Wanted: Good Speechwriter

February 11, 2001|

Wanted: Good Speechwriter

It’s been a little more than two weeks since I got home and it has felt like two years. It has been an action-packed fun-filled two weeks. It has been restful too. I always need to throw that in to satisfy all the mothers out there. I have discovered that I no longer have one or two mothers, I now have about 500 mothers, and few grandmothers to boot. “Button up your coat!” “You’d better eat!” “Where’s your hat?!” “What are you doing out?” I can’t escape! I wouldn’t want to, though 😉

I need to give a quick thanks to Mrs. Hageman’s 1st period Health class, Chaney’s FCA and Mrs. Wells’ 2nd period Social Studies class. I had a great time talking to you and am thankful no one sustained any serious injuries from stabbing themselves with pencils trying to keep awake. The most telling comment made was when I was introduced to Mrs. Wells’ class and girl exclaimed, “You’re from NEW YORK! You must be RICH! Are you a MILLIONAIRE?!”

This Friday I have my biggest and most challenging crowd yet- the entire student body of Chaney High School! You are welcome to come, 2:30pm in the auditorium for you Youngstown folk. We will be talking for a few minutes on leadership and motivation (Leadership and Management Team Members at Goldman Sachs, I will be needing your advice a lot this week! J) Actually, I am extremely excited about this opportunity and hope I can make some sort of impact. I think all of my experiences and learnings speak volumes enough about the subject.

Before the speech, I am travelling down to Columbus, Ohio on Wednesday and Miami U (OH) on Thursday. Anyone who wants to hang out in those towns, give a yell.

The (Scary) Prognosis

There is one thing I forgot to mention last update that I will mention now. A lot of people ask me, “So when do you find out if you are in remission? What’s the prognosis?” Well, here’s the deal. I get CT scans and checked up every three months (starting in April) for the next two years.

The interesting thing is that the CT scans and MRIs will not show if the all of the cancer is completely gone. Because of the placement of some of the cells on my spine and hip, CT scans will not show if they are gone or not. The only way, according to Dr. Moskowitz, that we will know if the cancer is gone is simply by me feeling pain in those areas. Scary, huh? Yeah. For the rest of my life any little pain could provoke in my mind, “The cancer’s back!”

I think that is good thing though. The apostle Paul had his “thorn in the flesh” to remind him of his weakness and to remind of God’s power over it. I think I have been blessed with that too. Any little pain will trigger that response that I am not as indestructible as I think I am and how fragile life is. It will also remind me to throw up a prayer to ask God to keep the cancer away.

Thank You!

Once again thank you to all who helped at the benefit, who went to the benefit and who have given generously. I can’t believe that cards and support are STILL coming in! All of it is such a testament to the quality of people I know.

Help!

If you can, please pray for one of my best friends, Kara. I always felt that her and I were inexplicably linked, and this latest episode confirms it. Kara went skiing one day last January and ended up running into tree, breaking her leg in three places (including the thigh bone and the knee cap). She still was able to continue school at Penn, graduated in May, and started work in Chicago in August. (As was I, but with Hodgkin’s)

Tuesday, we were talking on the phone about arranging our summer vacation plans, about biking down the coast (her, not me!) and running again. Tragically on Wednesday, she was walking to work, hit a patch of ice, slipped and landed on her knee, causing the fracture to split all over again. If you can remember, please pray for her. This is a total relapse and setback, which unfortunately I know all too well. It is not easy, so please keep her in your thoughts.

Thanks, I know she’ll be OK with you all on her side.