Day 1 of Cycle 12 on LDE225...

...presented us with an unexpected twist. There is always a pretty full slate of blood work on the first day of a new round, but with no scans scheduled this time, we figured it would be a pretty easy day. We were discussing a recent problem that has come up with deteriorating vision in my right eye, curious to see if any other of the 20 to 30 patients on this drug had experienced similar effects. Thus far, none have, but it is still very, very early in the game as far as this drug is concerned. Coupled with the fact that I had lost another two pounds in the past two weeks, Dr. Mita ordered a (non-emergency) brain MRI just to make sure that nothing crazy is going on in my head to cause it.

If you have ever had an MRI, especially on the upper half of your body, you know it is something akin to psychological torture. After it was done, when the technician rescued me, I told him I was ready to talk--whatever he needed me to tell him, I was ready. He said he gets that response quite often. I was only in for 35 minutes or so; I can't imagine the state you would be in if it lasted several hours. Anyway, we are not really worried about the results. My eye problem is probably the result of my aging body, and the weight loss is from my eating problems. The main thing I'm worried about is that they won't find anything in there. It would only confirm what many people already think about me. Oh, well...

Anyway, we had a super good Saturday in Austin, as we celebrated the marriage of our niece Jillian and new nephew Joel. Many of Helen's family were there, an invasion by invitation, but a good kind. It was really great to see all of them. God blessed with perfect weather. It was inspiring to witness a young couple who seek to serve God and one another for the rest of their life.

If you have never enjoyed wildflower watching, you really should learn to. It's one of Helen's and my favorite things to do in early spring. We look forward to it every year. We have been known to just take off with nothing else planned except to find the most awesome display out there. This year has produced perhaps the best crop in recent years, thanks to timely rainfall in late winter. There is usually a very brief period of optimum viewing, limited to a couple of weeks, and now is the time this season. The drive just east of Mason was especially amazing. It is just as if God took His creative paintbrush and splattered the colors across the fields and road sides with beautiful bright colors.

"Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?" (Matthew 6:28b-30) The Message says it this way: "...walk out into the fields and look at the wildflowers. They never primp or shop, but have you even seen color and design quite like it? The ten best men and women in the country look shabby alongside them. If God gives such attention to the appearance of wildflowers--most of which are never even seen--don't you think He'll attend to you, take pride in you, do His best for you?"

God is so good...