One Year, How I Got Here -and- Blog Stong's First Birthday

After writing that last post, I realized that it's been exactly one year since starting treatment.

One year ago today, right about this time, I was lying in bed wondering what the day, and the next year would bring.

One year ago today, my parents drove me to the hospital as I stared out the window, wondering if I would ever walk the streets of Madison again.

One year ago today, I was spending a night in the hospital for the first time in my life, frightened, and had no idea what to anticipate.

One year ago today, if I'm honest, I thought it unlikely that I'd be around to type this blog post one year later.

One year ago today, while sitting in a hospital bed, I wrote out what became the first post on this blog.

I like working at my desk better...

In the last year, there have been some rough patches when I thought I'd never make it through. There have been many.

But each and every one of these rough patches has been met by emails, cards, comments, and simple words of encouragement that have carried me through.

In short, you have all gotten me here today, and I'll never be able to thank you enough.

The picture above was drawn and written by my Best Bud Jacques, the son of my friend and former co-worker Shane. It hangs above my desk at my home office and I look at it every day. It is only one example of the thousands of mementos and messages that I keep that have helped me cross the treacherous seas of treatment over the last year.

I had originally planned on doing a long list of shout outs including everything that has helped carry me through then realized that there have been so many that I could never list them all and that to try and miss some would be an injustice.

The truth is that each and every person reading this post deserves my great thanks.

Thank you all for getting me here today. I appreciate all of the little things that you've done (including reading this blog) more than words can express.

Sam