Dear Mother

         The switchboard tried to get a call through to you all day, but no luck. St Louis must have some kind of special sun spots. Malcolm called me last night, and promised to relay the message to you.

         I've gotten a lot better with several days sleep. I guess it was just total complete and sheer physical exhaustion. They have found on X rays some suspicious lesions in the lumbar region of my vertebrae. Because of cancer, everything that appears in my anatomy one immediately wants to call a metastasis. But we have absolutely no way to be sure. And even if it was there is nothing that can be done about it. Fortunately the area of destruction is in the front of the vertebrae, which is the least essential portion. There are no muscles hooked on to that portion. However the whole pathology does cause muscular spasm and that is why our son has the old man's "aching back."

         Tomorrow I get a fine plastic jacket half.....sort of like a posterion shell. I can attach it with elastic bandages around my front, yet take it off to sleep and bath. Useing it only when I am up and about. It will only be a temporary thing. I always knew the cancer would spread. It was just a matter of how long, and where. And there is always the good chance that this is NOT due to the cancer, as melanoma rarely goes to bone. Anyway the thing that counts is that I am not in the dumps, and feel tat it will not be necessary to change any plans whatsoever. I would have probably never even noticed it if I had not gotten so fatigued.

         After I get out of here in about a week I'll spend another week purchasing all the medicines and surgical supplies I came here to get. That will then complete all the teams out here. I can sit back and say to myself, "well done." I have had to nurse them, hand hold them, plant them into the soil of their respective nations, handle their internal personnel conflicts etc. Now all are well, and as soon as the new supplies reach them from Hong Kong, they will be well settled. Dr Wintrob has done a fine job of taking over Muong Sing. Ted handles all the intracicies of flying in and out of these nations with much dispatch. So first week or so of January I'll head home to stay until first week of February. I'll then fly back here to meet you in Hong Kong...which I'm really looking forward to. Then March in Asia, and April back to the states to begin a lecture tour through June. Opps last line.. don't worry too much mother, will see you soon.. much love always.

Tom