Roller Coaster Ride

What a ride. It’s been a physical & emotional roller coaster over these past 3 weeks since Easter. By the way on Easter Sunday my great friend & neighbor from Hilltop Rd. in Syracuse Peter Waters flew myself, Mike Thornton, and my son Brian to opening day for MLB baseball. Red Sox vs. Yankees . It was a beautiful day & perfect day & evening for baseball. It was great game with the Red Sox coming from behind to win 9-7! I now have a favorite MLB baseball player – Dustin Pedroia. He gives 120% all of the time.

Thanks Peter & Janet for a great time !!! Fenway on opening day. Stephen Tyler ( God Bless America) & Neil Diamond ( Sweet Caroline). Unbelievable !

That was at the top of the roller coaster with the rush of going down the hill. Unfortunately, there was a low period when the Chemo was kicking my butt. Oh well that’s to be expected. My blood platelets do not like Temodar ( chemo ). They drop to real low levels. I am working with the doctors to come up with a plan so we can keep a better schedule.

I did have an MRI scan one week ago. Not to bad but that is why I need to keep a regular Chemo schedule. That will keep the stupid tumor in check.

Last week I did get out to walk a few holes & play some golf with Brian. Can’t play to well. That sucks. My stamina & swing are not to good. It’s very frustrating. It was good to get out on the golf course.

I have been getting to spend a lot of time with Christopher ( my Chauffer) he drives me to a lot of my doctors appointments. Unfortunately for Chris he has to listen to me “ backseat drive” telling him to change lanes & most of all “ make the light” ! For all my family members that sounds familiar. He is a great young adult.

Andrew picked up a cold so have not seen him much. A few times over the past week. I hope he gets over his virus soon.

Mary has been busy keeping the household running. She is amazing. She took off for Florida on Wednesday 4/21 with her brother Patrick ( his 3 kids) & sister Amy to my parents condo in Seminole FL for some R&R. I think they are having a blast !! The boys & Mary are at he TB Rays game tonight in St. Pete. I am sure they are having fun.

The highlight of the week for me was the St. John Fisher Scholarship golf tournament cocktail party at Oak Hill CC. I am Honorary Chairperson this year. It was great event & I got to see some people I have not seen in awhile. I am looking forward to the tournament on June 7th.

It has been a beautiful spring here in Rochester. Hope all of you are doing well & enjoying the weather. THANKS AGAIN FOR ALL OF YOUR SUPPORT & PRAYERS !!!

HAPPY EASTER!

He has risen!!! We are saved!!

Thank You Jesus! Happy Easter everyone! I look forward to this day every year. It is most important since Jesus died so I may

live. Doesn’t make much sense does it.

Why would he do that for me? Back in 1976 I wore a wooden cross around my neck that I had picked up in Vanceburg KY while on a mission with Glenmary Missionaries. In the summer of 1976 while working for Vogel Van Lines one of the guys I was working with saw the cross on my neck & said “ Why do you wear that cross ? That guy died. Why do you want to wear something representing death ?”

I have never been quick with comebac

ks so I was kind of dumbfounded. I wish I could have come back with a quick “ HE DIED SO I MAY

LIVE!”

“This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad”

“The Lord is Risen, He is truly risen”

Spring has Sprung

This is your 3 week update. I can't believe how time flies. I have finished round 2 of chemotherapy and will start round 3 sometime in the next 7-10 days.

These past 3 weeks have been a roller-coaster. Some days are better than others. Unfortunately my seizures returned a few weeks ago and have affected the right side of my body. They have increased my seizure medication and also started me back on steroids. I hope that it gets the seizures under control.

The good news is the snow has melted and spring is on its way. My goal is to be able to play some golf this summer. At this point I have a ways to go to be able to accomplish this goal.

For all of you Orange basketball fans last night was a major disappointment. Oh well.

Thanks again for all of your support and prayers. I will just take it day by day. Have a great day.

Breaking News ... USA adds another Gold Medal

Mary Muench was awarded a GOLD MEDAL this past week. It was presented to her for her outstanding performance as a wife & mother !! I don’t know how she does it.

THANKS MARY FOR YOUR LOYALTY & NEVER ENDING LOVE FOR OUR FAMILY WE ARE BLESSED TO HAVE YOU IN OUR LIVES.

For the love of the sport

What a week!!  I love the Winter Olympics.  With no energy to speak of I watched a lot of the Winter Olympics & also the showdown between BIG EAST rivals Syracuse & Villanova.

