Monday, October 27, 2008

A year to remember, A year to forget




Wow! That chemo was brutal! The past 4 days felt like a month long. I wasn't sure I was ever going to pull through this one. But here I am...still staying strong with one more to go. I will be back in the gym in a couple days and I hope to gain the few pounds back this week that I lost over the past few days. I will be taking a few trips to Chipotle, Smoothie King and Pizza Hut this week to carb up for my last chemo. One more. I don't know what I will blog about once I am done with chemo. My life will be kinda boring after all this. But after this year I am looking forward to somewhat of a slower, low key lifestyle. This has been a year to remember and a year to forget.
I was searching through some pictures and thought I would include a couple. The first one is at a Sushi place in L.A. after a long week of Idol chaos. You can see the exhaustion in my eyes. I knew nothing about exhaustion at that point in my life.
The second pic is another one of Lara and I at The Grove in L.A.


23 comments:

The Saunders Family said...

Thank you for letting us peek in to your life this past year. We voted for you, we prayed for you, my daughter even stalked you:) You will stay in our prayers. Best wishes in your future endeavors. And by the way, your life won't be boring to us...we'll always enjoy checking up on Cville's Idol. Thanks for making us proud and for representing Cville so well. The Saunders Family

Anonymous said...

Glad to you are feeling better! Only one more to go! That must feel great! You are one step closer to you victory trip!

It may be a year to remember and a year to forget, but it was also a year of opportunity and a year of learning. A year that helped you gain a new perspective and a year to remind you of the little things in life like the sunset (that we all forget to appreciate). It has been a year that has made you who you are today.

Thank you for sharing a little bit of your life with us and thank you for inspiring us.

Enjoy your trips to Chipotle, Smoothie King, and Pizza Hut this week!

Wishing you all the best,
Kaitlin

PS. I was glad to hear from Lara that you both enjoyed the picture frame I sent.

Thanks again for opening my eyes to the little things in life and for inspiring me.

Anonymous said...

I'd think that by now a little bit of boredom probably sounds pretty good, eh? :-)

We'll still be here as you go through the upcoming radiation treatments, so if you still need that support from the sidelines, we'll see you to that finish line too.

Afterwards, as you're recovering and finally have a clear head to think, we'd love to hear what you'll be doing careerwise. Returning to Chapter 6? Performing your new songs? Doing both? Becoming a Professional Tour Guide in the Grand Canyon? (HA HA)

Seriously Luke, we do appreciate you keeping us updated on things and hopefully doing this has helped you too over the past months. I have really enjoyed reading your blog.

Thanks for posting the pictures. The second one is very sweet. You and Lara are an adorable couple. However, that first one just screams for a caption. The first thing that comes to mind is Lara calling to have 5 pots of coffee delivered to your room. :-)

- CK

Mazakai said...

You guys are so cute! Thanks for sharing your pictures. :]

You definitely deserve downtime. I don't think your life will be boring, though. You posted a while ago about hiking the Grand Canyon after chemo, so I'm sure everyone here would love to hear about that!

And don't stop making music! Or acting, or anything you want to do.

Don't work too hard at the gym, and best wishes! Also best wishes for finding some really awesome sushi when you're done with chemo (aka sushi here in San Francisco.)

idolette said...

Those pictures are so cute! You two make such a beautiful looking couple, it's awesome.

I definitely think that you deserve some downtime, and some time to do things for yourself, maybe things you haven't been able to do for a while.

I don't think your life will ever be too boring for you to blog about. Whether it's you blogging about your music, if you ever get into acting (which, by the way, I would watch anything you are in), hiking, riding that bike of yours, or just counting out the marshmallows of your Lucky Charms. It's life, and that is enough of a blessing in itself.

Here's to a speedy recovery from the next batch of chemo, you can do it!

Lots of love and best of luck.

Anonymous said...

Well, quite a year for sure. Soo, maybe now some time for reflection about the next step to take. You have a career to build and new songs to sing and new recordings to do. Maybe a tour. Bored? I hope not. The best is yet to be. Only one more, you can do it.

Anonymous said...

Luke,one more to go-- you will get it over with and also those radiation rxs. I don't believe your life will be boring far from it, you have a great talent and will go far believe me. please keep blogging we want you to keep in touch. I love the pictures of you and your dear wife Lara. As Always, Much Love, Prayers, Success, ALWAYS... love, two two

Anonymous said...

((((((luke))))))

Dangit, i hate that this has to be so HARD... but it's the only way. At least it's almost finished. Radiation has GOT to be easier than this. Or so I'm told.

