addi

PS If you see Santa tell him Addi says hi! They are on a first name basis now.

Tomorrow is a big day. I am going to Duke, and we are going to talk about me having a lung transplant. I have decided I will insist on doing this asap. I talked to Gerald Dash on Friday, and it was cemented. Gerald has had the transplant done, and although he was very honest with me about how he is feeling, etc., I still think this is the best thing. I hope Duke will say yes, because if not, I will be moving to CA. I either have to be within three hours of the facility where the transplant will take place, or I have to be there period. Either way, I am hoping I can be near my family.

Just wanted everyone to know....

Addi and Christi are doing great. I will ask Christi to put some pictures on the blog this week....

Please say a prayer for Darlene. She wrote an article about me for a paper, and she just got the news she has breast cancer....

A mid week update, are we all lucky! :)

I went to Pinehurst for a meeting with a company we do business with. We played Southern Pines Country Club. Tim hit one onto the roof of the snack shack that was between 9-10-11-12-14. It stayed and he played it as it lies. It was a par three and he made a 4. It was amazing. We got pictures, and I will try to post it..... I was supposed to play No. 2 today, but I did not because I was really embarrassed by the day before. It sucks, as much as I like golf, that I could only play nine holes. I am a little worried by this, but it could be still from the talc from the collapsed lung. I am going to go with this theory. I will be trying to build up for my next golf trip in January. I am not sure how to accomplish this, but I will try. If I can not do this, I will have to find another hobby? Any ideas????

I hope everyone had a great weekend. It was a fun week at work, and there is a lot that is happening. This is a really big time for us.

This weekend we went to go see Santa at Interstate Motorcycles. This is the motorcycle group that raised money for Addi's Cure with a Poker Run. They did such a great job and raised a lot of money. I hit some golf balls and played with Addi. Christi and Addi have been seeing Santa all over the place. Addi is really excited about this season.

Update on Suzi - Someone asked me to update everyone on Suzi. She sent me an email today and she is doing ok from what I understand. She is starting radiation on Monday again and I am so glad. She is having some trouble but I hope that it will get better for her. She thanks everyone for the prayers and thoughts. She needs more! I want to issue a challenge for you readers - send a $5 donation to Addi's Cure and in the memo section, put Suzi. Let her know she is being thought of.... See how I am always looking for an angle!

Addi's Cure is winding up our first full calendar year. This year has been awesome. We have raised awareness and money, and I want to do more. Please help us spread the word about lung cancer and funding. They do not have to send $$ to Addi's Cure, but send some somewhere. There are some many good causes, get into one and give your time as well. Remember the girls from Touch a Truck? Awesome ladies....

I would like you to say a prayer tonight for a sweet little girl. McKenna Johnson died this week. She was 10 years old and lost her battle with cancer. Please say a prayer for her family and for her. I am sure she is in Heaven and in no pain, and playing like a 10 year old should. Cancer SUCKS! Here is an entry from her blog:

