Status Update (and Call to Action)

When you're working on a software project and you don't give anyone a status update for too long, it's called "going dark" and it generally annoys and frightens the project managers. I don't know what it's called when you're in the hospital and don't give anyone a status update, but it's much worse than going dark on a project.

Fortunately, Shannon, the wife of my friend Todd, has been giving me regular status updates on Todd's progress, and has given me her blessing to share information here.[1] I'm not going to post every day, but I'll try to post once a week or so to keep everyone in the loop. So with no further ado[2], here's the deal:

• Good News: Todd's form of cancer, B-Cell Lymphoma, is just about the most treatable form of Lymphoma you can get. It responds very well to chemotherapy, and Todd's doctors are very optimistic.
• More Good News: Apparently the faster this type of tumor grows, the more readily it responds to treatment. An since Todd's "alien" went from nothing to softball-size in just over two months (please don't ask me how they know this) this bodes well for it to be quickly reduced.
• Not Quite News: Todd's doctors had been planning to release him from the intermediate care ward to the oncology ward yesterday, but they have decided to keep him where he is for a bit longer because he's having trouble breathing. His tumor is putting pressure on his lungs, which is responsible for this problem. They have him on oxygen to counter this, and that's good, but they want to keep him where he can have closer monitoring and care until he can breathe a little easier on his own.

There's one more thing, which is less of a status update and more of a call to action. Apparently the one thing that is bothering Todd is that he's going to lose all of his hair because of the chemo.[3] Shannon mentioned that she was going to start building Todd a collection of baseball caps to cover his newly-shiny dome. If you have any new baseball caps that you think a geek might like[4] and are willing to share, please let me know[5] and I'll send you shipping information. I think it would put a huge smile on Todd's face if he got a flood of caps from around the country and around the world, so if you're willing and able I'd really appreciate your help!

[1] I know that this is about as far from business intelligence as you can get, but I've learned that there are many people who know Todd who read this blog, and so this is where I'm going to post this information.
[2] Or ADO.NET, or LINQ or the Entity Data Model or any data access technology for that matter!
[3] I told Shannon to give Todd a big "Eff You!" from me on this front. Whenever I've decided to go for that "handsome and bald young man" look I've had to work for it, and shave my head every few days, and that bastard Todd is getting it for free! ;-)
[4] I know that there are people from Microsoft who read this blog. If you're on a product team that makes logo-laden caps of the type you give away at conferences and events, or if you know someone who is, what would be a better cause?
[5] Matthew MCT at gmail dot calm, without any spaces, and with the obvious character substitutions made.