tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-61574135492952883802024-02-06T21:42:14.060-05:00Cheap MetaphorJournal of My AdventuresCrowwatcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12303372167013019291noreply@blogger.comBlogger177125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6157413549295288380.post-84514865986135799012015-06-05T23:58:00.000-04:002015-06-05T23:58:05.972-04:00The EndIt’s not the end. As we all know, tomorrow is another day and flowers will grow and coffee will be overpriced, and inspirational phrases will get us through our sometimes crappy jobs, and life will go on. But this IS the end of this here blog about a man we love and enjoy who was forced to live with a strange house-guest named cancer. <br /><br />This is not Chuck speaking - this is Alice (who calls Chuck “Dad” usually). May this post be stricken from the record if necessary for accuracy reasons. I’m sitting bedside with Chuck, both of us feeling like there needed to be another post. It’s been over two weeks since his stroke, and he’s now being comforted by the stuff junkies dream of, the drugs of Palliative Care. Palliative Care is just medical care with the goal of giving a patient the highest quality of life. Technically, he’s been receiving Palliative Care since his cancer diagnosis, but now he’s been given the golden key to the good stuff. That’s why I’m talking. This started out as a conversation between us, but quickly lost track:<br /><br /><b>Alice: We got home from the hospital and it took a couple of days to learn what your body’s capabilities were. A couple hilarious spills off the couch to be exact.<br /><br />Chuck: *Laughs* Something about the snow leopard.<br /><br />Alice: What do you want to say about the snow leopard?<br /><br />Chuck: He looks on. Unrelenting.</b><br /><br />In all fairness, there is a stuffed snow leopard at the foot of his bed, but it wasn’t the direction I was hoping for, so I’ll do my best to take it from here. <br /><br />Hospice care isn’t what we expected. Chuck mentioned this too. There’s no big scary nurse giving you sponge baths and dictating your life 24/7. It’s actually a lot of nice nurses who remind me of a piano teacher Abby and I used to have. And they only provide as much support as you need. With Mary, Abby and myself treating home hangout time like a job, and an outpouring of amazing friends and family available constantly, we haven’t needed much support. But Chuck has still been considering calling in for a sponge bath. <br /><br />Which brings me to my next bit; it would be the understatement of the century to say my father has people who care about him. Friends and family from near and far have come bearing gluten-free vegetarian treats and have overflowed his message boxes on every media platform. We may weary slightly of guests, but he doesn’t. It’s been a pretty constant Chuck party, and I can’t think of a better kind. <br /><br />There are certain things, like losing his appetite and saying goodbye to friends that we all knew were doing to be difficult. The unforeseen challenge of the last couple weeks has been the itchy skin that we’ve learned isn’t uncommon with liver failure. There’s nothing graceful about it, and there’s just no “good stuff” drug for it that helps for more than a short time. The silver lining is the consistent loving human contact he gets from lotion rubs. I’ve wondered more than once if he’s faking the whole sickness thing just for the foot rubs. I might consider it myself. <br /><br />The bucket list that Chuck outlined for me the night I got to the hospital was exceptionally manageable. We played skip-bo. We saw Lake Michigan. We drank awesome milkshakes. We brought cookies to the nurses at the Lacks Cancer Center. I guess someone like my dad doesn’t have a lot of last minute amends to make. He’s got no fear, which is good because fear has no place here. Marlee and Isabel graduated high school yesterday, and are starting new chapters in the unknown. I've found myself to be the oldest in the next generation of Petersons, at the age my Dad was when he owned a house and had a one-year old kid. I don’t want to speak for Mary and Abby, or the others who have spent time in our living room recently, but there is comfort in the fact that we are all hurtling towards the unknown together. And if Chuck has no fear, I don’t either. <br /><br />If there’s one thing that sticks out from Chuck’s depiction of life with cancer, and what he’s reminded me lately by still making hilarious well-timed quips when I thought he was sleeping, is that there’s no use taking anything too seriously. Life is absurd. That you can count on.<br />
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<br />Crowwatcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12303372167013019291noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6157413549295288380.post-86534842627018284142015-05-20T13:55:00.001-04:002015-06-03T12:33:24.701-04:00The beginning of the end<br />
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I knew I would have to write this post at some point but it seems strange after feeling so optimistic about treatment options. I've always known this cancer would kill me and maybe it is somewhat of a relief to finally know how it would handle the job. The answer is: by strangling my liver. Apparently you need a liver more than you need an esophagus. That is now clear to me. And the cancer is not above a little vandalism along the way. The time since my last post has been filled with drama. As you shall see.</div>
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It started with me noticing that my urine had changed to a darker shade. I assumed it was dehydration. But when I went to chemo on Tuesday my nurse told me I looked jaundiced. The blood tests confirmed that my bilirubin numbers were quite high. I had never heard of bilirubin but it is the stuff that makes your poop brown an your pee yellow. A normal level is 2 and mine was at 8. Chemo was cancelled and I was scheduled for another CT scan. There are several conditions that lead to elevated bilirubin levels and the ones that can be fixed can be identified through scans. A CT scan is no big deal any more but I'd just had one and was not eager to have another. This one was a "wet read" meaning I had to wait around for further instructions after the results were shared with a doctor because if there were blockages, they would want to act fast. I was real grumpy because I was hungry and not allowed to eat. The word finally came to "go home" no blockages were discovered. This was somewhat bad news because this was one of only a couple curable conditions that cause bilirubin a to spike. Similarly I was contacted and told to report for an ultrasound with pretty much the same result.</div>
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Meanwhile it had become pretty obvious that I was jaundiced. I could now see it in the bathroom mirror and the whites of my eyes were no longer that. Also my urine was pretty consistently the color of root beer. Normally, the liver deposits these waste products from breaking down tired red blood cells into your feces. Abnormally it goes into your urine instead and your poop is left pale.</div>
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I began to understand that the only remedy left was liver transplant and I knew I was not a candidate for that. I began to fear that I was experiencing liver failure an I had not yet talked to a doctor. Thanks, Internet! The symptoms were listed and I had them all. My next appointment with Dr. Kryjewski was the following Tuesday and I was already anticipating the bad news.</div>
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And then on Monday the story took an interesting turn. I had spent the afternoon with the children of John Douglas, Grand Rapids Press long time columnist and film reviewer who had just died suddenly from recently diagnosed pancreatic cancer, and I had agreed to help them with a tribute video since he had been a great supporter of GRTV through the years. I was doing some yard work with Mary. We were about to unfold a pool cover and as I was suggesting a method, I heard my voice come out in a squeaky, funny way. Mary asked me to repeat what I said and she sounded concerned. Once again, my voice came out squeaky. I started laughing because it sounded so ridiculous. Mary said, " I think you are having a stroke". I had to beg her not to call 911. I felt fine and not a bit foggy. I had to agree I would go to the Emergency Room and managed to persuade her that it would not be in an ambulance.</div>
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It was approximately one year ago that I had experienced a minor stroke or TIIA and my ER experience was about the same. Stroke symptoms skip to the head of the line. Triage ran me through some stroke tests, squeezing fingers, etc. and could not see anything that looked like a stroke, just like last year. But they take no chances and I was soon on a gurney in a treatment room. Triage mentioned that I looked like "a walking highlighter marker" and they would like to look at that as well. Again all the tests seemed to come up negative for stroke but they got me in for yet another CT scan, this time of my head instead of my abdomen. While waiting for the results, at some point I reached for my glasses that were resting in my lap. But my fingers would not work. We called the nurse back in and clearly something was wrong. My face was droopy on the left side. An MRI was requested and I was told I would be admitted over night. </div>
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The MRI was scheduled for <a href="x-apple-data-detectors://0" x-apple-data-detectors-result="0" x-apple-data-detectors-type="calendar-event" x-apple-data-detectors="true">10:30</a> that night and a room was prepared. MRI's are quite unpleasant with all the banging and sci-fi sounds. By the time I got to my room, the results were already in. I had experienced a series of small strokes or infarctions as they call them. Sounds dirty to me.</div>
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I slept poorly. In the morning, Dr. Kryjewski showed up in my room about the time I was expected to show up at his office for my appointment. He pretty much confirmed what I was suspecting. I had reached the end of what could be done about the jaundice/belirubens/liver failure. My chemo days are officially over. This is how I will die. Belirubens reading is up to 20 and if unchecked. This will overwhelm my system in 2 weeks to 2 months, not really enough time to heal the stroke damage. Maybe enough time to get one of those handicap things for my rear view mirror so I can enjoy convenient parking in my days left.</div>
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Next comes my decision about which Hospice Organization to choose. Once again. A rather simple choice on a difficult path.<br />
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Alice showed up last night in my room thanks to a sweet gesture from her boyfriend Zack who bought her a plane ticket and made it easy to come Abby just showed up thanks to her mom who droves across the State to pick her up in Detroit.<br />
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Now I am plying a morbid game with every activity. "is this my last________" fill in the blank; Yesterdog, chocolate chip ice cream, movie, or whatever. It actually started a couple of years ago when I bought an 18-pack of at soap and wondered if it would be enough to last for the rest of my life. There are still two bars left. May have to kick up the frequency of my showers.</div>
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Crowwatcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12303372167013019291noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6157413549295288380.post-5312331188472667122015-05-08T11:53:00.004-04:002015-05-08T11:53:56.559-04:00Seems to be workingTo quote from the CT Scan report summary:<br />
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"... in general, there has been response to treatment with stability and decrease in multiple metastases, and an increased degree of necrosis of the large liver mass and conglomerate."</blockquote>
There were some tiny lesions in the lungs that enlarged (we are talking millimeters) but the doctors consider this as an overall indication that the current chemo is working. I knew this already because I have been feeling better, pretty much from the week that they started administrating Paclitaxel. And side effects have been close to nil, aside from hair loss.<br />
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On Wednesday, the day after my doctor visit with this report, I got a call from Ann Arbor saying they had an opening in the study and "how is the current therapy working?" I was able to tell them that my response to the drug seemed to indicate its effectiveness. The woman at the other end of the phone was congratulatory but I must say it felt slightly strange to be clutching a bird when there were two birds perched in the bush right in front of me. As I mentioned before, they won't take me off effective therapy for experimental therapy, even if the experiment is in the exciting, cutting edge arena of gene therapy. I guess it is a good problem to have.<br />
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So I remain on my current regimen of chemotherapy once a week (Tuesdays) for three weeks on followed by one week off. It's pretty easy, especially as spring is breaking out all around me. The cherry blossoms are buzzing with bees, the lawn is full of violets, the goldfish are once again interested in food and the lily pads are pushing up from their pot at the bottom of the pond. My thoughts have turned to gardening and the new raised beds are already demonstrating fertility with pea and bean plants poking their heads to the surface.Crowwatcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12303372167013019291noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6157413549295288380.post-86119813736920150792015-04-11T18:51:00.002-04:002015-04-11T18:56:12.656-04:00Back to Ann ArborIt's a long way to go for a conversation. But it was a good conversation to have. Ann Arbor Cancer Hospital called me and asked that I come down and talk to them about my inclusion of a phase one trial of a new medicine for solid tumors. The week before, they had requested <a href="http://www.foundationone.com/learn.php" target="_blank">foundation one testing</a> results from my doctor based on my genomic profile. So Thursday I zipped down to meet with a Dr. Schneider and some of his team.<br />
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I like the idea of being part of cutting edge science that is learning how to cure cancer. I also enjoyed learning about how a drug goes to market. Dr. Schneider said that this drug was working with my own immune system, "teaching" it to specifically identify cancer genes and attack those cells. I know from watching "The Emperor of All Maladies" that this is the most promising new horizon for cancer research. He said I was a good candidate but there were currently no openings and besides, they would not take me off a therapy that was working for one that was experimental. But people are removed from and added to studies all the time and I should stay in touch and let them know if at any time my current therapy was no longer reducing my tumor. It is great to have this as a back up!<br />
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They left me with a packet explaining in great detail the nature of the study, what could be expected, and everyone's rights and responsibilities. I learned that this drug was tested with monkeys so this group would be the first human trials. They saw promising results with the monkey tests and it also helped them with estimating dosing and predicting side effects; primarily raised blood pressure and bleeding in the digestive system in patients with bowel tumors.<br />
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It's all a bit anticlimactic and ideally I would not need to resort to a trial for some time. My next CT scan will be on May 1 and so I will know more a few days after that.Crowwatcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12303372167013019291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6157413549295288380.post-60168046785947381502015-04-01T13:10:00.000-04:002015-04-02T17:59:39.877-04:00C StoriesThis week is a "rest" week after my first cycle (3 weeks of once-a-week infusion) of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paclitaxel" target="_blank">Paclitaxel</a>. Early signs are <i>very</i> good. First, I have zero side effects that I am aware of. No nausea, no appetite loss, and no hair loss (though I'm told that will come). And second, the pain jabs in my liver and my gut pain in general have mostly ceased. I still have gut pain following eating but that has been consistent for a long time. If the body truly<i> knows</i>, cancer is being killed. I met with Dr. Krajewski yesterday and we decided to do another 3-week cycle with just Paclitaxel. We can always add <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramucirumab" target="_blank">Ramucirumab</a> down the line or try it by itself after Paclitaxel fails. I'll get another scan in 4 weeks to see if it is working like I think it is.<br />
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Two disclaimers: <br />
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<li>I started using <a href="http://www.drweil.com/drw/u/QAA400904/Turkey-Tail-Mushrooms-for-Cancer-Treatment.html" target="_blank">Turkey Tail</a> supplements at the same time that I started this chemotherapy regimen. My brother, Rob, sent me<a href="http://www.fungi.com/product-detail/product/host-defense-turkey-tail-capsules-120ct.html" target="_blank"> these</a> dried mushroom capsules that are known to boost the immune system in conjunction with chemotherapy for breast cancer. I should have waited a month or two so I would have a quasi-scientific comparison. But these might be a factor in my positive results.</li>
