Sean Murray's Archive

Sean writes a monthly column for The Myeloma Beacon titled "Sean's Burgundy Thread," based on the notion that all who are touched by multiple myeloma are connected together with an invisible 'burgundy thread.' For nearly thirty years, Sean has worked as a writer, entertainment producer, theatrical executive, and as a creative consultant in various industries. Diagnosed with Stage III Myeloma in November of 2008 at the age of 49, he chose to pursue an aggressive method of treatment. High-dose induction chemotherapy, tandem stem cell transplants, consolidation and extended maintenance chemotherapies have currently placed him in complete remission. Sean authors a blog, Myeloma Youreloma, through which he shares a positive, humorous, hopeful approach to battling the disease. A husband and father of two, some of Sean’s special areas of interest include international adoption, veteran’s issues, church, and raising dogs.

Sean Murray has written 76 article(s) .

[ by | Dec 24, 2016 10:04 am | 11 Comments ]
Sean’s Burgundy Thread: You’re A Mean One, Mr. M

I was busy multi-tasking a couple of days ago. Well, I wasn’t actually busy busy. And maybe multi-tasking is a bit of an overstatement. Anyway, this is what happened:

I was drinking coffee AND watching tele­vision AND surfing the internet. Oh, and I was eating a Christmas sugar cookie that my daughter had just baked. Now if that’s not multi-tasking, I don’t know what is, right?

Let me start over.

At the very moment I was reading the word …

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[ by | Nov 24, 2016 1:00 pm | 12 Comments ]
Sean’s Burgundy Thread: My First Myeloma Thanksgiving

I had a sneaking suspicion that Thanksgiving 2008 wasn’t going to be an ordinary holiday. Unfortunately, I was right.

For starters, our long-held Thanksgiving plans had changed dramatically. Instead of taking a traditional over-the-river and through-the-woods trip north to visit relatives in Chicago, we ended up driving south to spend the holiday with relative strangers.

And to boot, my wife Karen and I had to leave our daughters behind. How’s that for Thanksgiving spirit?

Now, it’s not that we don’t …

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[ by | Sep 18, 2016 5:08 pm | 8 Comments ]
Sean’s Burgundy Thread: Walk On

It was during one of those insomnia-is-the-boss-of-me nights that I found myself flipping through channels on the television, trying not to get sucked into info­mercials pitching revolutionary new steak knives, miraculous space age teeth whiteners, or ultra-absorbent super sponges.

I eventually landed on a replay of a no-score soccer match between two English football clubs. I reasoned that the game’s back and forth would surely lull me to sleep. But then I heard this familiar song being belted out by …

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[ by | Aug 8, 2016 3:23 pm | 12 Comments ]
Sean’s Burgundy Thread: Multiple Myelathon

My wife will tell you that I am more like a tortoise than a hare because I always take my own sweet time about deciding things. I’m not so sure I agree. I’ll have to think about it and get back to you.

When I was diagnosed with multiple myeloma back in 2008, I was not afforded the luxury of channeling my inner tortoise to contemplate whether or not to begin treatment right away. I was in rough shape and …

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[ by | Jun 10, 2016 1:52 pm | 10 Comments ]
Sean’s Burgundy Thread: Bad Blood And Redbuds

I recently watched the heart-shaped leaves of my backyard redbud tree flutter in the stiff breeze as the last few remaining pink blossoms floated to the grass below.

For two decades I have witnessed this quiet springtime rite of passage when the tiny buds turn into beautiful flowers and eventually fall to the earth a couple of weeks later.

The only time I missed the annual ‘redbud show’ was in early 2009 while I was away from home for …

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[ by | May 4, 2016 5:51 am | 11 Comments ]
Sean’s Burgundy Thread: Let Me Count The Myeloma Ways

I have always watched my "numbers," such as blood counts and M-spike values, since having been diagnosed with multiple myeloma.

Here are some different kinds of numbers that come to mind when I reflect upon my seven-year journey:

10 SYLLABLES – When I started battling multiple myeloma in 2008, I felt like I was a David living in a Goliath’s world. My foe was a big, hairy beast of a cancer, and it was obvious that I couldn’t best him on …

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[ by | Apr 6, 2016 4:33 am | 26 Comments ]
Sean’s Burgundy Thread: Long Live The King

Seven years have passed since I first ventured to Little Rock, Arkansas, to be treated for multiple myeloma. My youngest daughter was nearly five when I began my journey. When she recently asked me to tell her again about what happened, I put a different spin on the tale:

Once upon a time there was a King who lived with his beloved Queen and their two young Princesses in a tiny castle at the edge of the forest.

They were …

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