Have you ever taken the time to think about what living a full life means to you? For me, the last two weeks have been a whirlwind of events and activities that included everything in my life that I hold dear.

I have had the opportunity to spend lots of time with friends and family, enjoy some quality drive time behind the wheel, eat some great meals, get back to running and enjoying the nice weather, and participating in a charity event to give back to those in need. If I think about what living a full life means, its exactly that; spending time with those you love and doing what you love. I am very grateful for having had this time to mentally and physically prepare for surgery and the recovery to follow.

And here we are less than 24 hours from surgery and I am feeling great. I am definitely anxious but also feeling like I am ready to tackle this both mentally and physically. This morning I was able to get about a 2 mile run in followed by a 1.7 mile walk with Aimee. It was definitely tiring but totally worth it. I followed that with my final session with my trainer who was preparing me four times a week for the last four weeks for surgery. I have come so far in such a short amount of time, its great to see and feel the difference.

Aimee and I decided to spend a quiet day around the house. We ran a couple errands and spent some time at the local farm picking vegetables and saying hi to the goats and piglets. Times like this warm my heart.

Tomorrow will be a long day, not so much for me, but for everyone of you. I rarely get to take a nap on a Friday so am going to enjoy it :-). My surgery begins at 920am and requires me to be in the hospital at 720am. Not too bad. The surgery is expected to take between 7-8 hours at which point I will be moved to recovery where Aimee can visit for 5 minutes. From there to my room where I will spend the next 5 plus days learning some new tricks. Lots have asked what recovery looks like and the short answer is it depends on whether I do in fact get a neobladder or if they have to do a stoma. They won’t know until they go in but I am betting on the neobladder.

In general the requirements to getting to go home are pretty straightforward. Be able to manage your pain. Be able to walk and walk upstairs. Be able to eat and drink. Be able to manage my new equipment (bags, stents, catheters, etc). Be able to pass gas. In general this can take 5-7 days or more so I have packed my little hospital bag for the stay. Once I get home I will have a home nurse a few days a week as part of my program to make sure I stay on track and I am hoping by October 1 I am starting to adjust to my new normal.

One big motivation is that I had requested from my kids that for my birthday a couple weeks back I wanted them to do a thanksgiving day 5k with me. Much too my surprise they agreed, but so did my entire family who surprised me and had t-shirts made and all plan to do the 5k with me including my 90 year old father. Talk about support. I am a very lucky man.

Honestly, as tough as this journey has been over the last five months, it has also been a blessing in the sense that it has given me a new perspective on friends, family, love, and fear. I am so lucky to have lived such a full life without a single regret. Everything I have done, which hasn’t always been easy, has led me to this moment and I am not going to let Cancer ruin that. I know I have a lot more life to live and I plan on doing just that with renewed focus on trying to make the world a better place and living in the moment.

Thank you all for your support as I head into the next major step tomorrow. I know it won’t be the last time I need your help as recovery is sure to be both physically and mentally difficult but I rest easy knowing that I have this amazing tribe of supporters behind me.

Tomorrow is going to be a great day!