Before getting into the sports I just want to let you know that round two of Chemotherapy has been completed!! It would not have happened if it wasn’t for my wife Mary & my friend Peter Waters.  I did not want to “poison” my body anymore. I spoke with Mary & she suggested I call Peter. I did not want to bother him so I just went to bed . My cell phone rang 2 minutes later & who was it … it was Peter !  I did not answer the phone, I just wanted to be left alone.  I waited a minute & said that is too weird. I called Peter right back.  I told him I didn’t want to do it anymore. We spoke & he put a different perspective on things. Thanks to him I was able to take my medicine and I made it through the week.

How about the Orange! I had to DVR the game since I can’t stay up that late. Impressive. Hope they do well in the NCAA tournament.

The Olympics were unbelievable. What I love is that the athletes train for the love of the sport. Sure, some of the athletes get endorsements but they have to perform in order to get the endorsements. From a tragic beginning on Friday for the Georgian luger that was killed to the very end yesterday when the USA went to overtime with Canada in the hockey golf medal game the games were terrific.

I believe the most heroic performance to be that of Joannie Rochette in the women’s figure skating. I admire her determination and I believe that her mom skated with her during her bronze medal performance.

I hope everyone is enjoying the snowy winter. I am looking forward to Spring!

On my way back ... Thanks to all of you !

Thank you ! Thank you ! Thank You ! Because of all your prayers I received a good report from my Oncologist yesterday. I had my MRI at 8 am & visited with the doctors at 12 noon to review it. Great news – the treatment is working ! The tumor has not grown & the swelling in my brain is normal.

Now it is on to round 2 of Chemo. Also my blood platelets have rebounded back to normal so my bone marrow is working properly.

Most of all I can’t thank all of you enough for the outpouring of love & support over the past 90 days. I have heard from people that I have not spoken with in over 30 years !! It has been so great to reconnect with grammar school friends ( St. Ann’s) & HS friends. Thank you so much for your cards & prayers.

On Monday a good friend ( JOE MADISON) stopped by to see me while driving back to Michigan. He is a good friend of my brother Bill. We all grew up together in Syracuse. Joe is a special guy & it was great to see him. On his way east to meet up with Peter Waters ( along with David Tobin & Peters cousin Mike Connor) they stopped by to vist our 4^th grade teacher from St. Ann’s ( Sr. Jane Mary ). Anyway , Joe brought me some beautiful music & a prayer & some wisdom from Sr. Jane Mary. I can’t explain it, but what Joe brought me was what I needed at that moment. It is amazing how present God is in our lives though all of the people we interact with.

Another highlight of the week was a trip to Skaneateles to see the the NYS HS Girls Frozen Four & see the new addition to the family ( Nathaniel Orsen) son of Jennifer ( my niece) & Joe Orsen. It was great to make a road trip & even better to see everyone.

MAKE SURE TO VIEW THE PHOTOS THAT ARE ATTACHED TO THE BLOG. ( FLICKER)

I am blessed to have all of you around me. Thanks for being there for me.

-------- Mark Muench

SUPER BOWL SUNDAY ....

Super Bowl Sunday … the memories of 43 years ago when the the Green Bay Packers won the first Super Bowl against the KC Chiefs. VINCE LOMBARDI !!!

We probably had a pre Super Bowl game in Waters backyard. We would have played in two feet of snow. It was a blast past playing football in Waters backyard. I grew up in the best neighborhood in America back in the 1960’s & ‘70s.

I was 11 years old & most likely watched the game at 108 Hilltop Rd. with my family. Mom probably went to Danzer’s on the North side to pick us up sandwiches !!! Those were the days.

Fast forward to today. We have had two weeks of Super Bowl hype. Lets see who wins today the Saints or the Colts. I am rooting for the Saints for obvious reasons ! Anyway , I will be watching the game later since it is likely I will be asleep for the night at 5:30 pm.

That kind of tells you what I have been feeling like for the past several weeks. The radiation & chemo finally caught up with me. Since January 12^th my energy level has decreased dramatically. They told me this could happen & it did. I basically am good in the morning & fade throughout the day. I have developed a condition which they call “ Diabetes Insipidus”. This can happen with brain tumors. Basically it effects the pituitary gland. I cannot quench my thirst & have signs of dehydration. The biggest thing is that it zaps all of my energy. The great news is that it is treatable.

In closing the good news is that I was able to get to Florida to visit my Mom & Dad for a few days. Thanks to my doctors who got me an IV for fluids the day before I left for Florida. I would not have made it to FL if I did not get that IV. It was great to get to FL & feel some warmth !! Mom & Dad are doing well. I was able to make it to my Dad’s exercise class ( I could barely keep up) & was able to play a game of Wii Bowling with my mom.

Now I am back in the beautiful cold & snowy weather of Rochester. It has been quite a winter. Thank God I have my family & friends to keep me me warm.

GO SAINTS !!!

Peace – Mark.