Getting through it

Steve completed round three last Wednesday, March 20, the first day of spring, at least according to the calendar. The foot of snow that fell last week is melting and making it easier for Steve to get out and tend to the small orchard he planted a few years ago. I squeezed out all the cross country skiing I could this winter, but I'm ready for bare ground.
As for Steve's health, he's very fatigued from the after-effects of the chemo, needing platelet transfusions regularly and occasional red blood cells too. But nothing out of the ordinary for someone whose bone marrow is beaten-up every month.
There is no routine despite having done this chemo three times, rather it's more of a siege mentality of ticking off the days, making adjustments to the day depending on how he's feeling, and whether or not he has to get a transfusion that day, and just getting through it.
The fourth and final round, when any leukemia cells hanging around will get the final knock-out punch, will start sometime in the middle of April, depending on when his blood counts are at acceptable levels. And sometime this summer we'll stop talking about his blood, and get back to talking about other Maine topics, like how much wood you burned this year.

Bruce Hazard, Steve, and Gina at the Hazards's sap house. Bruce sits for hours boiling the sap down into maple syrup over a wood-fired evaporator -- that's after he's set up all the taps, collected all the sap, and cut the wood to heat the evaporator.  
Next time you eat maple syrup think of it as a labor of love. 
This picture was taken last Friday, right after Steve had received two units of blood and was feeling really well. 

Enjoying the sweet maple steam. (Steve is hidden by the vapors.) 
Nothing like a maple spa!