<li>I had a blood transfusion. Sometime after my first cycle, my hemoglobin levels took a dive <a href="http://crowwatcher.blogspot.com/2015/02/sidetracked-to-hospital.html" target="_blank">again</a>. They decided to give me 2 units of blood this time. It was a weird experience. I felt like a vampire. Particularly in that I felt great afterwards. I had no idea that I had been dragging so badly. My latest blood tests show normal levels in all the blood elements.</li>
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A news story that caught my eye was a <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/news/teen-cancer-patient-forced-to-have-chemotherapy-in-remission/" target="_blank">followup</a> on "<a href="http://crowwatcher.blogspot.com/2015/01/in-praise-of-chemotherapy.html" target="_blank">Cassandra</a>", the teenager from Connecticut who was forced, against her will, by the state to undergo chemotherapy for her curable lymphoma. Well apparently she is kind of glad that her cancer is now in remission. She indicated that the chemo was not so bad. Maybe the state was right this time.<br />
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I've also been watching the new 6-hour, 3-part documentary, <a href="http://www.pbs.org/kenburns/cancer-emperor-of-all-maladies/about-film/overview/" target="_blank">The Emperor of all Maladies</a>, on PBS. It is really quite excellent. I particularly liked the first 2-hour episode which focused on the history of trying to understand and fight cancer. It is a film by Barak Goodman based on the book of the same title by Siddhartha Mukherjee and "presented" by Ken Burns in his engaging style of filmmaking and writing. Six hours is a lot of time to spend on such a dark topic but it is a good way to get up to speed on where we have been and where we are going; what cancer is and what it is not. I have not yet seen the third episode (premiering tonight) but if you can spend just two hours, watch episode one, <span id="goog_1933311591"></span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/">Magic Bullets<span id="goog_1933311592"></span></a>, which will make you feel like a bit of an expert on the basics. You can watch it on line at that link.<br />
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ADDENDUM<br />
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Hair started falling out today. Should have knocked wood yesterday when I wrote that thing about not losing any hair!<br />
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Also, I watched part 3 of "The Emperor of All Maladies" and it was excellent. Shows where cancer research is going. The first part of the episode discussed "palliative care" which is sobering but of great interest to me as that is the type of care I am receiving. But it went on to talk about the genome research. <b>All</b> cancer is caused by gene mutation. About 50% of the cancers are linked to an outside force that causes gene mutation (smoking, viruses, obesity, radiation, chemicals, etc.) and about 50% have an unknown cause. The first 50% can be affected by behavior changes and prevention. There are lots of promising developments in gene therapy and teaching the immune system to attack cancer cells.<br />
<br />Crowwatcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12303372167013019291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6157413549295288380.post-28763336941412315462015-03-17T18:09:00.003-04:002015-03-17T18:22:04.627-04:00Second OpinionMary and I just got back from Ann Arbor for our consult with the University of Michigan Cancer Center. It was a great trip all around and we are feeling particularly positive about our "second opinion" and some new opportunities for future treatment. And to top that off, I just checked the pond in my yard and discovered that at least one goldfish has successfully wintered over under the ice. And where there is one, there is bound to be others.<br />
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Our consult was Tuesday at 10am and rather than get up super early for a cross-state commute, we accepted an invitation from Mark and Susan Pearlman to come down the night before, have dinner, sleep over, and make it a leisurely 10 minute ride to the hospital after a nice homemade breakfast. Mark is a doctor at the very same Cancer Center and more importantly, he and Susan are the parents of Zack Pearlman, a dear friend of Alice in Los Angeles. We quickly discovered that the whole Pearlman family loves Alice and were willing to extend that respect to Mary and I. It made all the difference. We were super comfortable in their home and with their company. We ate good food, drank good wine, visited with Zack's Sister Allison and her spouse, Leanne (also friends of Alice) and had great conversation until bedtime.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMPLq9jEP2Yq61aF7qrj-deOZxZ-EgEsHgHpcJoNRGeySv_v-vzdVWLY_CWQ6flBZiVuxH6YjC6FoKhLCByFkjTCsDBoMkBBxVDVJmfextRf63Xwt0MMKgRR98YymCeFLYmsWO9GFuFrkf/s640/blogger-image-948814340.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMPLq9jEP2Yq61aF7qrj-deOZxZ-EgEsHgHpcJoNRGeySv_v-vzdVWLY_CWQ6flBZiVuxH6YjC6FoKhLCByFkjTCsDBoMkBBxVDVJmfextRf63Xwt0MMKgRR98YymCeFLYmsWO9GFuFrkf/s640/blogger-image-948814340.jpg" /></a></div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Mark cancelled his morning meeting so he could make us omelets from the fresh eggs of their backyard chickens before heading off for work. He advised us to get to our appointment early but to be prepared to wait. We socialized with Susan and made the decision to come back to the house after my appointment to pack up. Well, we did not get there early but rather right on time. And no sooner than I finished a one-sheet questionnaire, my name was called and they took my vitals and ushered me into an examination room. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
We waited hardly a minute before we were welcomed by Dr. Manali Bhave (hope I got that name spelled right) who is in training with the center's senior esophageal cancer specialist, Dr Susan Urba. She took us through my cancer history, fixing some mistakes in the record and ultimately confirming that the choices that my doctors in Grand Rapids were making were right in line with what they would have recommended. Dr. Bhave possessed the gift of being able to type notes while she looked over her shoulder and talked to me. U of M had consulted on my case before and had a record of my cancer DNA which was compatible with successful trials with the drug, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramucirumab" target="_blank">Ramucirumab,</a> Dr. Krajewski was considering. After discussing options, she left and came back with Dr. Urba.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Dr. Urba started out by acknowledging that she had received a note from Dr. Pearlman mentioning our friendship and to give me her best care. Of course she would do that anyway but it felt good to have the connection made. She concurred with all the stuff that Dr. Mhave told us, recommending that we move forward with the recently approved cancer drug as a companion to the drug <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paclitaxel" target="_blank">Paclitaxel</a> that was started last week and went on to talk about getting me into a "phase 1" trial. A phase 1 trial can only happen at a University hospital and it involves testing promising new treatments that are not yet approved. This could happen only depending on open slots and after this current regimen is finished. The nice thing about it is that it leaves me with more options should this current treatment be ineffective plus the opportunity to be part of scientific discovery for future patients with my cancer. She thought my overall good health would be a factor in getting me into a study. She said that someone who had lived three years with this cancer and that much chemotherapy she would normally expect to be brought in in a wheelchair.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
We left feeling very good about future options.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
We went back to the Pearlman home and had coffee with Susan. We wanted to take her out for lunch but she was waiting for a delivery and had to pass. We said our goodbyes and found a terrific Korean restaurant, <a href="http://www.tomukun.com/" target="_blank">Tomukun</a>, right next to the Michigan Theater. And then it was back on the road. Two and a half hours and we were home.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2F7d2XHrG256jjq9aqSi0ZvT7Im9_k5FwB6pP8IvPKmGqQUY336nJZV_2dltujoCi-A4L_d8RZDZmYruWa1SFbb-LHUHuQXBlXJjgb79QiGm350NyRrkSAwDQf4DpW83fuzxt8Ps2wwcL/s640/blogger-image-92454086.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2F7d2XHrG256jjq9aqSi0ZvT7Im9_k5FwB6pP8IvPKmGqQUY336nJZV_2dltujoCi-A4L_d8RZDZmYruWa1SFbb-LHUHuQXBlXJjgb79QiGm350NyRrkSAwDQf4DpW83fuzxt8Ps2wwcL/s640/blogger-image-92454086.jpg" width="360" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tofu Stew special with all the added "taste" extras</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Tomorrow morning (Wednesday) I will see Dr. Krajewski and take on my second dose of Paclitaxel. The new drug, Ramucirumab, will need to be approved by the insurance company so that will likely start next week. I'm also hoping to get a new pain drug as Ibuprofen (which works great) is not a good pairing for gastrointestinal complications. Unfortunately for the first time I am experiencing pain in the liver as one of my symptoms.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
And winter seems to be waning so soon I can start getting a bit more exercise and revisit my fish feeding ritual.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
Crowwatcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12303372167013019291noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6157413549295288380.post-17236047740907965752015-03-03T14:36:00.001-05:002015-03-12T16:55:09.089-04:00Turning the page
It was not unexpected.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I told my doctor 2 months ago that something was happening down in my
liver region.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The body knows.
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Doctors are pretty easy to read too.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When Dr. Krajewski came into the room
he said, “Well let’s start with the labs”, implying that good news would be
first.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But he did get around to
the results of the scans and they revealed what I had expected.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The regimen of chemotherapy that I have
been on for nearly a year was no longer working.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The primary tumor on the liver was nearly double in size
since the last scan in November.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>And there was some other evidence of “worsening metastases” in that
region and around the abdomen.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 294.8pt;">
The thing about chemo when you are
employing palliative therapy is that you keep trying new drugs until they no
longer work.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Dr. K had a list of
the stuff that was known to be effective on my kind of cancer and he had crossed
off all the drugs that I had burned through over the 3 years.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There were still a few left and he was
recommending an old drug, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paclitaxel" target="_blank">Paclitaxel</a>, along with a new (approved just last
year) companion drug called <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramucirumab" target="_blank">Ramucirumab</a>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Because of the newness and some the side effects of the latter, he
recommended that I get a second opinion from the University of Michigan
Hospital who would have more experience with patients on this drug.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 294.8pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 294.8pt;">
So we are going to start next week
with Paclitaxel and if the geniuses at U of M think it is right for me, we’ll
add the Ramucirumab in about 3 weeks.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 294.8pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 294.8pt;">
I’ve really liked that previous
regimen because the side effects were so tolerable.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is no telling which of the side effects will come into
play with the new drugs but it looks like losing my hair is a common one.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I can live with that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I just hope it does not affect the
taste of food.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I would be sad to
lose that again.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 294.8pt;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">As I
said, it was not unexpected so I am not at all devastated.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am grateful that I still look healthy
and feel pretty damn good.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am
also in no hurry for the spring or disappointed in cold temperatures.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is all good and the warm sunny days
will come, regardless.</span>
Crowwatcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12303372167013019291noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6157413549295288380.post-85067997019701152082015-03-02T09:43:00.003-05:002015-03-02T09:43:40.520-05:003 yearsWhen I woke up this morning I got to thinking that it was
March already.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I knew that it was
sometime in March 2012 when I initially got the call from Dr. Lown that the
biopsy from my upper endoscopy had come back positive for esophageal
cancer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I just looked back at my
calendar and it was March 2 of that year when I received that call.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So as of today it has been 3 years.
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Stage 4 esophageal cancer has a reputation for killing
people fast.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hardly anyone with
this diagnosis lasts 5 years.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Most
don’t last even 1 year.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am
incredibly grateful that I have reached this milestone and still feel very much
alive. My body has served me well.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
One of my favorite stories (that I probably have already
told in this blog somewhere) is how a simple screw-up in an early medical
procedure saved or at least extended my life.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When I was first diagnosed as having the adenocarcinoma
cells in my esophagus near the junction of my stomach, there was initial
concern regarding <a href="http://www.cancerresearchuk.org/about-cancer/type/oesophageal-cancer/treatment/the-stages-of-oesophageal-cancer#number" target="_blank">staging</a>, as early stages are <a href="http://www.cancer.org/cancer/esophaguscancer/detailedguide/esophagus-cancer-survival-rates" target="_blank">survivable</a>. Unfortunately, most cases are discovered late because by the
time you typically experience symptoms, the disease has already spread. Still,
there was hope that we had discovered it in an early stage.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A CT/PET scan would tell the story.
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
After the scan, I received the bad news that there were hot
spots in both my liver and in the center of my chest, in the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mediastinum" target="_blank">mediastinum</a> area.
This could indicate stage 4.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But
to be sure that these hot spots were cancer, they would need to be biopsied.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The liver biopsy was done first since
it was relative easy to get to… just a poke through soft tissue.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was told that if that biopsy revealed
esophageal cancer cells, that that would indicate <a href="http://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/metastases" target="_blank">metastases </a>and I would be
considered stage 4 and they would not bother to biopsy the spot in my chest, as
that would require a thoracic surgery and there was no point to put me through
that because it would not change my diagnosis.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Well that liver biopsy came back negative for cancer and the
thoracic surgery, using the minimally invasive <a href="http://www.davincisurgery.com/" target="_blank">daVinc</a>i robot, was scheduled.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The doctor was hopeful that the hot spot in my chest would also be
negative for esophageal cancer as that would indicate a lower stage cancer and
I would be a candidate for esophagectomy; a major surgery but also the gold
standard for surviving this disease.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>They would not perform an esophagectomy on a stage 4 patient because it
was considered too invasive to put someone through who had perhaps only months
to live anyway.