Now listen, man, we're expecting a lot more developments on the Luke Menard front, so you just BETTER keep coming here and blogging and letting us know every little thing. (or do it at your spacey page, whatever, just let us know where to get the low-down.)

Because the "cancer story" is not the whole story by a long shot, and i'm looking forward to chapter 7, and 8, and 9, and ... ad infinitum.

vaya con dios, man... drink a big smoothie for me :-)

julie, chicago

TaraJean said...

One more, Luke! Yaaaaaay! Hang in there! We continue to pray for you!

Unknown said...

Luke, hang in there, just one more chemo to go! Praise the Lord! Luke, your blogs are never boring, and I bet next year will have a lot of good things in store that you can blog about. I don't blame you one bit for wanting to live a slower life next year. We your fans love you and look forward to what you will do next in your career after radiation is done. Take care.
Carry

Unknown said...

oops, forgot to say, great pics, you and Lara make such a great looking couple!! God blessed you both with each other!

Anonymous said...

Please know that you are in my prayers. Stay strong. You will get through this with God's grace and guidance. You are an inspiration to many... Best wishes.

Anonymous said...

Stand strong. You can because the One who is called Love is faithful!! Think of you often
Hugs and blessings
Chad & Bambi

Melody said...

Woo-Hoo!! One More To Go!!!!

And when you're all better, you will blog about that album you've been working on thank.you.very.much!

Still praying for you (and Lara too) and still looking forward to what is yet to come!

Kelly O'Dell Stanley said...

Hmm, what will you have to write about after chemo? I don't know... Every new song you write and/or record... Your career developments (there will be many)... The people you meet and work with... All the lives that have been changed by watching you survive this with your faith intact... How much you love your wife (it's very sweet)... or, if nothing else, you have to let us know the next time your buddy David Cook sneaks into Crawfordsville! [I heard it through the grapevine a while back; you know how people in Crawfordsville know every move you make. Even if it's not true, let those of us who voted for him a bazillion times at least THINK he might have been here!]

Whatever you write about, I'm sure we'll all read it. You've inspired many, and I agree with Carrie Saunders - you make us proud :-)

Anonymous said...

I can't wait to hear about your new album and all the wonderful progress you will make once this chapter of your life is closed. I have been so inspired by the way you've approached life through this trial. I lost my job last week and I remembered that although God will provide us with trials, it's only to allow us the opportunity to put our faith in Him through what we're going through. He knows the plans He has and you've definitely got some major plans. Thanks for offering pieces of yourself through the blog, I can't wait to meet you again on the road!

Anonymous said...

You can blog about that new cycling habit you may pick up ;)

...or you can totally drop into a more private realm, totally up to you, man... but you are much more interesting than your chemo so there will never be a dearth of material for your blog.

Anonymous said...

I promise you, your life will not be boring. I have been praying for you and believing for your victory over this. My husband is five years out of a six and a half year leukemia fight. He was 31 when diagnosed so I feel we have all walked similar paths (please let your wife know she is just as present in my prayers...one caregiver to the next: I know how tired she is, I know her heart has broken but I also know what she'll find on the other side of this fight...hang in there, it's worth it). You're almost there! Congrats. When you feel "ready" please visit www.imermanangels.org. It's a great organization that I do a lot of work with and I think you'd be a great asset. If you're interested, my blog will give you bits and pieces here and there of how God turned some of the ugliness of cancer into beauty for our family. Wow! That's a lot from a stranger, eh?

LadybugatUAB said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
LadybugatUAB said...

The going may be tough, but know you are not alone. Sending my prayers.

Also, I wanted to ask for yours for a boy in my church. Here is his story: http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/denton
He has leukemia and received a bone marrow transplant a week ago.

kelly barton art + design said...

i suggest some queso dip. that is good for a few lbs!

simple is better!

one to go, we are all thinking of you.

peace.

Anonymous said...

THE FINAL COUNTDOWN...
Just think one week from today you will have completed your Chemo battle! I know that it has been a long road for you, and you have been very sick over these past 11 chemos... but thru GODS grace you have bounced back to regain your strength each and every time!
Your story is so inspirational...
The most impressive thing about your journey is your FAITH! You really are AMAZING... you should write a BOOK... or write a song ;o) about your story...
Keep doing what you do!
I am so proud to be your cousin...I mean your FAVORITE CUZN!
Mark "your favorite cousin" Kohl

Cathy Storms said...

One more chemo treatment..WhooHoo!!You can do it.
It is BRUTAL!!! I have 2 more to go and then radiation so I know your pain. Hang in there and know we are all praying for you.