The family at the Magic Kingdom
Greetings all. No reason to beat around the bush, I had my latest MRI on Monday and received the results on Wednesday. I would have posted something Wednesday night but was too busy celebrating! The results were very positive. The main tumor decreased in size from over 12mm avg. diameter to just under 9mm, around a 25% decrease! Not only that, but the radiologist who did the analysis does not believe the other tumor area is pathological tissue after all, primarily because it has not shown any change at all in shape or size (highly unlikely if it were an active tumor). Obviously this is awesome news and good evidence that the combination of Chinese herbs, rest, clean air and daikon-burdock soup is working.
The back side of Thunder Mountain
In other news, last week Nicole, my parents and I all went to Disneyworld together. For my parents it was their first real vacation in 5 years and for Nicole and I it was an opportunity to get our minds off the upcoming MRI. Anyway, I took way too many pictures while down there and we had a great time.
Pooh’s wild ride (still not as good as Mr. Toad’s…)
The last time I was in Disney World was about 20 years ago and a lot has changed. Epcot seems to have doubled in size and Pooh’s Wild Ride has replaced Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride at the Magic Kingdom. The Nautilus submarine ride is gone as well, a sad loss for lovers of kitch everywhere. The Magic Kingdom does remain the stoniest place on earth next to Burning Man. Pooh’s ride and the Spectro Magic light parade being just 2 examples.
Mickey ruling the light parade
A real wild gator that shouldn’t have been where it was…
3rd of July Fireworks
We also lucked out that the 4th of July fireworks at the Magic Kingdom were on both the 3rd and the 4th, so we got to see them (on the 3rd). Maybe not as good as Chinese New Year in Hong Kong but pretty cool just the same.
The Geosphere, AKA Spaceship Earth
Epcot is still the coolest part of Disney World as far as I’m concerned, and I still think the Geosphere is one of the coolest buildings in the country. Since the last time I was there they’ve added a lot of cool stuff and a lot of cool architecture. My favorite was the new Mission to Mars space simulator, which was more fun than it should really be. The World Showcase remains pretty cheesy but loveable in it’s own way.
The world of Imagination
Japan (World Showcase) at sunset with the Geosphere in the background
Spaceship Earth with night lighting
Tree of Life @ Animal Kingdom
Disney’s Animal Kingdom didn’t exist when I was down there last and it was pretty cool. A lot of it was zoo-like but also very educational, all combined with the crazy Disney construction style. In addition to all the animals there’s also the coolest roller-coaster at Disney, called the Everest Experience. It doesn’t have any loops, but it does suddenly change direction and send you spinning around backwards at high speed in the pitch dark for a while. Awesome.
Everest over a canal (left), Nicole with Tree of Life in the background (right)
Disney’s Hollywood Studios
Another new addition is the Disney Hollywood Studios, which is a fairly shameless copy of Universal Studios (just down the road). It was probably my least favorite part of the park, though it was fun to walk around all the art-deco streets and recreations of hollywood landmarks, like Mann’s Chinese Theater.
Mann’s Chinese Theatre (Left), Nicole about to be crushed (Right)
Off all the new stuff at Disney World I have to confess my favorite might have been the Blizzard Beach water park, which was an absolute blast. The best part without a doubt is the Peak Plunge (or some such name) which is a virtually straight-down water slide that get’s you up to about 55mph. That was fun and worth the line!
Blizzard Beach
Well, that’s enough for now. Obviously my whole family is incredibly happy about the MRI results, and also very much hopefull that this is a real step towards full remission. I’m not taking anything for granted but am more optimistic now than I have been in the last 2 years, I really believe that recovery is possible now.
I can not thank enough all the people who have supported me, prayed for me, visited, emailed, sent Facebook and email messages, and just thought positive thoughts for me. It really makes a difference and gives me the strength to keep going. I especially need to thank my parents for providing a great and peaceful environment for my recovery, Salesforce.com for be incredibly supportive and flexible, and Nicole for keeping me positive and focused and not tolerating any negative thoughts coming from me.
I hope you are all well; savor life and the people around you!
-Ted