I remember the first time I met him in January, 2005 he told me that he would see me “exhausted because I was living my life to the fullest” rather than have me “live like a boy in a bubble and stay at home waiting to feel bad”. I knew at that first meeting that he was the Dr. for me! Since my original diagnosis, he has encouraged me to go the gym, go out with friends, work a full week and take trips to visit family and friends.

Many Doctors do not allow patients to travel during chemotherapy for fear that their low immunity will cause a severe infection. Dave and I were so grateful that Dr. Maki wholeheartedly agreed that it was good for our bodies and our hearts to visit Florida to celebrate Barbara and Herb’s 40^th anniversary.

We spent 5 days in a beautiful house in Ft. Myers beach with the entire Linn family and had a great time! In addition to flying kites on the beach, playing golf, visiting the Red Sox Spring Training Camp and eating a lot of ice-cream, we got to spend quality time with those we love most!

It was very hard to leave the vacation 2 days early to come back for more chemotherapy. I was angry that I had to cut a vacation short because of this annoying, inconvenient disease. I guess the only thing I would like more than a sunny family vacation is to be declared cancer-free again.