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.

Time to make a comeback ...

Ever heard the saying … Today is the first day of the rest of you life ? That is what today seems like for me. Yesterday was my last radiation treatment at the Wilmot Cancer Center. I would like to thank all of the Doctors, Nurses, Technicians & people that have helped me over the past 6 weeks. You all do an awesome job. Thank You !

The past 10 days have not been great. The cumulative effects of the Radiation & chemo certainly zaps the energy out of you body. I must admit I am glad round one is over.

I cannot say what the future may bring. The only thing I know is that I appreciate all of the love & prayers you have sent me since 11/8/09. So today starts the day to rebuild my body’s strength. One day at a time.

During the past year I saw the following at one of my customers … I thought I would share it with you.

“ BUILD A BETTER WORLD “

“ God said .. Build a better world and I replied .. This world is such a cold and dark place and is so complicated now. I am so young & useless there is nothing I can do .

But God in all his wisdom said … “ JUST BUILD A BETTER YOU .”

Challenger Baseball Video made for Mark Muench

A New Decade Begins ...

Greetings everyone ! It has been awhile. Welcome to the new decade. I can’t believe we have already gone through ten years since Y2K !! Remember the world was supposed to stop. Here we are 10 years later !

I am ending week 5 of my treatment today. Only 7 more radiation treatments after today !! I love all of my radiation technicians but I will be happy when its over.

Between the radiation & chemotherapy it has definitely worn me down. This week has not been pleasant. Not feeling to well. I just need to balance everything out & I believe I can make it down the homestretch thanks to my family & friends that support me.

It has been interesting watching the news & sporting events over the past few weeks. My only thought is that everything revolves around the media & money $$$$. That includes the President of the United States & Tiger Woods among many others.

I have come to the conclusion that all public figures are now ENTERTAINERS. That includes our government officials & sports athletes. The media claims to be the source where we would get the “ truth” . They are so caught up in their world they don’t even know how to report the truth or facts anymore. They are the true capitalists – all they care about is $$$$. I think we should all turn off our televisions & stop reading the newspapers & all just sit down & talk again. Its time we all visited Washington DC. ALL OF US . Lets all show up on the same day sometime this summer.

I could go on & on. All I can say is I wasn’t a proponent of blogs & some of the new technology, but at least you are hearing from me directly & know you are getting facts & comments from me directly. Thanks to my Son Chris & John Doyle who set up this “blog” back in November.

I apologize for not writing earlier but just was not feeling well.

Many people have asked “ Why can I not comment ?” Its not open to the entire public. You have to have a google account to comment. Then you can sign in to comment. For those of you that have my email you can send me an email.

Anyway I am glad the way Chris & John set it up.

Lastly, I want to thank EVERYONE for the cards & everything I have received over the past few months. PLEASE ACCEPT MY GRATITUDE THROUGH THIS “BLOG”.

Your love & support has been overwhelming. Love to all of you & hope everyone has a great 2010 & a fantastic second decade !!

A Winter Wonderland in Rochester NY

BELIEVE !!!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE !!! I am sure happy to be celebrating another Christmas this year thanks to all of the great Doctors, Nurses, Technicians & people that work at Strong Hospital & The Wilmot Cancer Center. Not to forget my family & friends that pray for me everyday. Thank You.

As I have to told you Christmas is a special time & always has been for me. Probably because I love to get presents ! This year with the help again of Gayle & Doug Hitchcock & Leila Doll our home is decorated to the max !! Over the past 20 years I have constantly picked up Christmas decorations for the house. This years theme created by Mary, Gayle & Leila is BELIEVE !! I can’t think of a better theme.

With all that is going on in the world today it is easy to give up hope & not believe but that is what the world wants us to do. So I ask anyone who reads this blog to begin to BELIEVE again. Most importantly believe in a “HIGHER POWER” greater than yourself. With all that has taken place in my life so far I truly believe that GOD exists. No matter what your religion, there is a GOD & God’s presence can be in each & every one of us. That is a choice for each of us to make.

Anyway , BELIEVE in something because anything is possible.

My favorite news story of the year was about US Airways Flight 1549 piloted by Capt. ‘ Sully’ Sullenberger. You gotta believe after seeing that story ! Truly amazing. "The Miracle on the Hudson". Miracles do happen! I can’t imagine how the lives of everyone on that flight that day have been changed. Do you think people on Flight 1549 were praying ?

I will end with this. My friend Jim Mrva sent me a story the other day. I won’t share the whole story but I will share what the story said about “ prayer”.

THE POWER OF PRAYER

I believe God only gives three answers to prayers …

1. “YES!”

2. “ NOT YET.”

3. “ I HAVE SOMETHING BETTER IN MIND.”

All I know is the God hears all of our prayers & that whatever happens , it happens for the best. Sometimes its not the answer we want but its always the best answer. Just think about it & look at your own life.

Just remember you always gotta BELIEVE !

Update .. getting into the routine

Just a quick update 3 days before Christmas. I started week three of treatments yesterday. Everything is going well. As much as I want everyone’s sympathy I couldn’t be better.

This past weekend we had Andrew’s group home Christmas party, the Foxboro neighborhood party ( thanks Linda & John), Hot Stove League Luncheon , Buffalo Sabres game Saturday night with Brian , Ray Miller & Alec Miller. ( went to a shootout & lost to PITT – bummer). Sunday mass at Assumption & home to watch football & goof around with the family. ( and take a nap).

Needless to say my life is pretty normal. Most of you know I like to be active.

I really don’t know what to say. I think people are beginning to think I might be faking.

Anyway I am doing well at taking my MEDS. ( yuk) I am so lucky to have Chemo capsules instead of being hooked up to an IV drip. Took my Chemo capsules at the start of period three of the Sabres game Saturday night. Washed them down with a LABATTS BLUE LIGHT !! ( JUST KIDDING). I also get the weekends off from radiation. That is sweet.

Other than I cannot drive, life is pretty normal.

Oh no – just noticed hair all over the computer keyboard. Maybe headed to baldness !! Maybe things are not so normal. Just want to live each day as best I can.

THANKS AGAIN FOR ALL OF THE CARDS!! I STILL HAVE NOT CAUGHT UP TO READING ALL OF THEM.

Make sure to finish that Christmas shopping but most important try not to stress out.

PEACE – Mark.

PS- GREAT NEWS !!! THE DAYS ARE GETTING LONGER – MORE SUNSHINE