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So it was a weird mixed blessing when the results of the
thoracic biopsy came back negative for esophageal cancer but positive for a
particularly aggressive <a href="http://www.lymphomainfo.net/articles/non-hodgkins-lymphoma/acute-lymphoblastic-lymphoma" target="_blank">strain </a>of non-Hodgkins lymphoma.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The good news being that the lymphoma
was deadly but curable through chemotherapy and stem cell transplant, and the
lack of adenocarcinoma cells meant that my esophageal cancer had not
metastasized, meaning I was early stage for that cancer, and was therefore
operable.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I had the operation to
remove my esophagus days later and a plan was set in place to put me through
the chemo to kill any lymphoma left in my body.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But then the other shoe dropped.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The guy who had done the liver biopsy was looking back at
reports and decided that he was not 100% sure that the biopsy he had done had
actually sampled the concerning spot.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>He asked to repeat the liver biopsy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This was done and this time it came back positive for
esophageal cancer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was now considered stage 4.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Bad news, right?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>But here’s the thing that occurred to me later.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If that first biopsy had not been
screwed up and had come back positive, they would not have gone in to test that
spot in my chest.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They would never
have discovered the fast-growing, deadly lymphoma there and untreated, it would
have quickly killed me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As it
turned out, the doctor was able to cut out the entire lymph node with wide
margins during that daVinci surgery and evidently he got it all, as it has not
returned.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I received the life
extending esophagectomy and because of the eventual stage 4 prognosis I was not
put through the grueling stem cell transplant rigmarole to cure the
lymphoma.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And here I am 3 years
later, having a life beyond expectation.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Tomorrow I get the results of last Friday’s quarterly CT
scan.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We’ll see if my weird luck
continues.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
Crowwatcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12303372167013019291noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6157413549295288380.post-22924995818885422772015-02-27T16:39:00.003-05:002015-02-27T16:48:04.490-05:00Warm Respite<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />
While Michigan was experiencing bone-chilling cold February
temperatures, Mary and I took 9 days to bring some of that cold down to the
Sunshine State.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We had a great time
visiting my Mom & Dad, who are staying in Clearwater, Florida for a chunk
of time, and also Mary’s brother Matt and his wife Karen who live in Bradenton,
Florida, about an hour away.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some of
those days were sunny and warm but all days were filled with great company and
good food.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And the beach is beautiful
even on a chilly day.
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We flew in on Allegiant Airlines, a discount airline that
charges for amenities like carry-on baggage, choosing your own seat, beverage
service, and even using a credit card on their website.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They don’t have a First Class section and one
surprise benefit of that is that fellow travelers seemed generally nicer.
Flying no frills on the cheap is a common value. No one was pushing to get ahead
in the boarding line, there was plenty of space in the overhead compartments
and no one seemed grumpy about little inconveniences.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The St. Petersburg/Clearwater airport was
small and easy to navigate and we were greeted by the smiling faces of Mom and
Dad who were parked right in front of the terminal.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
They were renting a doublewide mobile home at a nearby mobile
home park where Mary and I had our own bedroom and bathroom.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was not a particularly beautiful
neighborhood... lots of nearby traffic and strip malls... but there were plenty of
palm trees and lush gardens that made us feel like we were in Florida.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was surprised at how quickly it felt like
we had jumped right from winter to an illusion of spring. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In the morning, I joined Dad on his routine walk to get a
newspaper from the machine in front of a chain restaurant around the
corner.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Mom reads them and does the
crosswords but Dad does the legwork.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We decided to spend the day at nearby <a href="http://www.stateparks.com/honeymoon_island_state_park_in_florida.html" target="_blank">Honeymoon Island StatePark</a>. They have a beautiful beach and a great Nature Center with
an awesome hiking trail where you will see dozen’s of Osprey nesting and flying
around talking to each other.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There was
a bonus Bald Eagle’s nest at the end of the trail where we saw two hatchlings
and a parent eagle.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We also ran into a
couple of armadillos who seem quite oblivious to having people around
them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’d never seen an armadillo before
so it was a treat to see them up close and try to figure out if they were
mammals, reptiles or possibly dinosaurs.
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWPWXEnahvxCe43mtxDYYCa798VfITR1JhJc6p5drHUNyhk0sA5Kdyew-k0Dgu1ydUGqYsXLRiZrLWBUgBKTOnLxF3RwVYEt6sge5DyMJDc_p4EmP9aMtOWKRkJdXPoljq3XEdNspj8o6o/s1600/IMG_1702.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWPWXEnahvxCe43mtxDYYCa798VfITR1JhJc6p5drHUNyhk0sA5Kdyew-k0Dgu1ydUGqYsXLRiZrLWBUgBKTOnLxF3RwVYEt6sge5DyMJDc_p4EmP9aMtOWKRkJdXPoljq3XEdNspj8o6o/s1600/IMG_1702.JPG" height="320" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Birdwatching</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6-44OiUHIm65TlC7Z5J7_G3JhvYhyK-g2371lqk9GePw7GhmH3zMZGh8xNwUQYkqIogmbVDiTvv3pKfryhU89IeOugFZJkbnEYAfs50zLeGlxPIcZZsdO_mdzDIhvmQcG5pd56PvVt0lW/s1600/IMG_1704.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6-44OiUHIm65TlC7Z5J7_G3JhvYhyK-g2371lqk9GePw7GhmH3zMZGh8xNwUQYkqIogmbVDiTvv3pKfryhU89IeOugFZJkbnEYAfs50zLeGlxPIcZZsdO_mdzDIhvmQcG5pd56PvVt0lW/s1600/IMG_1704.JPG" height="239" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chip off the old block</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeTIR0coJKONPWq7Tj4UiGXAFAMthyphenhyphen_FIq8UDipJonQa0ZcZs4LzSBTBkkcTLKGZO-4WBJQZaGIU_JwlraHkkIi5q3A-gNh5buVlGLCcEC88MJRlkhLkBlqyK_uFqbsIHGbKGnTPYY8VSA/s1600/IMG_1706.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeTIR0coJKONPWq7Tj4UiGXAFAMthyphenhyphen_FIq8UDipJonQa0ZcZs4LzSBTBkkcTLKGZO-4WBJQZaGIU_JwlraHkkIi5q3A-gNh5buVlGLCcEC88MJRlkhLkBlqyK_uFqbsIHGbKGnTPYY8VSA/s1600/IMG_1706.JPG" height="239" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Beachside lunch</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUN84t2fCoqfNvDvJp-zWTqdWx1Df-PP7UOZ_8txZPEi7X_oQPARbXru9iYrFpQoZcRNm1Gh6FP4CpQuB3ctV3cH-isHOt5A9NCl1aW33sMg8IKFAtGIhte-owWQU8h0gta1aYMZDM_Yc3/s1600/IMG_1715.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUN84t2fCoqfNvDvJp-zWTqdWx1Df-PP7UOZ_8txZPEi7X_oQPARbXru9iYrFpQoZcRNm1Gh6FP4CpQuB3ctV3cH-isHOt5A9NCl1aW33sMg8IKFAtGIhte-owWQU8h0gta1aYMZDM_Yc3/s1600/IMG_1715.JPG" height="320" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The old man and the sea</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLzdum9sBdh3clm7jPtW8v8-0WuyPiWVNOvRpDjn4zXaPFPxVP70_1KwbnbIfeFUs1eCobMPm78SvsL6gBik0G4NPUstwqqlHrPov9S0vTf6eddq97QryAlIdZXYQB1X6IMTH3_z6H8xlF/s1600/IMG_1726.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLzdum9sBdh3clm7jPtW8v8-0WuyPiWVNOvRpDjn4zXaPFPxVP70_1KwbnbIfeFUs1eCobMPm78SvsL6gBik0G4NPUstwqqlHrPov9S0vTf6eddq97QryAlIdZXYQB1X6IMTH3_z6H8xlF/s1600/IMG_1726.JPG" height="320" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mary</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibtBr5fGe0eoYOSYaNssb9eTZZ4kgcJZw1sVz6x_uQiAkHTBKTqWRcSeB9k67pH2IpHLu_L53ykc_Qnzg4kO38C0kKnQVFJscVsUzTzDMw24cb8yGRm-obLGzGyXcKZYecjpC8iB9yTl4S/s1600/IMG_1709.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibtBr5fGe0eoYOSYaNssb9eTZZ4kgcJZw1sVz6x_uQiAkHTBKTqWRcSeB9k67pH2IpHLu_L53ykc_Qnzg4kO38C0kKnQVFJscVsUzTzDMw24cb8yGRm-obLGzGyXcKZYecjpC8iB9yTl4S/s1600/IMG_1709.JPG" height="239" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Osprey Hike</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuYiFB5rxqdStkBsM52_D0QHhSvY-z4NrG8DTG1Tu5ayRHtCJMjOG8NKY0Kfm4_9IUyp-JBbYsK82-7dkezLS00vO_NhOVzrpQdKgHTo1iyGB9Y_mMiz_m_-JIUd3ASyxiyNa0fBHcWCs8/s1600/IMG_1714.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuYiFB5rxqdStkBsM52_D0QHhSvY-z4NrG8DTG1Tu5ayRHtCJMjOG8NKY0Kfm4_9IUyp-JBbYsK82-7dkezLS00vO_NhOVzrpQdKgHTo1iyGB9Y_mMiz_m_-JIUd3ASyxiyNa0fBHcWCs8/s1600/IMG_1714.JPG" height="320" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">What is this creature?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIC7KQuxPJmoqvl8k4SvWIWO3dCe1Kzqye5xzskDpYZ9YLQw52Wa5a-clwIdbctSGLVkv8L4FOZNYAPt3jQPc-Ge_6rc1P8x7TgoKGiFRNfUNRovZYIGjoWxNwra-sr590h77pCNxKLKVe/s1600/ContactPhoto-IMG_20150217_161758.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIC7KQuxPJmoqvl8k4SvWIWO3dCe1Kzqye5xzskDpYZ9YLQw52Wa5a-clwIdbctSGLVkv8L4FOZNYAPt3jQPc-Ge_6rc1P8x7TgoKGiFRNfUNRovZYIGjoWxNwra-sr590h77pCNxKLKVe/s1600/ContactPhoto-IMG_20150217_161758.jpg" height="320" width="180" /></a>The next day Mom and Dad drove us down to Bradenton where we
were greeted by Matt and Karen at their home.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We all dined together for lunch before bidding adieu to the folks.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Matt, Karen, Mary and I hung out in the lush
back yard and discussed plans for our next 4 days.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We had splurged on a near-beach, 2-bedroom
apartment rental on <a href="http://www.visitflorida.com/en-us/cities/anna-maria-island.html" target="_blank">Anna Maria Island</a> to celebrate Mary and my 8-year Anniversary and Matt and
Karen’s “honeymoon” as they had just legally tied the knot the week before; a
mere civil rubber stamp to augment their commitment ceremony marriage from
years ago.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The “<a href="http://cedarcoveresort.com/templates/keylime.htm" target="_blank">Key Lime Cottage</a>” was
large and lovely with a big and well-appointed kitchen, although we had to walk across a busy road to get to the
private beach.
</div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
There were may highlights to our days on Anna Maria Island,
including a wonderful celebratory dinner at <a href="http://www.bradentontoday.com/bradenton-restaurants/restaurants-on-anna-maria-island-sign-of-the-mermaid/" target="_blank">Sign of the Mermaid</a> restaurant, Karen’s fantastic cooking, beach wandering, meeting up with
Blake, Brie, and Kimber (nephew and nieces), nature hiking, birdwatching, napping and general beneficial
laziness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ll let the pictures do the
talking.