Saturday, December 1, 2007 10:32 AM CST
Dear McKenna,We are so proud of you! From the moment you were born, you brought us so much joy, and love. You were such a happy baby and we loved you from the first instant we found out we were going to have another child. You were such a happy baby, and you were our first little girl. So precious and sweet and you were ALWAYS in pink.When we first heard the words, “Your daughter has cancer”, I thought our worlds were coming to an end. I had never felt that kind of pain, desperation, fear and anguish. How could this be? Such a perfect, sweet, innocent little girl….diagnosed with cancer at only 2 years old? We wished we could take your place. We would have given anything to have it be one of us, not you, our child. In those early years, we watched as you suffered through painful procedures and many treatments. You were stuck in the hospital countless times and endured chemotherapy, radiation and a bone marrow transplant. During it all, you remained happy and you would tell us not to worry and not to cry. Everything was going to be okay. You made the nurses, doctors, and staff fall in love with you. You had so many of them just eating out of the palm of your hand! You’d walk the halls of the hospital, tethered to your pole, with your cute little slippers on and sometimes, sunglasses or purses or hats. Always so stylish and cute and sassy! You were the brightest of angels, even back then!Following the successful BMT, you remained healthy for 5 years and 2 months. We are so thankful for all that we got to do with you. You showered us with so much love and you, soaked in and basked in, all of ours. You grew into such a beautiful, healthy young lady and we will never forget all the wonderful, special times we spent with you. We will never forget your spunk and your attitude, your humor and sarcastic comments. You were sassy and stubborn, but also sweet and loving to the core. You were such a mother hen. You loved babies and small children and would play for endless hours at Nana’s with all the babies in her daycare, holding them, playing with them and showering them with your attention and affection. When you were diagnosed this February, we were all crushed. We were all a little older, and wiser and so very, very scared of the road you would need to travel down. You helped your teacher tell your class that you had cancer and wanted to be able to answer any questions to your classmates. Such a fearless little girl! We watched as you took it all in stride and bravely went through all the new treatments. The lung surgery and the chest tubes in June, were the most painful procedures you had ever had. I cried and cried during the times you would get to finally rest and sleep, for all the pain that you had to endure. Tom our neighbor, remembers that shortly after your surgery, you were RUNNING and playing Ships across the Ocean, at their house and when you were getting tired, you said to Tom, “Tom, can you carry me? I just had part of my lung removed!”. I will NEVER forget that story. It is so you!During your BMT this August, we once again watched as you suffered. There was so many horrible side effects to your chemo. Nausea, vomiting, GVHD and all the horrible things that go with that. We watched as the strength was sucked out of your body, but never the spunk and your spirit. You fought so hard and you made it! You got to come home for 3 weeks!!! Home at last! We watched as you quietly, soaked it all in. You were so content to just sit or lay on the couch and watch your brother and sister in whatever they were doing. You didn’t have the strength or stamina to want to do much, but you were still so happy to be home with your family. You got to pick out your own little puppy, your loving little girl Emmie, and you bought her with your own money. She made you so happy and we are so glad you got a chance to do this, even if you really only got to enjoy her for 2 weeks. We will never regret the decision to let you have your own puppy and so grateful for the extra smiles it gave you. When we were told you had a virus…RSV, we really thought nothing of it. So what? Big Deal! Our McKenna is so strong, nothing can stop her, is all we so blindly were thinking. Never did we think it would devastate and destroy your lungs the way it did. I can’t even explain the pain that we felt as we watched you struggle to breathe. When you needed to be intubated and put on a breathing machine, I asked if you were scared and you said no. Always so brave! We were with you every day at the hospital, your entire family would take turns coming to visit you. We always thought you were going to wake up and couldn’t wait to see your eyes open and your see your beautiful smile. We wanted to hear your sweet voice again so badly. It wasn’t meant to be. You had to leave us on Tuesday. You had to go. Your body was so tired and worn out and it had suffered so long and hard. We knew it when we saw you that morning. It was over, you were done fighting, and we were telling you it was okay. It was your time to go fly, sing and dance with the angels. We understood that, finally, and we were ready to let you go.You left us, your entire family together, in your hospital room, surrounding you with our love. You are so brave, strong and courageous and we will never forget the lessons you have taught us. WE will cherish everything we had with you and you will be with all of us in our hearts forever and ever. You were the best little sister to Kalen, and the best big sister to Jadyn that you could possibly be. They are both so proud of you and will forever miss their sister. They are glad that you are now in heaven and cancer free. They both know that you are busy with all the angels, but know that you will hear them when they talk to you. They LOVE YOU!Mommy and Daddy are going to miss you forever. Your absence has left this family with a void as big as the Grand Canyon, and we are going to have to learn to live with it. You will always be with us and we are so blessed to have had you for as long as we did….we know that and we know that you are in a better place, free of pain and suffering. That is what gives us great comfort at this time!You changed lives baby girl! You inspired and touched so many people’s hearts! You lived life to the fullest and packed in an entire lifetime in just 10 short years. You are AMAZING and we will always carry your spirit in our hearts as we continue on here on earth. We will see you again princess McKenna….in every pink sunset, rainbow and twinkling star. We will know you are watching over our family for the rest of our lives and when we get to heaven, we’ll be able to hold you and laugh with you again! For now we will just continue to love you and remember you and miss you with all our might!See you later Boo Boo McFoo!!!

From McKenna:

Brick Wall, WaterfallDaddy thinks He’s got it all
But he don’t, cuz I do!
So, Boom with that attitudeBoom with that attitude!
Peace, Punch, Captain CrunchI’ve got something you can’t touch!
Bang Bang choo choo trainWind me up, I’ll do my thang!
I know Karate, I know Kung FuMess with me…I’ll mess with you….FOO!!!


