Felling better and some little known history

I feel tons better today and will probably even hit the gym. Thanks for the well wishes...

When I get sick it's different from most folks and since Napster knows the whole deal she really stays on my butt. I love her for it.
Here's the Cliff's Notes version of the tale...

It all started with a little bruise that I acquired at football practice. And by little I mean the whole right hand side of my face turned blue. Ummmm...uh-oh...
Parents take me to the hospital and within an hour or so I'm being told that I have Leukemia and need to be rushed to the chemo clinic. Shit, does this mean I won't make practice tomorrow.

Roughly 8 weeks of chemo and assorted test drugs and treatments provided no answers for the good doctors. A specialist is called in. Well whoop-de-doo...
He makes the correct diagnosis of a rare and little known(at the time) disease called idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura or ITP for short. Basically your body stops producing platelets and you bruise and bleed easily. Super. Remember, I play contact sports.
As a matter of fact, there was only one other diagnosed case of ITP on the east coast when I was going through this crap. Onward we go....

Approximately a year of test drugs provided only marginal results and I was beginning to get a little testy. In comes another specialist. Hoo-rah.
This guy actually figures out that my body, specifically my spleen is causing all the ruckus. What was happening was that anti-bodies were attaching to my platelets. Well, the spleen wipes out those anti-bodies but in the process, platelets as well. So they decided to remove my spleen. Whatever.

They removed the spleen and good thing too because it actually ruptured on the operating table but that's another story.

This did the trick and I have the freakin' scar to prove it. I was back in business with one downside. Without a spleen to fight viral infections a little cold could kill me. I took tons of anti-biotics and gradually built up enough in my system that I go back to doing the things I love. I still had to watch out for colds and stuff but was pretty hard headed about that sort of thing. I woke up in intensive care 3 different times with my family and the pastor present.

I'm still stubborn as hell about colds and stuff. I don't know why. Maybe it's a macho thing or something. Hell I'm 6-1, 250 lbs and can bench a small car. I've had broken bones, fought more than one guy at a time and been shot. How can a little cold knock me out?? Maybe it's all the memories from being in and out of a hospital for the better part of 3 years. I don't know.
Thank god I have Napster hot on my heels.