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9WO5Kg7cArJRnQJYqzEq_1olx4Dgwo6HEOSRSlaU6is7dFCpj4O1PkU9jM2VwWTIKJZ0BlfT3rgK6bQtssogwqUlN8601dhXfvIKZz_v5DkiVCL4W0BF_74dWpp6Zmf5djJR1PXgCyOQ8/s1600/IMG_1716.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9WO5Kg7cArJRnQJYqzEq_1olx4Dgwo6HEOSRSlaU6is7dFCpj4O1PkU9jM2VwWTIKJZ0BlfT3rgK6bQtssogwqUlN8601dhXfvIKZz_v5DkiVCL4W0BF_74dWpp6Zmf5djJR1PXgCyOQ8/s1600/IMG_1716.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Happy Anniversary- 8 years!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrULg_xDYvX_hzvVbk19lA3ODS7UpQVHiMNhcOsCCTjk3K84BGpKDvnESWVPiaAdOKxQ9wHbdRq_TTPnjpC1pgSix02WZdy2RzOV3jUsiNnD7EcN0VP2hHt3owsBpFWNTVYLy4ceQ4pgkl/s1600/IMG_1717.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrULg_xDYvX_hzvVbk19lA3ODS7UpQVHiMNhcOsCCTjk3K84BGpKDvnESWVPiaAdOKxQ9wHbdRq_TTPnjpC1pgSix02WZdy2RzOV3jUsiNnD7EcN0VP2hHt3owsBpFWNTVYLy4ceQ4pgkl/s1600/IMG_1717.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We will eat you!</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV0yrEs3AxCvNQg_pGNbT1ed6j8-YNN_RifY8fIwkpp4tby1G4aodJVbmje4RAONV7E-2x2bR_0JbPeUJVwxYFc2E9APmWHRZuMPRxBc6Fc8r9GDby-kbz4KxoK7ZrdLJdT453YlzNunhs/s1600/IMG_1719.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV0yrEs3AxCvNQg_pGNbT1ed6j8-YNN_RifY8fIwkpp4tby1G4aodJVbmje4RAONV7E-2x2bR_0JbPeUJVwxYFc2E9APmWHRZuMPRxBc6Fc8r9GDby-kbz4KxoK7ZrdLJdT453YlzNunhs/s1600/IMG_1719.JPG" height="239" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo standoff</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXCES_3BcveeqtubhBcKClzGoiwx8x2MsnQtAErHZDsVMDK2T0dVMYn3njYRnegfAaOMz59TfdWk9sxmnooIXS_yN66IgOYdUrwW7i-HUbwkuJHPeIAJiYktTcxosiZMyfJ8xf7z9zIKjA/s1600/IMG_1721.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXCES_3BcveeqtubhBcKClzGoiwx8x2MsnQtAErHZDsVMDK2T0dVMYn3njYRnegfAaOMz59TfdWk9sxmnooIXS_yN66IgOYdUrwW7i-HUbwkuJHPeIAJiYktTcxosiZMyfJ8xf7z9zIKjA/s1600/IMG_1721.JPG" height="320" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Beach entrance</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0JP6PP8MNST-IuEVXNUQM03TjNou8lxrdb0LM-qScYetE7LXFefub80TPeQJjmzLMoAF8JuizQ9YaWa5r0TroV5B4hOmya_JATSSzr0tYxnPAc9NXZemQn6VveOZqSt2qfHaYxSSYuWZT/s1600/IMG_1723.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0JP6PP8MNST-IuEVXNUQM03TjNou8lxrdb0LM-qScYetE7LXFefub80TPeQJjmzLMoAF8JuizQ9YaWa5r0TroV5B4hOmya_JATSSzr0tYxnPAc9NXZemQn6VveOZqSt2qfHaYxSSYuWZT/s1600/IMG_1723.JPG" height="239" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The balcony of the Key Lime Cottage</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgevNFW3I5o1QGQ6fgGRB7gqFTeyFOegNykow5oxg0QRRePymhrgMKKd6mB492ehNWPXYYe6FqNH_rPiQso4OgBoQNm7l1o9_0BWztpd3H2DYQFizmbCP4NbsewATPijyPOGVZPs9HogNWZ/s1600/IMG_1724.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgevNFW3I5o1QGQ6fgGRB7gqFTeyFOegNykow5oxg0QRRePymhrgMKKd6mB492ehNWPXYYe6FqNH_rPiQso4OgBoQNm7l1o9_0BWztpd3H2DYQFizmbCP4NbsewATPijyPOGVZPs9HogNWZ/s1600/IMG_1724.JPG" height="320" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Balcony up close</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7wGKYSxBIAblKL9oQGjdjU8HBS93ySz41RNavsjFrhicVMZ_Jr8aeo2heY2t469PrslEmLo6xaYTeXQQWeezqHksn762Sn01k_g3ohw5L4q95wB3z9ENXKTtQUQnB0us0KxHJF24qlbpl/s1600/IMG_1727.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7wGKYSxBIAblKL9oQGjdjU8HBS93ySz41RNavsjFrhicVMZ_Jr8aeo2heY2t469PrslEmLo6xaYTeXQQWeezqHksn762Sn01k_g3ohw5L4q95wB3z9ENXKTtQUQnB0us0KxHJF24qlbpl/s1600/IMG_1727.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dinner at the "Sign of the Mermaid"</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjxxG-jrpG3GQkwa9VhQCQS7ia0jcWIfc5AhWPXQC4i4QXH9ZgQGbTugQeXWIGhAwmsRFXAx33bOQEi-nC6S9_6H4hVo5z5Tx8Qum-mU1diHlx78L3lXxVc2p4vfjr1GTQTpP_9shxsIRJ/s1600/20150218_152317.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjxxG-jrpG3GQkwa9VhQCQS7ia0jcWIfc5AhWPXQC4i4QXH9ZgQGbTugQeXWIGhAwmsRFXAx33bOQEi-nC6S9_6H4hVo5z5Tx8Qum-mU1diHlx78L3lXxVc2p4vfjr1GTQTpP_9shxsIRJ/s1600/20150218_152317.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">siblings</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg22QGi071X9M8_KYmwIRlwvdULWUzZGC3US6T-weHu7Q22Pv-bdZLxLDu_eMeaQBwPtFEzD4iT5DUrLh35CX83Ov7jUWF98FHiEKdKhFDw5ohYBYc2UIpDoTeVGyEAEdLpQblF40Pto1Gf/s1600/20150220_181023.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg22QGi071X9M8_KYmwIRlwvdULWUzZGC3US6T-weHu7Q22Pv-bdZLxLDu_eMeaQBwPtFEzD4iT5DUrLh35CX83Ov7jUWF98FHiEKdKhFDw5ohYBYc2UIpDoTeVGyEAEdLpQblF40Pto1Gf/s1600/20150220_181023.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lots of room on this beach</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikaX8B4IAT3U4H1d-2chZbk8ReOlv8C_X_XeiN6bLJ_g5xyup_mzY5BhVFt3m5SrrSvICKPf2KGvq1VVlo5mqkgZc7PXku1B3MINa5RJp6OnhrPLkKP2GGulH3PGFgfy-TWxE7UUzCU0JL/s1600/20150220_181323.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikaX8B4IAT3U4H1d-2chZbk8ReOlv8C_X_XeiN6bLJ_g5xyup_mzY5BhVFt3m5SrrSvICKPf2KGvq1VVlo5mqkgZc7PXku1B3MINa5RJp6OnhrPLkKP2GGulH3PGFgfy-TWxE7UUzCU0JL/s1600/20150220_181323.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Matt & Karen bundled up for sunset view</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMbe6HLfHgqhF8SWtYVkTS-j1PVEEL04tgWQGcCBUhqiLjPDS6vzsJ5cITkO2kntSUzZJUADT9TvQ4LMdM3gqAR0phNSSmSQ_SR648NUS7sllnOvV1fsIC7J3N20PrzBH-zb6WaRRBksoI/s1600/20150220_181536.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMbe6HLfHgqhF8SWtYVkTS-j1PVEEL04tgWQGcCBUhqiLjPDS6vzsJ5cITkO2kntSUzZJUADT9TvQ4LMdM3gqAR0phNSSmSQ_SR648NUS7sllnOvV1fsIC7J3N20PrzBH-zb6WaRRBksoI/s1600/20150220_181536.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yeah, we were there too.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyLdaj-bcvL6bXJTuBT1AD1J9TMY8a3ZCIrJgz9RvmhPbLZtgd_R1cxYcEqxX3oFRjITRskDCIiFyndm0fC_wWaeEISy5LEZMdVdy5cVlFz_P-3yLk_-SJzf6LpBmws-rPOZdvaRGGnqsi/s1600/20150220_182236.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyLdaj-bcvL6bXJTuBT1AD1J9TMY8a3ZCIrJgz9RvmhPbLZtgd_R1cxYcEqxX3oFRjITRskDCIiFyndm0fC_wWaeEISy5LEZMdVdy5cVlFz_P-3yLk_-SJzf6LpBmws-rPOZdvaRGGnqsi/s1600/20150220_182236.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Obligatory selfie</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtN905deJxhZW4snB3d4OszdXsaHTp4Ck-iH-G6WNIZw5qS3kxLTmtSW0FsXwEaLnXqrWtwjWAKG7x_c9GQBkjurtufzB_q2Xfrtur3FNeKjiQN1kz2JhBn92yGva2YITaQ4ZlaC4SLOtQ/s1600/20150220_182436.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtN905deJxhZW4snB3d4OszdXsaHTp4Ck-iH-G6WNIZw5qS3kxLTmtSW0FsXwEaLnXqrWtwjWAKG7x_c9GQBkjurtufzB_q2Xfrtur3FNeKjiQN1kz2JhBn92yGva2YITaQ4ZlaC4SLOtQ/s1600/20150220_182436.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2psrJgfXXrPVmg76PWQInqksXHXZikQqAYpDU1e4wQZNtmVmTMRqEBmQIkY0EI9Iahz6niXTnc5pXhrmCH2biuP4gDEgIgSQxaoRi5XK0tijLBfL6gDuWoaMRp8Ir3qe14ORFUwFWJk6u/s1600/20150221_205617.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2psrJgfXXrPVmg76PWQInqksXHXZikQqAYpDU1e4wQZNtmVmTMRqEBmQIkY0EI9Iahz6niXTnc5pXhrmCH2biuP4gDEgIgSQxaoRi5XK0tijLBfL6gDuWoaMRp8Ir3qe14ORFUwFWJk6u/s1600/20150221_205617.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Brie and Blake</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVqcm-0dgo5534LAyKhTvUpsKBJlhXaaYNSSB1nJ1l7RWZKiVIrmfujflTlgVN1daUourcmbjHVYRK0XlpVgyUM0LshE8Rm_j6-I_Pak906IG-tQnr_7aI6MP5x1P9COGID6ZtOLaCcyJf/s1600/IMG_1728.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVqcm-0dgo5534LAyKhTvUpsKBJlhXaaYNSSB1nJ1l7RWZKiVIrmfujflTlgVN1daUourcmbjHVYRK0XlpVgyUM0LshE8Rm_j6-I_Pak906IG-tQnr_7aI6MP5x1P9COGID6ZtOLaCcyJf/s1600/IMG_1728.JPG" height="320" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Back at Matt & Karen's</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt63s235EJsq_YGr_TjldPb2y7UAjAhD6nnW74kjUpMtU0UHHe34rDFMuGfxJ2bdK4BDDIp8hqcyuM4IhR7Zh2QTELAbtl3F_cH4fgdJGm_sFYhN_DxSDLfdTmlKm35rx_h6SWiGFetUsN/s1600/IMG_1729.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt63s235EJsq_YGr_TjldPb2y7UAjAhD6nnW74kjUpMtU0UHHe34rDFMuGfxJ2bdK4BDDIp8hqcyuM4IhR7Zh2QTELAbtl3F_cH4fgdJGm_sFYhN_DxSDLfdTmlKm35rx_h6SWiGFetUsN/s1600/IMG_1729.JPG" height="320" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Karen whipped up a batch of fresh lemonade. Rum optional.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Matt and Karen delivered us back to Clearwater for the
vacation end cap with my folks.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We all
had a terrific Vietnamese dinner together before Matt and Karen said goodbye.
