Steve caught a flu around Christmas that just wouldn't go away. I finally talked him into going to the doctor two months later. One test led to another, x-rays, ct scans, bone scans, blood tests, then finally a specialist narrowed it all down to "there's a growth on the right side of your 5th & 6th ribs (uuggg!)." Not wanting to cause further complications, we decided to have them removed. Steve was thrilled, ha-ha, and tried quite a few times to get out of it! But on April 24, he had surgery to get what ever it was out. The doctor found two, 1-2 cm growths on his ribs, and removed 5 inches of each rib. He was in the hospital for 5 glorious days. He had a few complications which kept him there a bit longer than expected. One week later, the news came that the tumors were not cancerous, that they could've been if they had not been removed. It was a rare form of cancer that when they reach the size of around 5 cm they start producing the cancer cells. Since this was caught early, this process hadn't started yet. So now Steve is on the road to recovery, and is healing really well. He is up and moving and probably doing things he really shouldn't be doing, but thats Steve, he can't sit still if his life depended on it! Thanks to all of our family and friends that helped with meals, and visits, and keeping us in your prayers. You all mean so much to us, and we greatly value your friendships.