It was in December of 2008, six short years ago, that I first began infusion treatments in my madcap battle against multiple myeloma.

Diagnosed at Thanksgiving, I spent Christmas and the better part of the next nine months in Arkansas, several hours away from my home, wife, and young children.

In the spirit of the holidays, and with my sincere – for the most part – apologies to Clement Clarke Moore, author of ‘The Night Before Christ­mas,’ I offer the …

My always-in-a-hurry daughter surprised me by plopping down on the family room couch to join me for what my kids call ‘Dad Movie Night.’

Because the film featured no vampire heartthrobs, no hungry gamers, and no schoolboy hero wizards, I expected her to say ‘I’ll see ya’ later, Daddy!’ before scampering off to resume her regularly scheduled teen­age girl activities.

But to my delight, she stayed for all two hours of the flick, start to finish, soup to …

During my six-year wrestling match with multiple myeloma, I have been blessed to have had some wonderfully encouraging people stand in my corner.

Today I learned that one of those folks, the ‘Madman of Rock n’ Roll,’ Paul Revere of Paul Revere and the Raiders fame, passed away peacefully after a protracted battle with cancer.

A savvy, successful businessman and talented entertainer, Paul was one of the nicest guys I have ever had the pleasure of working with. He was …

I don’t get headaches very often, but the one I was nurs­ing while curled up in a chair in the waiting room of the bone mar­row clinic was a doozy. I pulled my favorite St. Louis Cardinals baseball cap down over my eyes to shutter out the bright overhead lights.

Normally I enjoy the friendly ‘Who’s your doctor?’ and ‘Where’re y’all from?’ back-and-forth banter often heard in such gathering places, but until it was my turn up at bat in …

It was New Year’s Eve 2008, and I was hunkered down in a small one-bedroom apartment that I’d rented in Little Rock during my ten-month clinical trial for mul­ti­ple myeloma.

My wife Karen was splitting her time between looking after me in Arkansas and being with our two young daughters – and keeping her teaching job – back home in Missouri. I hadn’t seen the kiddos since I’d begun my medical ad­ven­tures nearly a month earlier.

Having spent the Christmas holidays with …

On the day of my very first bone marrow biopsy, the really nice technician en­cour­aged me to relax and to breathe deeply throughout the procedure. I settled down on the table and thanked her for the kind suggestions.

After I asked her to explain the nuts-and-bolts of the biopsy, I immediately stopped relaxing and very nearly stopped breathing. So much for asking ques­tions.

When she eventually pried my hand off of the doorknob and took me back to the cot, …

I recently ran into a multiple myeloma friend who was wearing a t-shirt that triggered a memory of an exciting day in my life way back nearly 35 years ago.

It was in the late seventies, and I was a young college student working in the summer as a trumpet player for the (Anheuser) Busch Entertainment Cor­po­ra­tion.

Our music group had been flown to Boston to perform at a series of special events celebrating the introduction of a newly imported …