Mom, Dad, Mary and I watched the Academy Awards together that night.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVWFMB_MkqbG6fJ31voAouQIlqpEdz5YvQIgqrhbf2SMZ0-0lPEQkk-f03rVPVNEX99YDpedFTIgsNK5yJ2O75CFXsqtv-H1KMpJpszaOf8KqNgQK2P1vGgYI-mxOCvmQ_TP8pLlSZy1mO/s1600/IMG_1730.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVWFMB_MkqbG6fJ31voAouQIlqpEdz5YvQIgqrhbf2SMZ0-0lPEQkk-f03rVPVNEX99YDpedFTIgsNK5yJ2O75CFXsqtv-H1KMpJpszaOf8KqNgQK2P1vGgYI-mxOCvmQ_TP8pLlSZy1mO/s1600/IMG_1730.JPG" height="239" width="320" /></a>The next day was very foggy but we decided it would be a
perfect day to try out the very popular Clearwater Beach.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On a nice day you have to get up pretty early
to avoid the gridlock traffic of beach-goers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It was a relaxing day and after lunch we went to the Clearwater Aquarium
which is essentially a rehab facility for wounded dolphins, sea turtles and sea
otters.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Its claim to fame is being the
setting for the Disney movie, "<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1564349/" target="_blank">Dolphin’s Tale</a>” and much of their displays had
to do with celebrating that movie.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Since
none of us had seen it, it was pretty much lost on us but we did see the real
life tail-less dolphin “Winter” who stars in the movie.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Mom cooked another amazing dinner and we watched a PBS
British baking competition show before heading for bed.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Our last day was a travel day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Marlee was waiting for us with winter coats
at the Gerald R Ford Airport in near-zero temperatures.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The house was welcoming in spite of the cold.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is always good to be back home.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
Crowwatcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12303372167013019291noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6157413549295288380.post-81693934682595937952015-02-07T21:22:00.001-05:002015-02-07T21:22:49.207-05:00Sidetracked to the hospital
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<div class="MsoNormal">
I’m home again after an exhausting and unexpected interlude
with the hospital.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Still trying to
figure out that institution.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You really
turn over most aspects of your life to its control.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It has many friendly faces and amenities but
there is also a sense of imprisonment. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeNnnbbVR2l5ohMCcSa0YwBwdAUA-694a-IjOYL-Xy2HoM7bP6BCg1F8n6LLtIEvo6TFhV4qwyqNIvIVRXePDEH6VDXmwoORv1BuUP_Tq8c4pS9zwlyHD6hoTjaHMq6FVnnwtjP7gB_i75/s1600/IMG_1648.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeNnnbbVR2l5ohMCcSa0YwBwdAUA-694a-IjOYL-Xy2HoM7bP6BCg1F8n6LLtIEvo6TFhV4qwyqNIvIVRXePDEH6VDXmwoORv1BuUP_Tq8c4pS9zwlyHD6hoTjaHMq6FVnnwtjP7gB_i75/s1600/IMG_1648.JPG" height="298" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">WARNING: This post
discusses body waste products.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Can you
handle that?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If not, skip to lower on the
page where you see ***.</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It all started with a sense that I have that something is
going on in my gut.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ve been feeling
little twitches in my liver (yep, I know exactly where it resides) and
wondering whether cancer is preparing to mess with me again. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I suppose anyone who has ever had cancer
suppresses a fear that it could return and the littlest sign of reawakening
exposes the hiding place for that fear.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>My twitches had me on high alert and therefore I was focused perhaps a
little too much on the output of my digestive system.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Is that blood I see or perhaps just the beets
I had for dinner two nights ago?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It
doesn’t really look like blood and yet it is different from what I’m used
to.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don’t really want to discuss my
bowel movements with anyone. I don’t want to talk about this; not with a nurse,
not with someone who picks up a phone at a doctor’s office, and not even my
wife who has enough to worry about without thinking about my poop too.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I even hope you are not reading this.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Pee, on the other hand, is just slightly easier to talk
about.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So when I had two days in a row
of urine that was pinkish or maybe orangey, it gave me both concern and courage
to call the doctor’s office to see whether that alone was enough to come in
early or should I just wait until my regular doctor appointment next Tuesday.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Nurse Jackie checked with Dr. K and asked me
to come in to the infusion clinic right away for blood and urine tests.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I got there about 4:00pm on Thursday.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The Lacks Center people are always so wonderful to deal with
and there is rarely any kind of hassle and thus it is really a comfort zone for
me despite the fact that they typically dump poisonous chemicals directly into
my circulatory system.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Since I would
need a direct blood draw, when I arrived I asked if <a href="http://crowwatcher.blogspot.com/2012/06/dawn-go-away-im-no-good-for-you.html" target="_blank">Dawn </a>was there today.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She is the best Phlebotomist I have ever
encountered.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have no fear if it is
Dawn doing the arm poke.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Dawn was not there.
I wondered aloud whether they could do a draw from my port but Nurse Jackie
said that they would specifically be doing some clotting tests and the<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heparin" target="_blank"> Heparin</a>
they use while accessing the port would contaminate the test.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Since my platelet counts have been low and
platelets are the clotting agents in blood, the big worry is that there could
be internal bleeding.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So I got the poke from the other Phlebotomist, who on a
previous occasion had missed the vein thrice before switching to my other
arm.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This time, fortunately, she nailed
it right away. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I rendered a orangeish
urine sample right afterward (in the bathroom) and then sat around reading the newspaper while the lab
tested the samples.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Jackie came back after a bit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The good news was that there was no blood in
the pee sample.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The redness in the urine
could mean other things.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The bad news
was that the hemoglobin level in my blood sample had taken a dive since the
last test.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was approaching a level
where they consider a transfusion.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She
asked if I could provide a stool sample.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I gulped a cup of coffee and shortly after, found I was able to
oblige.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After more waiting around, the
answer came back:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>there was indeed blood
in the sample.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jackie said I should
report to a hospital room on the fourth floor for intake.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This was not what I had in mind when I made
that initial phone call.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
*** I slipped into the skimpy hospital uniform and called
Mary and then Marlee to let them know they were on their own for dinner and
asked brave Mary to bring a few things from the house, including Marlee, so
they could pick up my car from the open-air parking lot.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Extra cars can be a hassle when leaving the
hospital.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The 4th Floor nurse ran through a huge list of questions, as
they must do, and accessed my port for ready access to medicines, saline and
blood.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She also sampled my fluids for
redundant testing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Shortly, one of Dr.
K’s Physician’s Assistants showed up to help figure out what must come next.
She reiterated that the dropping hemoglobin levels were concerning.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The reading from my regular chemo appointment
last week had been 11.1.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The reading
from the infusion clinic a couple hours ago was 8.6 and the sample that they
processed minutes ago was 7.9.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If it hit
7.0, they would give me a transfusion of a couple of units of blood.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She also indicated that they would bring in
an upper Gastro-Intestinal Specialist to see if a source for bleeding could be
found from the top down.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If nothing
could be determined from an endoscopy, then they would likely proceed to a CT
Scan.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKUVY2HPf_20wW5rtQv5UC1GnTLPcKRwvD6fDUX05p_HrYljCAFAGlsjW6voZYCCBki3NrqEOx8nU7Us802pzHlyZusFgurUyVRNAosVoVaiXbJ1HX6IZa15N2j2UzD8dSfRO86dHfsUom/s1600/20150205_192140.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKUVY2HPf_20wW5rtQv5UC1GnTLPcKRwvD6fDUX05p_HrYljCAFAGlsjW6voZYCCBki3NrqEOx8nU7Us802pzHlyZusFgurUyVRNAosVoVaiXbJ1HX6IZa15N2j2UzD8dSfRO86dHfsUom/s1600/20150205_192140.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It was 6:40pm and I was hungry and remembering from before
that the kitchen closes at 7:00pm, I requested a menu and ordered enough food
to last me until midnight.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The nurse
said no food after midnight so I would be properly fasted for a scope in the
morning.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She also said I would likely be
spending a second night in the hospitl to monitor the blood transfusion.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Then the waiting began. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The food arrived and then Mary and Marlee came
up with my iPad and chargers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The room
staff changed. Mary and Marlee left since I was pretty settled and they had not
yet eaten. More fluids were taken.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My
blood type was tested (O+). I checked out the TV channels but settled on playing
with <a href="https://www.quizup.com/en" target="_blank">QuizUp</a>, a trivia App on my iPad where you match wits live with other players from
all over the world.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I selected the
category, “Name the Movie” and played until I was ranked #1 in Michigan, which
is about a #238 ranking for that category worldwide.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The nurse popped in to let me know that I would be awoken
at 3:00am by a new nurse for more blood tests and so I shut off all electronics
and lights and slipped off to sleep easily.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I woke about 2:45am and decided to browse social media until
the blood draw.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In the morning at about 7:30am I met a new nurse who
reminded me “No food or water”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She said
doctors usually came around sometime in the morning.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She also told me that my particular Type O
blood included a rare <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antibody" target="_blank">antibody</a> so they needed to find a couple of pints
somewhere that had that same antibodies so my cells would get along nicely with
the donor cells.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She said that chemo
patients occasionally develop special antibodies.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I wanted to know more about this and she told
me she would try to find more info.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But
good news… there had been an uptick in my hemoglobin levels.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Eventually the GI Doc showed up to explain his plans for
me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He thought the blood loss could be
coming from an ulcer or a new stomach tumor.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>His endoscope could prove or disprove that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ve been through dozens of <a href="http://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/endoscopy/basics/definition/PRC-20020363" target="_blank">endoscopies</a> so
that was no big deal.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The trouble was,
his schedule was already quite full so he could not squeeze me in until sometime
in the afternoon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For me that meant no
food or drink for another half day and lots more waiting around.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A different PA colleague of Dr. K came by to
say Dr. K would come by after the scoping to let me know what was up.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I downloaded a new book on my iPad and read for a
while.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My sister Betsy volunteers at the
Lacks Center 3<sup>rd</sup> floor (on top of an incredibly busy life schedule)
so she stopped by around lunchtime for a visit and conversation. My nurse
popped in again to say that the hemoglobin levels were continuing to rise and
they would be cancelling the transfusion. Also my pee was now a natural pale
yellow.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The reddish color had probably
been due to dehydration and all these IV fluids they had given me had corrected
this.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Finally at about 1:45, a guy from
transport showed up to wheel me to my procedure.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>By 2:15 they were ready to proceed.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I’ve had better endoscopies, ones where I did not wake up
gagging on an instrument in my throat, but the Versed they give you makes you
forget most of the experience.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It just begins
and then seemingly immediately, you are all done.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Because of the drugs, I am groggy on the rest but I do know that
everything looked fine and dandy from his perspective.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have a picture to prove it.</div>
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Back in the room, I ordered some food and waited for Dr.
K.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Mary showed up and we waited
together.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Finally Dr. K showed up and
pretty much told me that I had managed to self-heal and that he was going to
release me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yahoo!!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We’d continue with our regular chemo schedule
and we would do a CT scan after Mary and I returned from our Florida vacation
in just a few weeks.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Irrationally, I had more fear
about missing this vacation than I did about the possible return of a tumor so
this was really good news.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I do kind of feel better now that I am hydrated but that 24
hours in the hospital sure felt like a big, expensive waste of time just to get
my pee the right color.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Once you check
in, you just kind of have to ride it to the end, wherever that takes you.</div>
Crowwatcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12303372167013019291noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6157413549295288380.post-36902644253406289852015-01-16T12:53:00.000-05:002015-01-18T13:42:41.520-05:00In praise of chemotherapyI love chemotherapy. Too much? Mostly I feel this way because I am a sucker for the underdog. Poor chemotherapy has such a bad rep. It strikes fear into both those who are about to go into it and to those who merely hear about it. And those in the middle of receiving it gag at the mere thought. There is something about dumping poison into the circulatory system that feels out of control and just wrong.<br />
<br />
Take the recent <a href="http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-teen-chemo-20150111-story.html" target="_blank">story</a> of Cassandra, A Connecticut teen with a curable form of deadly Lymphoma who wanted to choose no treatment. The State wanted to force her to undergo chemotherapy treatment. Now I have mixed feelings about this. I don't like the State forcing its will on someone but at the same time, I'm not sure an adolescent has the maturity to make this kind of decision. Cassandra is not fully aware of the potential for a life full of interesting possibilities. Could a brush with toxicity really be that bad that you would forgo the potential for future love, beauty and brilliant life? Looks like the State won out in Cassandra's case and I truly hope she will come to appreciate the overreach.<br />
