oldblessedwordpresscom

I’ve written before about why “Old and Blessed” is a good handle for my blog site. At the risk of being redundant, I want to share a few more words on this topic. Some may not consider me old. At sixty-eight, there are a lot more folks older than I. But that’s not what I consider when I look at my age. As I’ve said before, I live with Multiple Myeloma. This is a cancer that kills thousands each year. There are 22,000 new cases diagnosed yearly. Ten thousand people die annually from this disease. Those numbers may not seem that impressive, on a world-wide scale, but consider the fact that there’s no cure for this disease, yet.

When considering the statistics, can you see why I think of myself as old? Eighteen years and nine month ago, you probably couldn’t have found a professional gambler anywhere who would have betted on odds that I would still be alive. I didn’t think I would be here today either. I’ve seen many co-fighters die a few years after being diagnosed, and I’m still here. I’ve lived a long life. A life for which I’m immensely grateful! A life that is in the hands of a loving, all-powerful God. There are no secular models of odds-taking included in this model, period. There’s only God. He has blessed me to have access to the best medical care available, and to be comforted by many loving family members and friends.

I remember early in my Myeloma journey; my prayer was to be around to see my kids grow into adult-hood. My children were 21, 12 and 9 when I received my diagnosis. Not only have my children matured, but I now have grandchildren and one great-grandchild. God has blessed me beyond anything I could have imagined!

I enjoyed a long period of remission, from mid-2000 to the latter part of 2016. The end of 2016 saw me go into relapse. Relapse is always a possibility. With all the years I enjoyed remission, I can honestly say that I experienced no fear. May lack of fear was enforced by several things: 1) being blessed with such a long period of remission; 2) the variety of options research has produced for treating relapsed patients; and 3) the fact that I’ve had a good ride, even with all the challenges my suppressed immune system has brought my way.

Some may say I’m not old, that I’ve not lived that long. Considering all that I’ve said, I would find it hard if you didn’t appreciate my deeply personal concept of what a long, blessed life has been for me.

I’m old and blessed…hope you will be too.