Love McKenna!

Hello and I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. I was very lucky this Thanksgiving as I saw everyone in Hendersonville for lunch, and everyone in Charlotte for dinner. Just because of the travel, etc., we did not go to Kansas, where Christi's family is. We made a decision a couple of years ago that we would go to Kansas for either Thanksgiving or Christmas, but not both. I am really bummed that we did not see the Kansas family. Distance is hard.

I went to a couple of Bobcats games this week as well as seeing our PITIFUL Panthers today. They are really not good. I did see my old friend Susie Harvey. Susie is pregnant with her first, and really looked great. I have not seen her since at least 1990. We only got to chat for a minute, and it was the awkward surprised chat. You know what I mean.....

Several people have asked me about my friend Suzi Flynn and her struggle with cancer. I sent her an email tonight, and asked if she would give me an update and permission to post. We will see what she says.....

Addi and I have been learning letters tonight via the Internet. She loves Sesamestreet.com and is really funny participating. She likes to make sure you know she is doing well. She did the same think at gymnastics. It is very cute and I am glad she makes me feel very important. Christi does such a good job with Addi. She is really growing up to be a little lady.

People keep asking how I am feeling. I am doing pretty well. I am still having trouble sleeping because I am coughing. It is weird, I cough so much when I am horizontal. I have been trying to go to sleep with Christi, but instead of keeping her up, I am going to another room. My wind is getting better, but still not all the way back from the chest tube on the collapsed lung. I am feeling like it will keep getting better. My wait has leveled at 162, and I hope will trend back up. It is nice being skinny, but you know, I need my winter weight. I also still have the rash on my face, but it has calmed down. Think of Bo at 15, you will get the picture.

Last but not least, i have to tell you a funny story. I have three dogs, which I did not want. Christi brought them home without my knowledge. (I would say permission, but there are knives in the house.) I have grown to love these dogs. I still do not want them, but love them A LOT. Long story short - I am getting to my office on Wednesday of last week. As I am going into my briefcase to get some papers, I notice a smell. Kind of like a rotten smell, but faint. I pull out a plastic sleeve, and it is wet. Basically, one/two/or all three of them went pee in my briefcase.... Did I mention I love those dogs?

See ya....

So much has happened since my last post. If I forget something, sorry!

Today I went and got a treatment of Avastin. I found out that each dose cost over $10,000 and I go every three weeks. The nurse also said it was a wonder drug, and I needed to make sure I got each drop. I guess I have to thank Blue Cross and Blue Shield. I feel a little tired, but basically ok.

Sunday I hung out with Addi and just played with her until about 5:30. Christi, Brian, Jennifer, and I went to dinner and to a play, The Drowsy Chaparone. It was great. We had dinner at a little resturant downtown, and then walked to the show. I had a great time with my crew....

Friday and Saturday, I went to Hendersonville to a golf outing for Addi's Cure. It was a lot of fun. Lee B. put it together and he is such a good guy. Friday, we all went to dinner and caught up. Amy, Tippi, Steve, Steve L, and many others were there. It was fun to see my high school friends. Saturday, we went to the golf outing and it was COLD! My dad played also, and we were in the same 4-some. My group came in second, and we rasied $1500 for Addi's Cure. I was so proud of Lee, he did such a good job. Jim, Justin, Shawn, Phil, Brian, Zack, Adam, Billy, Dave, and Mike came up and really put in a huge effort.

Thanks to everyone....

Hello everyone, Christi here, boy is it nice to have nothing new to report. I am good with boring for a while. I am afraid the holidays will pick things back up, but you have to love being with family. Anyway, just a short shameless plug out there for everyone shopping online this Christmas. Please consider going to http://www.igive.com/ and registering. You can choose Addi's Cure as your choice of charity or any charity out there. This is a great website having the big stores give a percentage back to charity. If you download their software, igive will automatically pop up and you do not have to shop through their website, they will link it up for you and boom money is given. Thanks to those that are already using it, we have raised a couple hundred dollars for doing nothing but buying presents for loved ones. Please see the info and link below if you want to link up with Addi's Cure. Thanks for all you help and feel free to email info@addiscure.org if you have problems logging in and downloading.

Take care
Christi and Addi


Use this link if you want to register with Addi's Cure...

