CaringBridge duplicate

Good news, on every front.

Linda is well and happy. Britta is married and preparing for school, and Evan is finally set up to work again. Peter is halfway through the script of his next movie. Chase is off on a three-day hiking trip, but called to tell us all is well before he left.

As for me, it has been six months since the last surgery and time for my semi-annual CT scan. When that time comes, we do it right -- chest, abdomen and pelvis, with barium and iodine for contrast.

The results today were all negative. That means nothing abnormal (except what was done by surgery). No growths, no tumor, no problems.

The blood test is the same -- no sign of any problem.
CEA at 2.2 (it was 20.6 last May, before surgery).
CA 19-9 at 6 (it was 64.7).
CA 125 at 4 (it was 176).

I'm getting stronger and more resilient every week. I'm walking and running and generally pretty active. The good days are very good. But for all that I can do at my best, the clearest indicator of improved health is consistency. For example, I've been going to work for months. That means getting up and dressed and out the door, driving to my office at Jenner & Block in Chicago (about 13 miles, or 40 minutes on a clear day), and staying for four to six to eight hours. However, until very recently there have always been days when I couldn't get out, when I couldn't make it that far.

Last week, for the first time since April 2007, I went to work every day, Monday through Friday. It wasn't a strain, not a grand effort to prove a point, but just what I could do.

Celebrating life by going to work every day may seem a bit backwards. But five or more 'good' days in a row is remarkable and wonderful.

Life is good. This is a good day. Perhaps I'll get one more. One more, and then another, and another. One day at a time.

Chris Kimball
Life days (most of them good): 19,405