<br />
As someone who has embraced chemo as a partner, it is easy to identify the much sexier alternative. It is the story of some natural substance that has miraculously cured the incurable. It is an herb only found in South American jungles, a vegetarian diet or perhaps a marijuana extract. Everyone knows someone who knows someone who was told they would die but instead they went on living due to their trust in this natural substance and their eschewing of scientific standard methods. Boy, I would love to believe this. Chemo is a bitch of a partner after all. I'd much rather consume a beneficial herb, eat delicious, organic foods and get high than hook up to a toxic drip, experience nausea and feel my hands and feet go numb. And while the former has great second hand stories, the latter has numbers and measurable results. Which would you choose? I would not blame anyone for going with the dream. My embracing chemotherapy is going with reality. And my choice to <b>love</b> effective chemotherapy helps me to see it as a battle partner.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/cancerlibrary/what-is-cancer" target="_blank">Cancer</a> is <b>not</b> like a virus or bacteria. It is not easily recognized by my immune system as a foreigner. It is me. It has my DNA. It is mutated Chuck Peterson cells that have a gift for replicating themselves. Anything good for Chuck Peterson is probably good for my cancer cells too. That is why it is such a difficult disease to fight. It needs to be tricked. It has my immune cells fooled. They can't figure out where normal Chuck Peterson ends and where mutant Chuck Peterson begins. My body naturally gives cancer cells what they need to survive and thrive; blood supply and waste removal. Chemotherapy is the science of making mutant Chuck Peterson stand out from healthy Chuck Peterson so those cells may be identified and killed by natural or chemical processes.<br />
<br />
How the battle is waged also depends on the stage of the cancer. It took me a while to understand this. Stage 1 is very localized. Stages 2 & 3 are cancers penetrating margins and reaching out to spread to other parts of the body, often using the lymph system as a highway. Stage 4 is considered incurable as it has moved to other organs and the mutant cells are spread far and wide. The battle is to remove <i>every single mutant cell</i>. In early stages, surgery is the gold standard. It is very direct removal of the baddies. Radiation is good for picking up stragglers in the region. Chemo is a whole body approach that can kill off farther flung stragglers before they have enough mass to reconstitute as a tumor. Chemo can also keep a tumor from growing larger.<br />
<br />
The battle metaphor often works for me. In particular, I often visualize my stage 4 battle as the "Battle for Helm's Deep" from <i>The Two Towers</i> by J.R.R. Tolkien. It is from the the second of the <i>Lord of the Rings</i> trilogy and I'm visualizing the scenes from the <a href="http://youtu.be/gXC-jJhFaUI" target="_blank">movie</a> version, by the way. Helm's Deep is this awesome fortress which is ideal for repelling a long siege. The good guys are stuck inside, well protected but with finite supplies. You can see the endless lines of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orc" target="_blank">orcs</a> marching toward you. They can only get so close and you can kill off one wave at a time. But sooner or later you will run out of supplies. Your only hope is that unexpected reinforcements or secret weapons will descend from the hills with the sun behind their backs and somehow manage to kill off every single orc. It is a long shot but you are on a heroic mission so there is always hope.<br />
<br />
I wish I could believe in a magic cure metaphor rather than a battle metaphor. Just click my heels together 3 times and I will be transported to safety. Who wouldn't want that? But it feels pretty good to have made peace with chemotherapy. Maybe love is too strong a word. Maybe the word is <i>trust</i>. At least for now I am grateful that this chemo is repelling "orcs" and leaving me enough strength and feelings of well-being to establish something that feels a bit like normal. <br />
<br />
<br />Crowwatcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12303372167013019291noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6157413549295288380.post-8942187285542382002014-12-31T13:01:00.003-05:002014-12-31T13:06:29.732-05:00Bring on another yearNot a day goes by without contemplation on how lucky I am to have made it this far and in this great a shape. There is a dab of survivor's guilt when I see others, some much <a href="http://obits.mlive.com/obituaries/grandrapids/obituary.aspx?pid=173310113" target="_blank">younger</a> fall by the wayside and still others suffering from the side effects of chemotherapy while I enjoy the taste of food, good energy and full locks of lustrous hair. This will be my third New Year celebrated since my cancer diagnosis; each of them provoking me to wonder whether this would be the last. I am very excited at the possibility of welcoming in four seasons, a year of new birthdays for family and friends, deep conversations over breakfast, experiencing new books and movies and perhaps old ones I have missed, births, new technology, scientific breakthroughs, and great stories of success from friends, family and acquaintances. I may even skip the third "Hobbit" installment; something I worried about being around to see when the first installment came out back in 2012.<br />
<br />
Yesterday I squeezed in my last doctor appointment and chemo treatment for the year, taking advantage of having maximized co-pays and deductibles for everything. Alice was still in town and came with me. I had been a bit concerned because in the last week I had experienced some pokey pains in the liver region and was wondering if that was a signal of returning cancer activity. But the "tumor marker" blood test had not spiked so we are assuming that it is still in check with the current treatment. In fact, Dr. Krajewski had done a bit of investigation and found several doctors who were willing to apply this treatment even when platelet levels were as low as 50 (thousand) and so he is moving the regimen interval back to every two weeks (It has been every 4 weeks, recently) to see if we can can buy some chemo "off" time in the near future. I am happy for this, as the alternative is to switch to a different regimen, likely one with worse side effects.<br />
<br />
Alice also joined me in the chemo lounge for a while. It is still an interesting place for people watching. She observed that I appear to be a veteran already since all the staff know me (and vice versa) and I am aware of little idiosyncrasies about the place; where the electrical outlets are, beverage choices and locations, tech talk with nurses, how the bathroom sinks appear not to have hot water running through the pipes, protocol with the pharmacy, etc. A few days earlier we had popped in for the aforementioned tumor marker blood test and the receptionist (Jen) had implored me to grab a gift bag that someone had donated to cancer patients at the center. It felt odd to me to be lumped in to that group. I imagined the gift bags were for those without hair, pale in color and walking slowly, clutched to a concerned love one. I sheepishly accepted a bag that contained warm socks, a winter hat, Jolly Rancher candies and a rolled up fleece blanket. (The latter has since been dubbed "the cancer blanket" and has been cuddled with by all who take a seat in our living room and spot it there on the arm of the sofa looking all cozy and comfortable.) I am a cancer patient but I do not feel like one most times.<br />
<br />
Alice introduced me to a trivia game for the iPad and we played that for a while before she switched to her book and I to the "<a href="http://serialpodcast.org/" target="_blank">Serial</a>" podcast that she had turned me on to a week earlier. I had brought headphones for this purpose and discovered it to be a wonderful way to pass the hours in that chair.<br />
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It was a great holiday filled with family and love and good food. I'm looking forward to doing it all again next year.Crowwatcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12303372167013019291noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6157413549295288380.post-84913793700604193262014-11-19T14:59:00.003-05:002014-11-19T14:59:43.990-05:00Who cut the cheese?Not me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But I
did attempt it.
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When I was a kid, maybe 8-10 years old, I had a folding
pocketknife and a block of balsa wood and I was very excited about transforming
the wood into some sort of a creative figure.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was not long before I sliced into the base of my left
index finger and was required to get 4 stitches.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When the bandage finally came off I was as shocked to see
those 4 thread loops attached to my flesh as I might have been while looking at
Frankenstein’s monster’s brain transplant scar.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It felt like a really big deal.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I remember getting them clipped off too and being surprised
at how low-impact that procedure was.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>That scar, its sensitivity, and the visible needle-hole scars were
show-n-tell material and also key toward my learning “left” and “right”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I just had to remember scar = left and
I could sense my left hand without looking.</div>
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Another thing I remember about that experience was my dad
telling me how now that I had cut myself pretty good, I would forever come to respect
sharp blades and could be trusted to not cut myself that way again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It did work for a while but as of
yesterday, I now have a total of 4 scars on my left hand, three of them from
knives.</div>
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Back to the cheese.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I had just returned from some white-knuckle freeway snow driving which
gave me plenty of time to think up what I would be cooking for dinner: Macaroni
and cheese with broccoli.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We were
all pretty hungry and so I engaged my special skill in high speed,
multi-tasking cooking.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The water
was on the boil seconds after I arrived in the kitchen and this bought me time
to do the prep for the cheese sauce. The roux was bubbling shortly after on the
second burner. I like a multi-cheese, cheese sauce and I had already imagined
the 3 cheeses that would be going into this one.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The sharp cheddar was easy. Cheddar is a crowd pleaser that
shreds easily in our hand-cranked cheese shredder. I soon had a generous
mound.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The dried pasta went into
the now boiling water.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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The second cheese would be this delicious French cheese that
had started off as a large soft wedge and now was a smaller, hardened wedge;
not so appealing any more for crackers but I knew it would melt nicely in a
sauce.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Feeling the magic happening,
I grabbed a bottle of IPA that was beckoning, mere inches from the cheese
drawer and popped the top and took one swallow.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I figured I’d drink half with dinner and save the other half
for later when the stomachache from over-eating had passed.</div>
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I was thinking about the third cheese, which would be just a
dash of a stinky cheese, a Stilton, for a little contrast.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I picked up the French wedge and
realized I’d need to trim it a bit to fit in the rotary grater.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>By shaving off some of the hard
corners, it should just fit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
grabbed a small kitchen knife that had been lying on the counter since this
morning when I had sharpened it and then cut up an apple into eighths for
time-lapse snacking.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As I
brandished it against the cheese, all of a sudden I felt a zing in my thumb and
had the now familiar “oops” sensation that is frequently accompanied by the,
“Can we roll back time for just a minute” fantasy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A glance confirmed that it was pretty deep.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I wrapped a paper towel around my thumb
and held pressure on it with my grip.</div>
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<br /></div>
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I called for Mary but she had already heard the shouted
expletive and was on her way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
informed her that I might need stitches but in the mean time, could she hunt
down a few Bandaids.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My pasta
water, meanwhile, was ready for the broccoli and the white sauce was ready for
the cheese.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Part of my speed
cooking for this recipe is cooking the greens with the pasta.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I sliced the broccoli florets right
into the water as if I was whittling a stick.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Mary came back with a couple of bandages but took one look
at the blood-saturated paper towel and decided this dike leak needed a bigger
thumb, so to speak.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I had her
grate the French cheese in the rotary grater while I pounded the rest of the
bottle of beer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I figured that
would be about my stomach capacity and the Mac-n-cheese could be warmed up
later.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I strained and stirred together the pasta/broccoli mixture
with the cheese sauce and called Marlee for dinner.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Meanwhile, Mary asked <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siri" target="_blank">Siri </a>about the closest Urgent Care
facility.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Siri suggested that the
closest one was on Leonard Street near the East Beltline.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We had not heard of that one but Siri
was willing to dial the number to find out how busy they were. Despite the
snowstorm, they were pretty slow.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>So Mary pulled on her boots while I located some gauze sponges to rewrap
my thumb.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We arrived to find no line and a nurse came right out to
assess the damage.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He ascertained
that it was probably worth a few stitches and so we filled out paperwork while
they prepared an examination room.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>One of the questions was, “Do you have any concerns about your injury
affecting your critical day-to-day activities?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Mary suggested that hitchhiking might be affected so we put
that one down.</div>
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I was feeling pretty happy from my hastily consumed 7.5%
alcohol brew on an empty stomach. And you can kind of see that in this picture.</div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
A wonderful Physicians Assistant named Lara came in and made
conversation with Mary and I while her assistants readied for the procedure.
P.A.s are the best.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They always
seem to be good communicators with great skills to back them up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The first step was to numb my entire
thumb.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She did not want me
cringing and pulling away while she sutured.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She informed me that this numbing procedure was the worst
part and that it would hurt a lot.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Yeah, it hurt; three deep pokes with a burn.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But her prep warning made me expect and prepare for the
worst, but it was all tolerable in the big scheme.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I did not feel a thing while she was sewing. We think she used 4 stitches but I wasn't about to watch.</div>
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No shoveling snow or dishwashing for a week…<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>well that is a big pain in the
butt.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But the good news is that
the warmed up Mac-n-cheese + broccoli was delicious; maybe my best batch ever.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And actually, this bandaged thumb may
work out great for hitchhiking.</div>