Hi_______here, along with iGive.com, inviting you to change YOUR online shopping into support for a truly worthy cause.
I'm supporting Addi's Cure, just by shopping online at over 681 online stores. And right now, my surfing can help too: when I visit online stores through iGive.com, it counts as an entry in iGive.com's Surfathon sweepstakes for a chance to win a $1,000 donation! They're giving away $1000 to 5 winning causes, every month for 10 months! I hope you'll join me for more chances to win - just join iGive.com for free and check out their stores. You don't even have to buy anything!
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HOW IT WORKS:
1. Join iGive.com to support Addi's Cure It's free, safe, and easy to join.
http://www.iGive.com/html/refer.cfm?memberid=485982&causeid=38872
2. Shop through iGive.com OR just surf their stores Their online mall features trusted online retailers like Lands' End, Staples, NORDSTROM, JCPenney, eBay, Expedia.com, Barnes & Noble, QVC, & PETsMART to name just a few!
3. Watch the $$ roll in for Addi's Cure!
Up to 26% of EACH purchase is donated, plus a bonus $5 donation if you shop within 45 days. The more stores you visit, the more chances to win a $1,000 donation during the Surfathon!
So, to recap:
Join for free, shop within 45 days of joining, and you'll get an extra $5 donation, FREE. And even if you don't shop, simply visiting stores through iGive.com means more chances to win a $1000 donation during the Surfathon! This is a limited time offer - you can click the link below to learn more:
>> http://www.iGive.com/html/surfathon.cfm
----------------------------------------------------
Use this link to JOIN FOR FREE and begin supporting Addi's Cure:
http://www.iGive.com/html/refer.cfm?memberid=485982&causeid=38872
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I hope to see you at iGive.com soon.
Christi
P.S. iGive.com would like you to know that all the causes at iGive.com have been listed by members for their own and others' benefit. They don't endorse the causes, and the causes don't endorse them. But I DO! So, c'mon, click on that link above.

We had a great weekend. Christi, Addi, and I went to Middleburg, VA to see an art show and spend time with Bill and Jo. Dennis E. is a person that we buy some art from, and he was having a show. He had Yuri Gorbachev in town for the show. He is from Russia and is an incredible artist. We also saw Jason K and Emily K, with their daughter Grace on Saturday. Tom and Lisa K. came to see us at the art show. We stayed on an estate that used to belong to the Warburgs. The Warburgs were part of the famed German and later New York banking family. It was really awesome.

Tonight, I spoke at a meeting on lung cancer. It was a good meeting.

Just wanted to check in this Thursday evening and say hello. We are so busy at work. Addi's Cure is doing really well. Remember, we started this year with $35,000 from last year. This has been growing in interest all year and was have of course raised a lot of money this year. We are over $125,000 for the year, so we will be able to give Duke more than last years $35,000. I think we will do better, but we can give them at least $62,500 this year.

I will check back with everyone on Sunday. I feel good and am looking forward to the weekend.

Make sure you look below for some pictures of me and Addi at Halloween!

This weekend was really great. I had the best time and really was surprised and amazed. I am going to start on Sunday and go backwards.

Sunday

I woke up and it was nice to be able to "sleep" in. The time change was nice, and of course Addi woke us up when she was ready. Christi fixed pancakes for Addi and I so it started off really good. We just hung around all morning, and Dr. Dan made a house call around lunch. He is the person that preforms acupuncture for me. I could not go as much as I needed last week, so he is really cool and came over. I stayed pinned for about an hour. Then Brian, Justin, Phil, Donelle, and I went to the go cart track. This is the real deal, where they go up to 60 mph. I cam in last, and Justin beat us all. It was a lot of fun. Brian and I went back, and with Christi, Addi, and Jennifer, watched the New England vs. Indianapolis game. Basically after that, paid bills, etc.

Now to tell you the other part of my weekend, I have to start on Friday. Friday the family headed down to Myrtle Beach for Richard Berry's client appreciation event. That meant I got to spend a lot of time with Addi and Christi in the car. Unfortunately, I was on the phone a lot. We got down to the hotel, and it was on the beach, so we took Addi to the beach. She found several shells and was highly upset to leave for dinner. We met the Berry's for dinner. Have you ever met someone and knew it was right? This is how it is with the Berry's. They work with my company, but our relationship is far from business now. It is truly friendship. We have done this with several people that work with us. For me, I can think of Kevin S., Larry G., John K., and that is off the top of my head. Very blessed for these relationships. We had dinner at The Brentwood in Little River, SC and it was awesome. Food was awesome as well, but company was better. All of the Berry's (Richard, Jan, Jana, Jamison, and Jordan) were there, as well as Jim and Jamie, Tracia, Caroline and Mike, Bill, and Jo. After dinner, we all went to bed.

