This
is a bonus year. We take for granted the
time we have. I know I have for most of
my life. And this year has truly been a
blessing for me. More about that later. For now, you all know last year was a
war. I won most of the battles and ended
the year pretty much where I started, recovering.
So
as the curtain closed on 2016 I was just out of the hospital again, this time
for an enzyme overload in my liver.
Keytruda immunotherapy drugs had created the imbalance and the doctors
chose to put a stint in to drain the excess fluids. I can’t imagine everyone not wanting to spend
the New Year’s celebration with a tube hanging out your side. Open the valve and I could spray everyone
with some “special sauce.”
Health
set back or not, I had tickets for Las Vegas first week of January. I promised Guanheng I would take him there
for his 21st birthday, even if that meant carrying a bucket on the
plane to drain into. I was surprised
they have sealed bags for you to hook up to for travel. Although TSA did give me a stare when they
saw my drainage contraption.
Vegas
was a blast. First trip for me with no
convention or meetings attached. We
spent time doing just about everything.
Grand Canyon, David Copperfield, Hoover Dam, you name it. The weather was perfect. We walked a lot, which I truly needed to
do. And we pretty much saw all the
casinos. Highlights were food, the
Golden Nugget Buffet is still great, Gordon Ramsay’s Fish and Chips and In and
Out Burger. Those stops alone made the
trip nearly perfect.
February
started the Coaches vs Cancer team kick off.
I was one of 9 local “celebs” charged to raise money for the American
Cancer Society. Thanks to some very
generous fraternity brothers, friends and family I was able to raise more than
the others and was a “guest of honor” at the new basketball coach’s table for
the banquet. It was so much fun I have
enlisted to do it again this spring.
Watch out for my requests for a donation.
The
best part of the Coaches vs Cancer campaign was an article written by Deb
Pressey on my battle. She captured it so
well, calling me to make sure my quotes were accurate. Here is the link if you didn’t see it, http://www.news-gazette.com/news/local/2017-02-07/diagnosis-or-not-hes-living-all-out.html
I
returned to a battery of tests in March.
About every conceivable scan and blood test. Bottom line, the good doctor proclaimed me in
remission. Officially, “stage 4
colorectal cancer in remission”. That’s
a lot of letters and words to say I’m doing just fine. The only issues I have are numbness in my
hands and feet from the chemo I took last year.
I
am still taking chemo every three weeks.
The Keytruda clinical study is continuing. I’m perfectly happy to be taking the drug,
but have to keep taking steroids as the drug creates liver issues. A fine trade.
Enough about health issues. Just
know I’m feeling good, started working out with a trainer, and will be my old
self again soon.
April
I headed to my father’s birthplace, North East, PA, to spend time with
relatives for Easter. It was wonderful
to see aunts, uncles, cousins, etc and reassure them that I was still ornery. I love northern PA along Lake Erie and try
and get there every year if I can. This
was I test of my driving skills with the numbness, but I passed the test.
My
plans were to have June be the “return to normal schedule” month for me. That means my traditional over commitments
and over booking. I succeeded! A trip to Pinehurst NC for nephew Drew’s
wedding followed by a week in Virginia Beach for our church mission trip. Brandon Foster, my cousin Dana’s son,
accompanied me on this adventure. We met
sister Kristina and her boys in Pinehurst, had a grand time there, and then
headed to Virginia. It was wonderful, a
great two weeks of family, fellowship and worship. Add in the service projects and I felt in my
element for the first time in 18 months.
By
the time I returned we had started work on the summer musical for the Champaign
Urbana Theatre Company, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. This show was marvelous for sure, director
Jeff Dare’s vision was brilliant, and we were able to bring it to life. I love producing for CUTC and love having
shows in the Virginia Theatre.
Spectacular. I’m on board for
another show in 2018.
A
quick trip to Columbus in mid-July for some fraternity training. I’m always learning more about 18-21 year
olds and the issues they face. Then off
to Chicago for James Taylor and Bonnie Raitt at Wrigley Field. Talk about a wonderful evening. Breezes off the lake and the timeless JT
tones filled the air. I took brother
Frank to the show as it was his 50th birthday and he loved the
experience.
In
August I headed to Boston for Nathan Kelsey’s wedding. Nathan is another in my top 5 all-time
brothers. A remarkable young man with
visions of idealism and optimism. In
addition he is one of my fraternal golf partners, a small group of dedicated
white ball chasers. Nathan married a
beautiful doctor, a very smart woman, who will give him plenty of space to
chase his dreams. I went early to the
wedding and used the time to traverse the local towns and villages. It’s amazing to see the architecture and
history of the area. I love Boston so
much and could spend weeks exploring.
September
brought the normal back to school challenges.
Goal setting for the fraternity chapter, retreats, and motivating the
young men to succeed. They are doing
very well this year and semester. I have
never been more pleased, and given some of the national headlines related to
Greek Life it’s refreshing to have positive results to report.
October
was ultra-special. A week in London with
nephew Arlo. Our hosts, fraternity
brother Mark Porst and his beautiful wife Betsy, put together a perfect
schedule for this once in a lifetime trip.
The schedule combined history, the monarchy, shopping, theatre and
delicious food. Betsy should be a tour
guide! More info at my blog, http://toddsalen.blogspot.com/2017/11/londonor-magic-kingdom.html
November
has been very low key. A great time for
me to get caught up at work and also enjoy the best of Champaign. I love all the sports, men’s basketball,
women’s basketball and volleyball. We
have excellent teams here. And we play
football too J
Finally
I plan to head to NYC to stay with my sister Kristina and her boys for
Christmas. Her new company, United
Masters, launched a few weeks ago. More
excitement for her. After Christmas
Guanheng and I will be bringing Godson
Drew and his brother Brandon to Orlando for a few days of fun at the theme
parks.
Thanks
to all for a wonderful year. A few
highlights, best gift, (from Brenda) stationary. Best Movie – Wonder. Best TV Show – This is Us, (Ozark is good
too). Best Music – I’m Not My Father’s
Son from Kinky Boots. Best Surprise –
The Remission and of course chance to see the next Star Wars. I’m the luckiest man in the world because…..I
have an amazing family, incredible friends, great doctors and dedicated
fraternity brothers. Oh, and I have my
girl Kelsey as well…woof! Have a
fabulous holiday and remember,
Every DAY
Matters!
Much
Love, Todd and Kelsey