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Crowwatcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12303372167013019291noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6157413549295288380.post-65973242174034431012014-11-11T17:03:00.001-05:002014-11-12T12:30:05.839-05:00Still riding the horse I came in onI did end up having chemo last week despite the fact the platelets were a hair below the treatment margin. After a month, my body had kind of forgotten what that chemotherapy feels like. Nausea was light but definitely a factor. I was glad it was bumped that extra week because the weekend before, we got to enjoy a family wedding. Mary's brother Guy got married in Chicago to his partner Rich and Mary's whole (large) family was there along with a bunch of cool people I had never met before. So I got to eat, drink and be merry in good health at his wonderful celebration. Here is a <a href="http://vimeo.com/110212388" target="_blank">video</a> of a "flash mob" that Mary organized as a surprise at the reception. All the guests had been sent a link to a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MH4PC4kw_3A" target="_blank">training video</a> to learn the choreography in advance. We had no idea how many would participate but it looked like about 80% to me. I call that a smashing success!<br />
<br />
One awkward thing about the timing abot the chemo was that I also had a CT scan scheduled in between putting the pump on and taking it off. That meant that the pump would stay with me in the scanner and instead of getting the contrast activator through my port, I had to get an I.V. hole poked in my arm. That may not seem to be a big deal and that, indeed, is what I kept telling myself. My chemo nurse, Linda, said that the nurses at the CT were very good and I should have no problem. I wish she had not said that out loud. Even though there was no one in the waiting room when I arrived, it took an hour before I was called. Apparently one of the machines was down and they were sharing a CT scanner with ER.<br />
<br />
They make you drink a second bottle of barium when you get there and while I sipped, I also sized up the nurse. I had not seen this one before and had a bad feeling about her seemed lethargy and her inconsistency from the usual protocol. I have done this enough times that it stands out when they don't offer you a straw or ask about premeds, etc.<br />
<br />
A confident, energetic nurse entered and called up a woman who came into the inner waiting room after me. That woman had a port and this was a port access specialized nurse. The slow-moving nurse finally called me into the IV placement room and asked me about arm preference. I gave her my left arm and after thudding her fingers on a few veins, she selected my right arm instead. It took her 4 tries, each one hurting me enough to where I was vocalizing "ouch!" I have some bruising to remember her by. But the scans were routine and the premeds had done their work and I had no reaction to the contrast dye.<br />
<br />
That was last week. Today was my day to meet with Dr. Krajewski and go over the results of these scans. Mary came with me. Dr. K is more on time than Dr. Scott ever was and the results of my scans were as I expected. No dramatic changes. All the liver lesions were exactly the same size as the last scan; no growth. There were some new tiny, unmeasurable bumps or "nodularities" around the colon, specifically near my appendix but nothing to be concerned about.<br />
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He scheduled my next appointment for 6 weeks which is two days before Christmas. Next chemo is scheduled for the week of Thanksgiving but I would not be surprised if that gets bumped a week. I'm kind of hoping that happens because otherwise I will be having my pump removed on Thanksgiving morning. Really? They have people working Thanksgiving morning?<br />
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My obsession with food is still raging. A few days ago, I happened to see a commercial for a new kind of pizza at Little Caesars. It is basically a <a href="http://littlecaesars.com/OurMenu/Pizza/SoftPretzelCrustPizza.aspx" target="_blank">pretzel crust pizza </a>with a gooey cheese-like substance in place of the tomato sauce that sounds absolutely horrible. But it was a new thing and I could not get it out of my head. I was dying to know what it tasted like for some reason that I can't explain. Mary finally urged me to blow the whole 6 bucks it costs to scratch that itch. I'm ashamed to say I kind of liked it but am happy to say that I never have to eat it again. I still have a few slices in my fridge if anyone has the same urges as me.<br />
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Crowwatcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12303372167013019291noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6157413549295288380.post-89742862559832552892014-10-30T17:08:00.000-04:002014-10-30T17:08:10.460-04:00Chemo PurgatoryIt has been almost a month since I've had chemotherapy administered. Dr. K had changed the order so that I'd get it every three weeks rather than every other week because the platelet cells needed time to regenerate. But at three weeks the platelet count was too low and at four weeks it was lower still. Next Tuesday will be five weeks and we will try it again.<br />
<br />
Don't get me wrong, there is something kind of nice about having a month off from treatments but it is not so fun to anticipate going to the Cancer Center and then to actually go and get punctured and hooked up, only to discover that I have to delay treatment and bump all my appointments another week. My CT scan was also bumped to next week. So unless the platelets are still too low on Tuesday, November 4, I'll receive a dose and get hooked up to the external pump. Then on Wednesday morning I'll go in for a scan. Thursday, I'll get the pump taken off. And then the following Tuesday, November 11, I'll see Dr. Krajewski to read the results and find out the degree of success that this regimen has afforded me.<br />
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I don't know what the doctor will say but I'm beginning to think that I have reached the limit of this particular combination of drugs. My bone marrow has taken a beating. The side effects determine what my body can handle. If the scan shows that the tumor is still on the move they'll probably try something else. This would be disappointing as I feel this particular prescription has been both effective and relatively low on miserable side effects. The next thing could be either ineffective and/or could make me feel worse. What are the chances that they can find something that both works to kill this cancer and also has minimal side effects? The best I can hope for is that the tumors on my liver have been arrested and perhaps they will give me another interim before a new treatment.<br />
<br />
In the meantime, I'm grateful that I feel pretty damn good. I'm balancing that against renewed thoughts about mortality. Death can come to any one at any time and I am hyper aware of that happening all around me, both expected and unexpected.Crowwatcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12303372167013019291noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6157413549295288380.post-43233023956036755622014-10-16T15:18:00.002-04:002014-10-31T11:14:05.826-04:00West Coast adventureAs part of my bi-coastal plan to visit two daughters in one season, Mary and I set out for a long weekend in California to hang out with Alice. Marlee was a real trooper to drive us to the airport at 4:30am last Thursday, especially since she was being left home alone. But I'm thinking that for a 17 year old, having the house without parents for five days could be a positive experience too.<br />
<br />
Our flight had a very short layover in Chicago and the connection landed at LAX ahead of schedule. Alice was stuck in traffic but arrived withing 20 minutes. It was still morning in California so we decided to meet her boyfriend, Zack for breakfast at a place in the neighborhood where we would be staying. Alice had her dog, Harvey with her so we chose sidewalk seating at <a href="http://www.milliescafe.net/index2.html" target="_blank">Millies </a>Cafe. Wonderful food and friendly service with great coffee; we were off to a great start.<br />
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Since we arrived on a Thursday, we were intersecting with Alice's work week and she recommended that rather than staying at a hotel, we try <a href="https://www.airbnb.com/?af=1922719&c=A_TC%3Dm84nccm9s3%26G_MT%3De%26G_CR%3D22111491256%26G_N%3Dg%26G_K%3Dairbnb%26G_P%3D&gclid=Cj0KEQjwtvihBRCd8fyrtfHRlJEBEiQAQcubtFEnJ42Tc5dFfacYacpAwGE5CzyX22gQ8dSCBSk2anQaAsnk8P8HAQ" target="_blank">Airbnb</a>; an Internet service where people share a room in their home like a Bed &Breakfast. This way we could have an interesting place exactly located in a good, walkable neighborhood near both Alice and Zack. We chose <a href="https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/407880" target="_blank">Sunset Junction </a>with a second floor room with s huge private balcony. Check in time wasn't until 3:00pm so we asked our host, Chris, if it would be alright to leave our bags there while we explored the neighborhood. He graciously let us check in early and gave us a tour of the house and a set of keys.<br />
<br />
By this time it was noonish and the day was warming up. Alice had suggested that we check out this cool, restored theater in the neighborhood called <a href="http://vintagecinemas.com/vista/" target="_blank">The Vista </a>which had matinee showings of first run movies. When we arrived, it was just in time to see "<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2267998/" target="_blank">Gone Girl</a>", which was a long movie that would take us up to our check in time. The Theater was beautiful with comfortable seats and great leg room. It was nice to just chill after our flight.<br />
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We walked back to our room afterwards, had something to eat and napped before our first Alice-planned activity: a comedy show in the back of a comic book store that featured young comedians including Zack and several of their friends. We had a blast but it had been a long day with the time change and by midnight, we were getting pretty droopy.<br />
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After a great night's sleep, we went back to Millies for breakfast on our own and spent Friday exploring the neighborhood of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silver_Lake,_Los_Angeles" target="_blank">Silver Lake</a>. We were quite excited about the planned, uniquely LA experience of attending the broadcast taping of <a href="http://www.fox.com/mulaney/" target="_blank">Mulaney,</a> a new Fox sitcom that features Zack as character called Andre. We took a Lyft car (more on that later) to Alice's work where we met her wonderful boss, Barbara,at the casting agency. It is clear that Alice is loved and appreciated there and I felt great pride that she had landed so well.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1_6V69lmjk6owE98VxxG47vPUvgMBTwlV7ViaXyPdVf2XkTd05IY7eB3gsoqE6eFK76C_G-B_tlbrzUSRMlVhAVNs6pp3WO5QhMC51jYgJT3myccJCS_-0FdIIygaL4uGjK5XcY_Y-iIp/s1600/Screen+shot+2014-10-15+at+7.00.22+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1_6V69lmjk6owE98VxxG47vPUvgMBTwlV7ViaXyPdVf2XkTd05IY7eB3gsoqE6eFK76C_G-B_tlbrzUSRMlVhAVNs6pp3WO5QhMC51jYgJT3myccJCS_-0FdIIygaL4uGjK5XcY_Y-iIp/s1600/Screen+shot+2014-10-15+at+7.00.22+PM.png" height="319" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">That's Zack as Andre with the orange hat</td></tr>
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AT the TV studio, we were on the VIP list, which meant we had a draped off room in the studio with monitors showing all the video takes and a free buffet of food and drink. It was a long night but a fun one. We met a lot of Alice & Zack's friends, some of the actors, and had the run of the studio with our special yellow wrist bands. Mary and I snuck into the studio audience for an hour where they record a laugh track for the show. And there was plenty to laugh about. The writing was very funny and the performances were hilarious. The food was good and we watched several scenes up close, especially the ones that involved actor <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001737/" target="_blank">Martin Short</a>, whose scenes as a game show host were shot right next to the VIP room. Alice took us home after all of Zack's scenes were in the can.<br />
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Saturday we had Alice for the whole day and we started by checking out of the Airbnb and "Lyfting" over to Zack's house where we got to know Harvey the dog. He loves Alice and was suspicious of us out of town strangers. But he has great charm and we played fetch and watched all his tricks. We launched from there in Zack's electric car and ended up at the <a href="http://www.mjt.org/" target="_blank">Museum of Jurassic Technology</a>. This place defies explanation. The exhibits are not well interpreted and contain many bizarre artifacts by misguided but interesting people. Mary loved it. I was a bit frustrated by the dark and confusion. From there we went to Alice's apartment where we would stay for the remaining two nights. Alice and Zack went back to Zack's place to organize a bonfire gathering in the evening while Mary and I napped. It was so cozy that we considered skipping the bonfire but ultimately we relented and took a Lyft to the party where we met lots of new friends and some of the old ones while eating s'mores and drinking margaritas. We "Lyfted" back to Alice's apartment after midnight.<br />
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<a href="https://www.lyft.com/" target="_blank">Lyft</a> was an amazing new paradigm for me. We had looked into renting a car while in LA when Alice suggested using ride sharing apps instead. It turned out to be a huge savings and great convenience; no buying gas, no parking hassles, no uncomfortable conversation with rental car employees about insurance. After putting in our destination address, the application on our phones automatically detected our location and the location of a nearby driver, along with the driver's name, photo, and color, make &model of the car. It told us how much the ride would cost and how soon the driver would be there. The longest wait we had was four minutes. Every ride we purchased was in a clean car with a very friendly driver. Often they would offer us candy or bottled water. Every ride (except the final one to the airport) was under $10. And the app takes care of the payment. You simply get in the car when it arrives and get out when it reaches your destination. You can add a tip through the phone app after your ride. So easy and so cheap, compared to renting a car in the big city. Of course we had Alice and Zack drive us around for our longer adventures.<br />
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Sunday was our last day to squeeze in everything else with Alice. We met her after morning coffee and scones at a local coffee shop. We planned to hit Alice's favorite Los Angeles spots: The Farmers Market, the Flea Market and the Dog Park. Mary had a compulsion to see the sea so we added a beach visit to the itinerary and forwent the Dog Park.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Farmers Market</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj7m4CB7k5E0yA2l0pk3kkqskhrnnEZhPzNMTPo3NotGNm9BYVydRqOeRkwQEy81xGzcMk1L1BpnGECFYWiKZI8rmia4lC2vzNgdlVRm-f-lYhrR2SSmX6uIROxRlGTrDpE_vXxM6GWEUQ/s1600/fleamarket.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj7m4CB7k5E0yA2l0pk3kkqskhrnnEZhPzNMTPo3NotGNm9BYVydRqOeRkwQEy81xGzcMk1L1BpnGECFYWiKZI8rmia4lC2vzNgdlVRm-f-lYhrR2SSmX6uIROxRlGTrDpE_vXxM6GWEUQ/s1600/fleamarket.png" height="320" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I love looking at old stuff</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQDF8rtjAkNmcIW9_fAaC18fzqtranMhaF8k-qMTTnPnCXxCf8RZDl8bXjOOH8b8q2SOYoPlcSVhW6UEuQkJ153kiBc7x1NsYzlpA7dfn8N0c92ql6X1hj8dggG4LjZX-iVigI0T2cLpPC/s1600/Beach.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQDF8rtjAkNmcIW9_fAaC18fzqtranMhaF8k-qMTTnPnCXxCf8RZDl8bXjOOH8b8q2SOYoPlcSVhW6UEuQkJ153kiBc7x1NsYzlpA7dfn8N0c92ql6X1hj8dggG4LjZX-iVigI0T2cLpPC/s1600/Beach.png" height="400" width="396" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Santa Monica Beach Couple</td></tr>
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Alice does her weekly shopping for fresh produce at the Sunday Farmers Market. It was great to look at, smell and taste all the offerings. There were lots of folks offering free samples. We swung back to her apartment afterward for Alice to drop off her groceries and for me to change into shorts; something you will rarely see in Michigan... my legs. Mary tells me you are not supposed to wear socks with shorts but I like the comfort.<br />
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We kept encountering an AIDS Walk in progress on our way to the Flea Market and had to continuously change our route to circle around the thousands of walkers. When we finally got there, the sun was out in full and I was glad I had shorts. And now I have an October suntan. Lots of cool stuff to look at. I generally do not buy things except when I have to but both Alice and Mary do not share this quirk. They found stuff too cool not to buy.<br />
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It was a longish drive to Santa Monica Beach and we settled for a shady view of the beach rather than than risk getting sunburned and sand in my socks.<br />
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When we had had enough of napping under a shady tree, we B-lined back to the car to make it back in time for the evening portion of our Sunday.<br />
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We scooped up Zack and his car at his place and headed out to their favorite sushi place. When we got there it was packed with a 45 minute wait for a table. Fortunately there was a bar across the street with happy hour drink specials that made the interim zip by. The sushi dinner was worth waiting for. Everything was delicious. I wish I had a picture.<br />