On Saturday, we woke up and had breakfast. We went to the Berry's Client Appreciation Day at The Dixie Stampede in Myrtle Beach. Now, whatever i say from this point will not do justice to what happen. The worse part is I know I will leave things out as well. Trust me, it was really amazing. The Dixie Stampede probably holds about 1,000 people, and over 800 were there. There was a horse show and lunch, and it was really good food and fun. Addi loved the horses. Richard came out of the ceiling in a super man outfit and proclaimed himself the safe money man. It was hilarious. Addi called him the "money bird" and really laughed and thought he was funny. Then they called us down and made a presentation. They had raised $7,505 for Addi's Cure. I have never really put numbers with people, but I was amazed at what they had done for us. American Equity was there and they presented Addi's Cure a check as well. Last but not least, Michael C. and his company gave a donation as well. All in all, I was overwhelmed. Christi was too.

There is really not much I can do to show my appreciation for what everyone has done for Addi's Cure. I try to tell the stories of what the Berry's and others do for the cause, and I hope it is not lost my admiration for all the help I have been given. Addi's Cure has been a great distraction for me, and your support has made me believe that anything can be done. I will post soon and let you know the total for 2007 as well as since inception, but it will make you cry. Every dollar, I mean every cent, will be used for research. I hope we can make a dent where the government is short. Did you know that the government approved a study for yellow bees and pumpkins that will have more funding than lung cancer? What in the world!

This weekend was special and I hope I did some justice to it..... Thanks again to the Berry's for a wonderful weekend.....

Sorry to take so long here are some Halloween pictures...

I am sorry it took me so long to post this week. I want to say first that I am really pumped about my doctors visit on Tuesday. I think everyone can agree that I thought the results were not going to be good. A lot of people were concerned I was down, but I just felt there would be a negative reaction because of what my body was telling me. When I had the last collapsed lung, the procedure they did really is taking a long time to heal which is giving me real symptoms, but it seemed like it was from the cancer.

Susan, one of the doctors I see, came in because we had been waiting awhile. She could not see us right then, but she did say the scans are good. Later she came in and talked more. I wanted you to know this part of the story because that is an example of why I am so happy at Duke. She did not have to do that. I really believe they truly care about me.

I do want to say I am still going to go for the lung transplant. While I am stable, science tells us that eventually, the Avastin may not work. I will always try to do something to make me stable, but in the end, I think I will have to go for it.

Three great things from this week. First - Charlotte Business Journal picked FIG as the 3rd best place to work in Charlotte. We were in the medium category, and there are over 1700 businesses with 50-175 employees. This is something that our employees were surveyed for this honor. This is not something we paid for, it is really a big deal and I am very proud of our company. Second - this weekend, one of my clients is having a client appreciation dinner. One of the things they are doing is having a fund raiser for Addi's Cure. They have already donated themselves and had many of their clients donate also. The Berry's are a great family. I could go on and on. The third thing is very exciting as well. There is a Bush Series driver named Jennifer Jo Cobb (http://www.cobbracingteam.com) and Addi's Cure will be on her car. One of the companies I work with is The Annexus Group. These guys decided to sponsor her car. Out of the goodness of their hearts, they decided to put my charity on the car. I was so touched, it was crazy.... She is the only female driver, and she is from Kansas. Watch the PHX Bush race and look for the Annexus Car with Addi's Cure on it...... Thanks Don and Ron!

Last, but not least, THANK YOU. I know there are a lot of people out there thinking of me and praying for me. We all know that is why I am still here. I have had some good times and bad during the crazy time, but the bottom line is the support I have is awesome....

We, Christi here, just got back home, of course the computer was down at Duke otherwise we would have posted sooner. The scans came back STABLE! Bo is still a little dumbfounded on the doctors saying that everything looks as good as before the collapsed lung, that he didn't know what to say when they told us things looked good. I would have to say he was speechless. Bo will update more later, but at this time we are going to stay the same course and enjoy the holiday season. There will be tons of pictures showing our celebrations and living life to the fullest. Thank you everyone for praying and pumping Bo up. You truly are amazing friends far and near. We love you all!
Love
Christi and Addi
PS Good Luck Freedom, she is one of our favorite helpers at Duke and she is due any day now with a little girl. I will see you January 2nd for our next set of scans.

