Update on me

Hello all! I'm testing out something new here. What I've done is set up some bryanbird.com e-mail accounts to automatically forward to my friends, family, Romans, and countrymen, as well as to automatically post to my blog (so you'll see this exact same message on the blog). This way, if I'm in the hospital again (where I don't have easy internet access and could be busy with tests, meeting with doctors, sleeping, etc.), my mom can easily send e-mail updates to everyone who wants 'em. So if you *don't* want to be on this list, just let me know -- I won't be offended, really! I just rummaged through my address book and old e-mails to find everyone I thought would like to stay informed. And if you're reading this on the blog and would *like* to be on the e-mail list, let me know.

So yeah, you didn't know I was in the hospital? Well don't feel left out, because a lot of people didn't, hence this list. :) As it happened, I did have enough time before we left to post a quick blog note saying I was being admitted, but not much else. I do like keeping people informed, and it has the added bonus of me not having to repeat the story multiple times.

And if you're *really* lost and don't know that I was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Disease back in December, I apologize for missing your address in my original round of e-mails. If you check out my blog (http://blog2.bryanbird.com) and click on November 2004 in the archive, you can read the saga from the beginning. I'm over halfway done with my treatments now, but this past weekend I had a fever and they wanted to make sure it wasn't toxicity as a side effect from one of the chemo drugs. The most likely suspect, though, is "atypical" pneumonia, because the fever went away with antibiotics (which I'm still on for a few days yet). Other than this little setback, the chemo has been going well, and the masses are shrinking. Hodgkin's has a very high recovery rate; most people never have it again.

Once I'm done with the chemo in June, we'll wait a few weeks then I'll have three weeks of radiation therapy as well. So be looking toward late July for being completely done here. Thanks for everyone's concern, thoughts, prayers, mojo, all that good stuff!

-Bryan