Thanks. I choose to exclude that figure from my culture (Dad was Mexican; Mom American, and we were raised mostly on the American side (Halloween rather than Muertos ā but Iāve consciously chosen to rembrace my Mexican roots and pass that on to our boys. Weāll do as much or more of Dia de los Muertos, seven weeks from now. I do hope to still be dancing BY the brightly colored altar and making and eating the Day of the Dead bread as usual rather than having it made in memory OF me) for as long as possible, though!
Welcome back! Not only in the digital sense, but in the mortal sense, too.
Hope there will be chocolate!
Such welcome news! It was so great to see your name above the post. Welcome back! Best wishes for your continued recovery. å ę²¹!!!
I would like to donate , I think Iām the right type but thry wonāt let me .
Glad to see you are in fighting form Dragonbones, yes there are many medical miracles these days , who knows whatās possible.
Thanks, I have been missing here in a digital sense for a decade or so, too; the main reason has been homeschooling two boys in 3.5+ languages, with every major topic in a least two (for instance, math, reading, writing, biology etc. in three; ruminants, the Royce Williams story (do look him up if you havenāt read that, a real hero) and crustaceans in two; and so on). You can purchase some ācomplete curriculumā homeschooling materials in English, even though some arenāt great, but thereās far less in Spanish , so I spend an awful lot of time creating encyclopedic Spanish language (and bilingual Sp./Eng.) materials, teaching geography in Sp., and so on, along with a FT jobā¦
Hey DB, Billy Joel sang, āOnly the good die youngā¦ā. Quit line cutting like an old Da Ma right off the street at Family Mart. You aint that good.
a HUGE thanks for this link; this is the kind of thing weāre hoping for, and Iāll share this with my oncologists immediately.
Thanks, ChewDawg, itās truly moving and wonderful seeing this kindness, generosity and community spirit!
Best news in years. Jia you!
Out of ICU yesterday! I entered the NTUH cancer center hospital (best in the world, reputedly) on Aug 22, my wifeās birthday, before we had a chance to celebrate it. Now I am still hospitalized, and theyāre treating water on the lungs and one collapsed lung , leukemia-induced pneumonia and Iām covered in leukemia-induced malignant skin tumors plus GVHD rash, and bruised all over due to low platelets (caused by leukemiaā¦ the bugger really tries to kill you off in every possible way). Just had a āpiglet tailā drainage valve put in (twice) to drain the water on the lungs on one side. Bloody hell does it hurt! But Iām improving. I ādiedā around Aug. 25 or 26 I think. Since then Iāve been de-intubated, gotten off a feeding tube, got the urethral catheter yanked out (ouch) yesterday, andCAN manage to move around a bit without oxygen (although they donāt let me) 200 meters on oxygen with something to hold onto. After a couple daysā rest for the piglet tail surgery Iāll resume rebuilding muscle mass and strength; will probably be in hospital til the end of the month. When I get home I have to be strong enough to climb the stairs to our 5F apt, not just walk on level ground. Itās amazing how quickly you start to weaken and lose a LOT of muscle mass and even some bone strength (if e.g. in your late 50ās like me) after just 3 days in bed. Iāve been in bed for 15.
You can look forward to a few kilos of your favourite French chocolate, then! 
Best wishes for your recovery
Keep on fighting!
Jesusā record is still safe, but not bad. Not bad at all. Keep up the resurrection! 
This thread should be Dragonbones is Posting! 
Kent what do they have you eating to build mass and muscle?
I didnāt bring this up as you have you own healing to do, but it seems like my BIL is facing a similar path. Bone Marrow Cancer. Siblings are being tested now for compatibility. His white and reds are low but otherwise heās fit, just is afraid of getting sick. Iām thinking itās gonna be a long two year haul. He should prepare now for the tough times to come.
Iām on a variety from full nutritional supplement liquids to anything healthy I want to add, and I basically had to convince their nutritionist, who consults with each patient before permitting outside food in. My Mediterranean diet (biandang from home), whole grain foods, lean meats, no beef, oatmeal, mixed Fin with water (to prevent loss of electrolytes) etc. easily passed the test. I wonāt go high protein until Iām doing a bit more heavy exercise but with a collapsed lung, pneumonia and leukemia and a near death experience weāre starting slow and building up. Iāll probably be released in a couple of weeks, fingers crossed, and by then I plan to have gone high protein, be weight-lifting in their therapist lounge, and climbing the stairs with a backpack full of 5 liters of water. Right now Iāve maxed at 200 meters walking, then had double surgery today so have to take two days off from exercise. Within four days I should be walking a kilometer, and within ten, doing two or three flights of stairs.
By the way, to the poster whose thread was just deleted, I think if you read the edited original or the whole thread, youād understand why Maomanās initial words were not at all premature. I was actually declared not resuscitatable and sure to die at one point, by the ICU doctors of THE top medical staff in the world on blood cancers, and was put on DNR status. My wife was sent home with the belief that I was basically already gone, and my will and testament were read, as well as letters Iād written for her and my sons in case I didnāt make it at some point (which per statistics of a few years ago was a sure outcome, 0% odds of survival). So even my own family thought I was dead. Maomanās post was thus very reasonable, and I appreciate it, as well as all the wonderful support Iāve gotten. You canāt read through a whole thread of people eulogizing you without a few good cries of gratitude for being surrounded by such wonderful friends and the amazing Forumosa community (do please buy 'mosa a few cups of coffee at least, to help offset website costs!). Cheers!
+
Slacker. 
@Dragonbones thanks for filling us in on this very personal journey of yours. At the risk of sounding hackneyed, youāre really an inspiration to us who are bitching about the rain, work, aches & pains, etc. It is just great to hear about your progress. Frankly, Iām surprised you have the energy to do those walk arounds, never mind post about everything. Please keep us up to date when you can. Best wishes to you, your wife and kids, whoāve been through this rough time with you as well. Iāve said it before; againå ę²¹, å ę²¹Āøå ę²¹!!!
Best quote:
Canāt wait to hear about that when it happens. Good luck!