I just wanted to quickly post that all is good with my Dad. All clear and he doesn't have to go for another scan until 2 years. Yeah! Just the beginning of good news! Tomorrow for us will be a long day, so don't worry if we don't post until late. Thanks and keep praying.
Christi

Hello everyone, Christi here. I just wanted to Thank everyone for their support, kind words and silent prayers. Bo, Addi and I truly appreciate all that you do for us. We are hoping and I am expecting great news on Tuesday, but together with everyone we will handle whatever is thrown our way. I have no doubt that there is greater plan out there for everyone of us that we do not know at this time and in my heart I know Bo will come through. So Tuesday is big in Bo's mind, but in my heart it will be just a clarification on the path that we are to take. Please pray that we handle everything with grace and acceptance and good news will prevail. I would also like to ask everyone to say a prayer for my Dad. On Monday he is going in for his first yearly checkup since being diagnosed with colon cancer. I expect and pray that he will provide us with the first good news to report. Big week here and we will share whatever news with everyone when the time is right.
Thank you again
Love
Christi and Addi

When I typed the blog entry for yesterday, I had no idea it would cause such a stir.... I got many calls/emails yesterday and today, as well as several entries into the blog. My purpose of this blog is to always be as honest as I can about how I feel and what is happening. (remember the doctor and his finger from the beginning? :) ) During my time living with this mess, I have been very lucky from the standpoint of having a great support cast. I won't even talk about Christi and Addi because you know, but my parent, friends, and a lot of people just showing they care. This has carried me a long way and has given me many positive days. However, I knew there would come a time when I would have some bad days. What surprised me most was the same support really came through again. Candace called me and yelled at me, Caroline wrote me a long email as well as Jeanne, and Christi stood by me like she always does.

I am sick still, and I do not feel very good today, but I am feeling better mentally than yesterday.

I think that the pressure of dealing with this has gotten to me. I also think it is affecting my job as well, which is very important to me. Bill, Jo, Brian, and everyone at FIG is really stepping up, but it bothers me. I just want to go back to a normal life, and that is just not possible anymore no matter what I do.

Just wanted to make sure I explained a little more. I am still fighting, and will not give this up ever because of Christi and Addi. I am sure there are better days ahead....

It has been awhile since my last post, and a lot has been going on. Christi and I just got back from Cancun, Mexico and we had a pretty good time. I got a little sick at the end of the trip, and in fact am still sick today. I am not sure if the two were related since there were different symptoms, but never the less, sick is sick. In Cancun, Christi and I relaxed some and we even swan with the dolphins. We stayed at a place called Le Blanc which was nice. Caroline and Mike, Justin and Rachel, Wade and Kenda, and Hamilton were also there from FIG. It was a reward trip for Annexus. I think everyone had a good time.

I also have been doing acupuncture for a little while. It has been interesting to be sure. It does not hurt, and they do not put the needles on fire.... Rumors. I will let you know how it is going.

Update on me - like I said, I am sick today. I have a cold. It seems that any time I travel I get something, a direct effect from chemo and my immune system being down. I do believe that my cancer is getting worse, and I think they will confirm this on the 30th. I am having more and more trouble breathing with any more than normal excursion. I am also going to for sure ask them to put me on the lung implant list. I feel like this is something I have to do. I do think the medical community is doing a lot now for detecting cancer early and better, but it seems to me that the things they are doing are all for stage 1 or stage 2 people. Also, for every death of breast cancer, they are spending $13 for research, for lung cancer, they are spending $1. This is pretty telling to me. The more "sexy" cancers are getting the dollars, while people have a stigma about lung cancer. I hope Duke says ok for the transplant.....

Christi has been really worried about me and my attitude towards this situation. I do not think I have changed at all, just think I am not going to live in a dream world either. I am worried there has been a change, and it does bother me. I am still eating great, doing all of the alternative things I can do, and praying every night. It is hard to get up every day and face the facts. I think every understands life and death, but most people do not face it daily. I am not going to just die one day suddenly, it would be a process. I wonder if that is better or worse?