Light the Night

As you all know, the reason I began to write this blog is to express myself as I went/go through a difficult and challenging stage in my life. Leukemia is the reason, the reason I now come to you in support of those who have been through, and will go through a similar, yet hopefully one day, preventable and 100% curable disease. Leukemia and Lymphoma rage through the world taking many casualties in its wake. Me being on of them. I was taken down, but was given the chance to fight back, and now I am getting my feet back, ready to run again. Here's something that I want to do, and all of those who have been supporting me, can continue to help me out!

I have so far just registered as a participant of Light the Night, an organized walk, kind of like the Terry Fox Run. Only instead of raising funds for Cancer research, it is run through the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. As I have first hand experience in the effects these numerous diseases cause, not only physically, but emotionally and psychologically, I feel as a survivor, it is time to give something back. As a participant in the Light the Night I want to raise some money to help fight this disease, and walk in memory and support of those who have and also been affected by it. My goal is to raise $500 by October 1st, which is the day of the walk. I ask that you would be generous in your donation, but if I can get fifty people to donate $10 each, my goal is definitely attainable.

WHAT IS LIGHT THE NIGHT ?
Light The Night is an international fundraising campaign to commemorate and celebrate lives touched by cancer. It has been taking place across the United States for the past six years; however 2005 will see the first Light the Night
Walks in Canada!

WHY WE WALK?
• Leukemia, lymphoma, & myeloma are cancers that originate in the bone marrow and lymphatic tissues
• An estimated 67,000 Canadians are currently living with blood cancers
• Every 40 minutes, someone is diagnosed - more than 13,000 new cases are expected each year
• Every 80 minutes someone dies from one of the blood cancers
• Leukemia is the leading cause of disease related death among children under 15
Impact of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society of Canada
• The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society began operation in 1949 and on July 1, 2004, affiliated with the Leukemia
Research Fund of Canada
• $378 million has been spent on research to date
• Currently funding 493 researchers in 16 countries
• Planning to pilot a series of newly-developed and tested patient support services in Canada including on-line and
toll-free patient education plus back to school programs for children living with one of the blood cancers
• In the past 40 years, the five-year survival rate for children with the most common form of leukemia has more
than tripled!
• The five-year survival rate for non-Hodgkin lymphoma has risen from 31% to 52% since 1960. In children, the
five-year survival rate is now 78%

Please help me to help others who have been affected by Leukemia and Lymphoma!

To donate please go to this website:

http://www.active.com/donations/fundraise_public.cfm?key=ltnWetherill

If you are nervous about Credit Cards over the internet you can send cheques payable to:

The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society

my mailing address:

Justin Wetherill

6523 Laurentian Way SW

Calgary Alberta

T3E 5N4

Ho Hum

September seems to be just flying by, I guess that's the thing with time, it never stops, although sometimes it moves very slow. I think it goes slower when you are bored. I am not bored, so I guess that makes it go faster. It will be Christmas before we know it, better get your shopping done early.

Three months will go very fast, hopefully Christmas will be a time I can get home, and my skin issues will have resolved, but if not I guess I continue the process, what ever that is. Most likely I will hang out in Calgary for this immediate stage of my life, continue with some courses, increasing the load depending on what I feel like. I guess I should wait to see how well I do with these initial courses, but I am sure they will go pretty well.

I already have learned a lot of Biology being sick, although it goes into more detail in class, a good way if your willing, is to be sick and have the doctors and nurses explain things to you. Although probably not the preferred method of learning for most.

Parlez-vous Francais, maybe I will be a bit better after this course, so far it's almost learning things over that I have forgot. I will have to do a skit sometime in the next couple of weeks, it might be a disaster or it could go smoothly.

Fitness classes this week, only cost a dollar to try it out, so I tried it out. Body Blaster, and Boot Camp, both were pretty good workouts, and I was sweating by the end of each. Depending on the scheduling of them I will try to make it to one or two each week, I still have lots of time on my hands. Getting back in shape is a real priority, but I just wonder how much the drugs are affecting my activity abilities or effectiveness of the exercise I do do, I still feel(and look) very large.

Talk to you soon

.Justin:)

What Is The Up

Feelings... I have never been really good with expressing them. I think I hold back a lot, and don't always deal with them the way I would like. Maybe I don't know how, maybe I am just like everyone else. Today was a harder day today. Emotionally I had to break down. Being apart from my family, I thought it wouldn't be that hard, but it seems like it is getting to be that way. I will just have to tough it out some more. But after a year I guess it would not be normal to not feel home sick. Man, a whole year!! I had to cry... Let the tears stream for a bit while talking to my dad. He misses me a lot, I haven't seen him since February. So macho, but I never been afraid to cry, no matter how stupid it feels sometimes, I usually end up laughing at the same time. I could be lacking sleep too, I have been waking up a little earlier than I would like to be. I'll cheer up, my homework will help keep my mind off my troubles.

Justin goes to college. I was a little nervous to go, but excited at the same time. Not too much exciting happened, but my teachers/instructors so far seem like they will be alright. In French I could still understand most of what he said, as it will be conducted almost entirely that way, so if you don't understand spoken French it would be very difficult. Quebec really helped me to become more on the side of biligual, hopefully I will be more proficient after this course. Biology might be more of a challenge, but I think that I am up for it. I have quite a fair amount of time on my hands still so my homework should get done unless I start procrastinating, but I am paying big money for these so I am going to put some effort in. Hopefully in the meantime I will be meeting people, that will also help keep my mind off the distance from home that I remain.

As for my health. All seems to be well at the moment. My skin is almost through its last peeling phase. I haven't been going to light therapy cause it seemed to make things worse, I start again next week, at a smaller time interval... I am fairly certain that the last problems were related to too much UV radiation, more or less a bad sun burn. My platelets made another rebound, back up to 90 from 59. My liver function has bounced up however, being monitored, it is likely due to the cyclosporin as it had a similar effect before. No matter, I would like to be off of it as well as prednisone soon, although things are shaky as to will be the outcome with my skin issue. Other blood counts were good, not perfect but what is ever perfect.

Justin:)