Wed 1/13, Thurs 1/14, Fri 1/15 - By Bob

I haven't been good with my log this week. Things have been chaotic. Michele and I have our engagement party this weekend and we have a lot of family coming into town. So, I'll also post what I am going to do tomorrow as I'm sure I won't post again until Monday or Tuesday. Overall, I'm doing okay. I still get really tired. I spend most of my time laying down and reading, especially at night. But, my energy level and strength get better everyday.

Here's my workout first thing in the morning on all three days:

Cat/Camel: 1x10

Birdog: 1x10

Seated leg over glute stretch: 30 seconds each leg

On knee hip flexor stretch: 30 seconds each leg

Standing hamstring stretch: 30 seconds

All three days: Pushups: 2 sets

Squats: 2 sets

Crunches: 1x20 I did 8 reps Wed, 9 reps Thur, and 10 reps Fri.

I have also been getting my walks in. I probably won't walk at all tomorrow or over the weekend. With every thing going on I'm sure I'll be tired as it is. Plus, I'm sure Christopher will run my around tomorrow after school. He is already planning a soccer games with all of his uncles, aunts, and cousins. So, I don't think I'll need a seperate walk. I'll talk to y'all soon.

Thanks,
Bob

Bob's recovery - by Michele

Family and friends,

Things here are going pretty well. Bob and I are very excited for our upcoming engagement party happening this weekend. Hopefully it will warm up before Saturday since it's tropical themed. As for Bob, he's coming along slowly but surely. I've spoken to a lot of people and they are so happy that Bob is in remission and they think "Hey, he must be okay now- how come he's not back to work?" Unfortunately it's not that easy. Since Bob was in the coma and after 6 rounds of various chemotherapy his body is pretty much shot. You can read his workout blogs, they consist of a few situps and pushups, then he spends the rest of the day recovering. Many times, his workouts are playing with Christopher or walking the aisles at Walmart just to get out of the house. I don't know when Bob will be 100%, but it definately takes time. The fantastic news is that Bob is in good spirits and has a positive attitude. Christopher is a great motivator as well.

This week I have a conference call with the people from the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society for the upcoming Woman of the Year I'll be participating in, and at the end of the month Bob and I are going to a meet and greet. I am looking forward to helping give back to such a great cause so that they can be one step closer to a cure.

Love and Thanks,
Michele

1/6/2010 11:06:51 AM - Bob Youngs

1/6 Day 3 of my remission workout

Started off the morning with:
Cat/Camel: 1x10
Birdog: 1x10
Static seated leg over glute stretch: 30 seconds each leg
Static hip flexor stretch: 30 seconds each leg
Static standing hamstring stretch: 3 seconds

I decided to do some static stretching to change it up from yesterday. I'm glad I did. My hamstrings are TIGHT! I used to be able to touch my toes with no problem. I'm not even close right now. I need to really work on getting back the limited flexability I did have. I then went to Cracker Barrel for breakfast. They ran out of biscuits. How can Cracker Barrel run out of biscuits??? I then went to the Super Walmart (Yes, it's better than the regular Walmart) to do my walking. I also needed to buy some cheap sweat pants as we have been having some really cold weather down here and none of my old clothes fit anymore. I walked for 25 minutes and got two pairs of sweat pants and one pair of Super Friends sleep pants (I'm still a kid at heart).When I got home I did:
Push Ups: 1x7
Squats:1x7
Crunches: 1x11

Now, I'm going to read my latest book "Kill Bin Laden" by Dalton Fury. It's very good for any of you military readers out there. Tonight I will do some foam rolling before family dinner. We have family dinner every week at my parents house on Wednesday. I am going to pick Chris up from school and then we'll do his homework together. Oh, very cool happening in my life tomorrow. My future sister-in-law works for Source One Distributors (http://www.buysourceone.com/) which is a military supply company. She told the owner about me and how my dad was a former Navy SEAL and he wanted to meet me. So, I am heading out there tomorrow afternoon to meet him. I'm really excited to see all the cool stuff they have. Also, my Dad and I are going to go shooting next week (My Christmas present to him). We found a place that has full auto M-4s. My Dad was part of the group that got the first AR-15s and he wants to see the new rifles. I told him I was all excited to fire the M-4 on full auto. He said, "You should only need to pull the trigger once son". Needless to say he is still a better shot than me.

Thanks,
Bob

1/4 celebration and 1/5 am stretching - by Bob

I picked up Christopher yesterday and we went to Dave and Buster's to celebrate. We met Michele there for lunch. Chris had a great time and I think we were all just happy to know I was going to live for a while. On the ride home Christopher said, "Dad, I knew the whole time you were going to be okay". That night Michele was going to make crab legs, but she had a real long day at work. So, we went to Walmart and picked some stuff up and then had take out. Yeah, we're crazy people when it comes to partying. Now, It's time for me to get my butt in gear. So, I woke up and started what will become a daily stretching routine. I'll probably add to it as my energy levels increase. But, this morning I did:

Cat/Camel: 1x10
Birdog: 1x10
AIS Bent leg hamstring: 1x10 each leg
AIS Straight leg hamstring: 1x10 each leg
AIS glute stretch: 1x10 each leg

For those not familiar with AIS stretching just google it. It seems to work best for me. Okay, I'm off to Cracker Barrel for breakfast. I'll do my push ups, squats, crunches, and walking tonight.

Thanks,
Bob

BOB'S LEUKEMIA IS IN REMISSION!!!

Family and Friends,

I just wanted to let you know that we received news from Bob's doctor this morning that his Leukemia is officially in full remission. Thank you to everyone for your kind thoughts and prayers during this ordeal, it has really meant a lot. He has a long road ahead wtih regard to rehabilitation and physical therapy, but it's all downhill. I can't think of a better way to start the new year!

Thank you again for keeping Bob in your thoughts and prayers- it has paid off!!

Love and thanks,

Michele

Update from 1/3 by Bob

Sorry for not posting in a while. Life has been crazy with my son on Christmas Break. Well, I was supposed to start my rehab program last week, but had to push it back to starting tomorrow. There were a couple of reasons:
1-My feet were killing me and I couldn't do pushups without being in tremendous pain. I spent most of the week walking, doing toe raises, self massage on my feet, and just plain moving my toes as much as possible. I had been having trouble with the middle three toes on both feet since I got out of the hospital. I had reduced feeling and they hurt. The pushups were brutal. After talking to Michele, I think the reason is how I was positioned in the bed. Keep in mind I was in a coma for three weeks and couldn't move for a couple of weeks after that. Well, my feet would end up just wedged in the end of the bed. Anyway, my feet are feeling much better.
2-I had my bone marrow biopsy on last Monday. My hip was killing me for the majority of the week. For those who don't know what a bone marrow biopsy is they basically stick a really big needle (16 gauge into your hip and then scrape around until they get enough marrow to perform a sample. It really sucks.
3-I have had my son almost everyday for the past two weeks. I wouldn't trade that time for anything in the world and we had a great time. He is very understanding that Dad needs to stop and rest. But, even with the help of Michele and my parents, Christopher still wore me out pretty good. But, we had an absolute blast. I think we both needed all that time together. It had to be real hard on him when I was in the hospital. Especially when I was in a coma. But, he was mature well beyond his six years. He seemed to know all along everything was going to be okay.

I get the results from my bone marrow biopsy tomorrow. I'm really nervous. Everything points to the results being I am in remission from my blood work. But, I am still scared as hell. Not sure I will be able to sleep tonight. I'll let you know the results tomorrow.

Thanks,
Bob