Life is a freaking miracle

"And how should we behave during the Apocalypse? We should be unusually kind to one another, certainly. But we should also stop being so serious. Jokes help a lot. And get a dog, if you don't already have one." Kurt Vonnegut (closing of a speech written by KV, delivered two weeks after KV's death by his son)

From my second floor perch over NE 40th St. in the University District of Seattle, the following is apparent:

- I miss Linds
- It is raining, it has always been raining and it will always be raining
- Related: people walk faster in the rain (in spite of Mythbusters work on the subject)
- Ben and Jerry's 'Cookie Dough' ice cream is freaking delicious
- I ate too much Pho (a lot) and too many cream puffs (2) today
- It is still raining
- I am thankful for shelter and warmth
- I am grateful for the ability to breath, laugh and feel a sense of longing for what is true (and real)
- Kurt Vonnegut Jr. and I are kindred spirits
- Life is a freaking miracle

Life is a freaking miracle. Three weeks ago, I took a blood test specific to RA that tests for a variety of markers that are known indicators of active inflammation. The test, Vectra DA, takes those 12 markers and pumps out a single score that provides a snapshot of a person's RA activity. Last spring, I tested a 46, the low-end severe inflammation. A year later? 13. Thirteen! A score that puts me within the normal range. Dr. English shared that this one-year quantum leap was the single greatest improvement she has seen in her time ordering the test. Unbelievable! How does that happen!? This Vectra DA test marks 6-months flare-up free with consistently normal labs.

If this isn't nice, I don't know what is.

Onward and upward,

Brian