Robert Allen

LIFE UPDATE - "WHERE DID ROB GO"? Hey everyone! Long time no speak... Like for REALZ. It's been months! And I've gotten a lot of messages wondering where I've been... Did I delete myself from the internet... Did that dude who was trying to black mail me finally get the dirt he needed ... Did I take the whole "work from the beach as a writer" thing a little too seriously and get lost in the sand somewhere???? Well, I WISH a lot of that were true (especially that last one)... But the reason I've been offline for the last few months is much darker than I wish I had to share... Especially over a tweet with everyone. But I know people have been curious. So here it is: On July 29, I woke up thinking it was going to be a regular Saturday and by noon Amanda was driving me to the emergency room... Reason was because I was having extreme shortness of breath. My heart was racing 186 beats per minute. And we thought I was having a heart attack. So we fly down the road, get to the ER and they rushed me back to do some tests, and well... it was worse than I ever imagined. Because that was the day I found out I had cancer. And you know me, I couldn't just go and get the normal type. I had to go and get one of the "most rare" and "aggressive" and life-threatening kinds 😅 (It's called acute t-cell lymphoblastic leukemia, if you want to look it up). But long story short: I was hospitalized almost immediately. I began a very intense chemo therapy regimine within 48 hours... And I have been fighting for my life ever since. To put it bluntly: The last few months have been HELL - to say the least. I've lost all my hair (bye, bye, luscious locks 😰) I can barely feel my hands (thanks to one of the drugs I'm on which makes it incredibly hard to even type this message)... I lost about 40 lbs (that I didn't have to lose so I'm looking EXTRA gaunt these days)... And I have thrown up more times than I can even count (chemo is a B*****!) Trust me when I say this: No one was more shocked to find this out than me. Because as far as I knew before all this, I was practically in perfect health! I went on 5 mile walks every day. Was in the gym 4x per week. Went to an infrared sauna every other day. And ate super clean (like bone broth, pounds of spinach, avocados, protein powder and ONLY grilled meats clean). So it was a blindside I never saw coming. And honestly, talking about it has been very difficult... to say the least. Only my close circle of friends/family has known about it until now. Because ... well there's been many times we didn't think I was going to even live a month. Much less make it to where I am today. So I was really scared to say something and have it be my "last words." It feels WAY too intense even write that out... But I also didn't want to start making promises of sharing more about my situation and then get sicker and then get people even more worried. So I've basically stayed quiet through it all. And just one goal the past few months... to stay ALIVE. The good news is: I have hit that goal :) And in many ways exceeded it. Because my treatment plan has 5 cycles (the last one being maintenance). And I just made it through the second one. Which is notoriously one of the hardest on the body. But y'all know me, I'm not one to back down from a challenge :) So despite a few recent set backs, I start course 3 on Monday. And the doctors are really encouraged by everything they've seen because my last bone marrow biopsy showed that my cancer is in remission. And this is much, much earlier than even the best of plans would have hoped for. So I believe deep down in my core that I will make it through this. It will be hard. I know that. And some of the most grueling treatments are ahead. But I just have so much more of life I want to experience and so much more that I want to give back that I refuse to have it any other way. I won't sugar coat it... This has been the hardest thing I've ever had to do. It's been the toughest thing my family has ever been through. And it's been so incredibly hard on Amanda at times that I don't even know how she's found the strength to keep pulling us along (a lot of days I can barely get out of bed and she does EVERYTHING around the house and more). But in a strange, twisted I am so incredibly grateful for all of it. Because this experience has opened my eyes to the things that matter most in life. Simple things you take for granted - like having a cup of coffee with people you love. And important things like saying you love someone with enough meaning that you're okay if it had to be the last time. So I guess what I'm saying is... Life is CRAZY. Life is short. And life is ALWAYS worth fighting for. So today, over the holiday weekend, I hope you go hug your mom. I hope you call your dad and tell him you love him. I hope you squeeze your nephew extra tight. Not because you have to worry that it'll be the last time, but because loving people fully is what makes a great life. Grateful for all you guys. Keep fighting the good fight, Rob "Oh you thought I'd forget the middle name thing because cancer? NO WAY" Allen

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