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Afterward, we went back to Zack's to participate in a new Sunday ritual: watching "Mulaney" at 9:30 with a bunch of friends. It was a very funny episode (<a href="http://www.fox.com/watch/340260419759" target="_blank">The Doula</a>) made more enjoyable with the company of rabid supporters cheering all of Zack's appearances.<br />
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After the credits, Mary and I bowed out since we had an early flight Monday morning. We took a Lyft ride back to Alice's Apartment and set our alarms for 4:45am.<br />
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We were a bit worried that there may not be Lyft drivers so early in the morning but we were pleasantly surprised to get one one in just one minute. This longer ride cost $35 but Alice estimated that a cab would be about $100. Our flight back was smooth with great connections and Marlee was there waiting for us in her new car when we arrived at the Gerald R Ford International Airport.<br />
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So that's our trip in a nutshell for those one or two who were interested. SO for getting this far, let me share a reward that I received the next morning when I went out to feed the fish. I was not <span id="goog_685416610"></span>completely sure that any of the goldfish had even survived. If it doesn't play above, try <span id="goog_685416611"></span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SyW9BeuLDYw" target="_blank">HERE</a>Crowwatcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12303372167013019291noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6157413549295288380.post-41230929567357199502014-10-01T17:40:00.002-04:002014-10-01T17:48:18.002-04:00A short journey to Ithaca New YorkAbby's 21st birthday seemed like the prime opportunity for my first visit to her new home turf. The calendar window was open. It is my observation that visits between parents and children are best when they are short and sweet. Longer than a few days and old patterns begin to emerge. "Leave them wanting more" seems to be the best policy. So I left Friday at noon so as to arrive about the time Abby was getting off from work Friday night. I would leave Monday morning so I would arrive home in time for a good night's sleep before my early Tuesday morning chemo appointment.<br />
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Looking at a US map and drawing a straight line seems to indicate that the obvious way to go is cutting through Canada at Port Huron and back into the US at the Niagara Falls. So armed with GPS, a passport and audio books I set out on the 9.5-10 hour solo drive. In the past, I've discovered that suspense stories are great for maintaining alertness so I picked out a Stephen King book containing 4 novellas as my first choice. I estimated this could take me through both legs of the trip.<br />
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Arriving at Port Huron, there was only a moderate wait at the border. Soon I was on my way. calculating Kilometer conversion on my speedometer. Turns out that it was not really necessary because there was a lot of traffic and highway speed was a given. I noted that Canadian drivers were more aggressive drivers and was rather surprised at how many times someone cut into the safety gap in front of me. Driving really slowed down around the last southern leg along side the western tip of Lake Ontario. I watched the arrival time on the GPS slip later and later all the way to Niagara Falls. At this border crossing, the border guard looked incredulously at my passport picture and asked for a second ID. My driver's license picture, like my passport picture is chubby and hairy (pre-cancer) and so I had to resort to the chemo story this time (and both border crossings on the way home).<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Current me on left, chubby passport Chuck on the right. Would you let this guy into your country?</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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The first New York leg at Buffalo is a straight shot toll road due east. When I turned off, it was quite dark and the roads the rest of the way to Ithaca were winding rural pathways. I would be quite lost relying on a map without a navigator sitting next to me.<br />
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GPS took me right to Abby's driveway. It was a duplex and her landlords were having a bonfire party so there were cars everywhere. But Abby had her own stub of a driveway on her side and it was a confort to see the Michigan license plate on her car and a gap to squeeze in my car right next to hers.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">September 27, 2014</td></tr>
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It was close to 10pm and and I was real tired but it was so great to be greeted by Abby and her cat Eloise. After a little catching up, an apartment tour and general planning, I rolled out a sleeping bag on the couch. We started to watch a DVD but I was snoring within 15 minutes. Eloise is clearly a great companion for Abby by the little traitor slept with me all three nights. She's a little hard to see in the picture on the right because she is all black.<br />
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In the morning, it was Abby's birthday and I was glad to be there for the occasion. She arrived 21 years ago in the very early morning and I remember the event clearly. She was alert and healthy. It was a home birth. Both sets of grandparents were on hand. The midwife barely got there in time because she progressed so quickly.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7RO53kfPcnskWmVsZ3PNYR8R0OzCipgB6WVSoLH8il1BiOD9ifvgxqGC7SeeDSv7cOdkdCBVZMJqhBG-OZqzYtQDLhR6jT_hdtq796BSE37gYrc1vvqsFv2A6pVJedyrDXtjXdYl00LwA/s1600/Abby-&-Dad.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7RO53kfPcnskWmVsZ3PNYR8R0OzCipgB6WVSoLH8il1BiOD9ifvgxqGC7SeeDSv7cOdkdCBVZMJqhBG-OZqzYtQDLhR6jT_hdtq796BSE37gYrc1vvqsFv2A6pVJedyrDXtjXdYl00LwA/s1600/Abby-&-Dad.jpg" height="294" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">September 27, 1993</td></tr>
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Unfortunately, Abby could not find a co-worker to take her shift at work so she had to spend a good chunk of her birthday from noon until 9:00pm at <a href="http://www.traderks.net/" target="_blank">Trader K's</a>. We did a little birthday shopping for some apartment needs in the morning and then made plans for a late lunch/early dinner during her break at 4:00 and then meet up after work to try out her new powers ordering an adult beverage at some local watering hole.<br />
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I did a little hardware shopping and went back to her apartment for a few handyman chores. Lunch dinner was an egg salad sub at the food court Subway near Trader K's. It was "Free Cookie Saturday" so a chocolate, chocolate chunk cookie served as birthday cake. Back at the apartment, I connected with my other Ithaca contact via Facebook Messenger.<br />
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I originally met my old friend Armin at a national Public Access Television Conference back in the late eighties or early nineties. He held my job equivalent at the Buffalo, New York Public Access Center and we hit it off immediately and co-published a Public Access Trainer's newsletter that he laid out on an Amiga computer. He left Buffalo to pursue a Library Science degree and secure a job as the Ithaca High School Librarian. I had visited Armin and his wife, Gail, once in Buffalo and once in Ithaca when the girls were little. They visited us once in Michigan but it had been at least 15 years since we had seen each other and they now had two boys, Toby & Leo, whom I had never met. The boys happened to be out at a friend's house and Armin and Gail were getting ready to go out for dinner at a Vietnamese place. They invited me to join them and I readily accepted. After dinner, I hung out while Armin prepared for a monthly radio shift that he programs. It airs on Sunday morning so he needed to get it bumped to CDs that evening. He is an expert in Alt Country music and has a fascinating system for organizing a show in advance using iTunes.<br />
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At nine o'clock, I called Abby and we decided to meet back at the apartment rather than at her work or a pub. She was exhausted and did not really want to go out again for that drink. So we cracked a bottle of white wine that I had picked up and tried another DVD movie. Once again, I was snoozing in no time.<br />
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Sunday was to be our big day. We had planned to have brunch with Armin and Gail and the boys right after his radio shift ended at 10:00am. The 6 of us walked to the <a href="http://ithacabakery.com/" target="_blank">Ithaca Bakery</a> and secured an outside picnic table on this perfect morning. Toby and Leo were delightful, never short of conversation topics and personal interests. After brunch we walked to the <a href="http://www.ithacamarket.com/" target="_blank">Ithaca Farmers Market </a>at Steamboat Landing and checked out the sights, smells, live music and people. We took a leisurely walk back to the house and posed for some stoop photos before saying goodbye.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Armin & I share the same haircut and weight loss characteristics but his are due to his obsession with riding his bike. We also share the same birthday. Gail is a Middle School Librarian and a lovely person. Abby connects with her as simpatico.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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It was an incredibly gorgeous day and we decided to find a hike. Abby knew of a good one; pretty, flat terrain through a gorge, leading up to a tall waterfall. We took it slow with plenty of stops and conversation... and this still picture that accidentally was taken as a sideways movie:<br />
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Of course, with the warm weather and the brunch wearing off, it was time for some artisan ice cream at a shop we found just up the road. We then headed back in the general direction of the apartment with a side trip through the Cornell University campus and a quick stop at a Wegman's grocery store . Abby also lined up a dinner for us with her boyfriend, Adam.</div>
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Adam is a police officer and lives and works in the rural town of Cortland; a college town. He gave me a tour of his house that he was rehabbing. He bought it as a foreclosure home in very bad shape so he got a really good deal and has done a wonderful job fixing it up. We took his truck into town to a place called <a href="http://www.hairytonys.com/" target="_blank">Hairy Tony's</a>. It was a good choice with good food and my favorite beer on tap; <a href="http://www.mlive.com/news/kalamazoo/index.ssf/2014/02/bells_brewery_incs_two_hearted_1.html" target="_blank">Bell's Two Hearted Ale</a>. Abby shared it with me and by the end had developed a taste for the IPA. </div>
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Back at Adam's house, we said goodbye (I wish I thought to take a picture) and headed back home. We played some Skip-Bo and attempted to finish the movie we started the night before but once again, I was snoozing in no time. I also had developed a cold over the trip and was bad company with my drippy nose and coughing.</div>
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Monday morning, we went out for breakfast at a downtown diner. We also stopped at a craft store for some picture frames and returned to mount some photos and other art. We hung them in all the right places and sat on the couch to admire all the redecorating. It was time to go home. My intent was to leave by noon but the lovely, bittersweet couch moment hung on until 12:30.</div>
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The ride home to Michigan lead by the GPS and accompanied by Stephen King suspense was uneventful (aside from the suspicious border crossing experiences). I began to get sleepy by the time I hit Michigan and I kept myself alert by munching organic baby carrots and hard sourdough pretzels. Mary was happy to see me but I was too sleepy to tell her the whole story of my adventure. We crawled into bed and I was asleep within minutes.</div>
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Tuesday morning was a scheduled chemo treatment, postponed from the week before which was also postponed the week before that due to low platelet count. As usual, they started me off with a blood test and waited for results. A score of 80 or better and they would treat me. It was 79 but they decided it was close enough. I was both happy to receive the cancer-killing drugs and sad that my hiatus was over. The nausea hit me a little harder this time or maybe it was just the contrast from being chemo free for those extended weeks. I left with the external pump and get it taken off again tomorrow. I'm actually feeling pretty good today. No nausea issues. I accomplished some yard projects and as evidenced above, got my trip diary in writing. Did you make it this far?</div>
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<br />Crowwatcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12303372167013019291noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6157413549295288380.post-69532941236552985382014-09-24T11:30:00.000-04:002014-09-24T11:30:05.286-04:00The general outlookHaving the one week postponement of chemo is kind of nice. I used the extra week to drink a couple of ice cold beers and consume a few ice cream cones. Well, yesterday was to be the make-up infusion and once again, my platelets were too small in number to proceed. They like a score of 100 (100,000) but will proceed if it is 80 or better. The two week score was 56 and now the three week measurement was only a small improvement, up to 65. So I have another chemo-free week to look forward to. It stretches out the total course of 12 cycles well into fall. My bone marrow needs to get it in gear and start cranking out the platelets.<br />
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So what after that? I asked my doctor (I'll call him Dr. Ken in the future so I don't have too look up the spelling of "Krajewski" again. If you are reading this in your head, it is pronounced "Cry-you-skee".) Dr. Ken says that I'm pretty much on chemo for the rest of my life. There will be some breaks but they will always be about weighing quality of life against fighting potentially active, fast-growing cancer. We kind of have to guess when the cancer is taking a break so I can take a break too. Fortunately this current regimen affords me some pretty good quality of life; a week to 10 days of mild inconvenience followed by another 10 days of relatively robust living. He'll likely keep me on this regimen after the 12weeks as long as the primary bad side effects don't get worse; those effects being Chemotherapy-Induced Peripheral <a href="http://www.cancer.gov/aboutnci/ncicancerbulletin/archive/2010/022310/page6" target="_blank">Neuropathy</a> (CIPN) and the platelet level crashing so low as to induce internal bleeding. The "platinum" class of drugs cause the former and the 5-FU class the latter. The neuropathy has been present since my first course of chemo 2 years ago and it is a little difficult to tell if it is getting worse. One day feels just like the next. Fortunately I only feel numbness, not pain. We may switch from the external pump infusion to the oral (pill) option after the 12 cycles. We put off the next CT scan until October 28 since I feel strongly that chemo is working.<br />
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I also got involved in a ArtPrize <a href="http://www.artprize.org/silver-schoenberg/2014/musicx" target="_blank">project</a> with some out of town artists who needed a little video assistance. Their large installment at the <a href="http://www.artprize.org/urban-institute-for-contemporary-arts/?" target="_blank">UICA</a> meant every moment for them devoted to construction so they brought me in to do a little shooting and a little editing for the "Orientation" video that shows to the viewers as they enter the space. Artist Micah Silver and I drove to Toledo last week to record Hollywood Director, <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0502577/" target="_blank">Brett Leonard </a>(best known for his 1993 sci-fi film, "The Lawnmower Man".) This week I worked with Micah's collaborator, Adam Schoenberg, to score the piece and make edit decisions. It was a fun diversion and it was nice to be plugged into <a href="http://www.artprize.org/" target="_blank">ArtPrize</a> in some small way.<br />
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I can see my breath these days in the mornings as I go out to feed the goldfish. It is a good reminder of being alive against the odds. Even Dr. Ken remarked that it was unusual for a stage 4 esophageal cancer patient to be looking and feeling this good after 2 and a half years. Two years is considered an exceptionally long prognosis. I'm up there withe the miraculous cases and showing no signs of failing. It is good to be alive and looking forward to the next natural cycle of life.Crowwatcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12303372167013019291noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6157413549295288380.post-70926159097227253072014-09-17T20:01:00.003-04:002014-09-17T20:01:45.601-04:00Seasonal changesMy habit every morning for the last month has been to prepare bag lunches for the ladies of my house and then make myself a half cup of black coffee with a tiny sprinkle of sugar and head out to feed the fish in the pond. I sip coffee and stand motionless waiting for the goldfish to notice the food scattered on the surface and come up from their hiding places in the murky water beneath the lily pads to snatch the tidbits. It usually takes a couple of minutes before I see the first one break the surface and then disappear again. By the time my coffee is gone, I typically see evidence of one to four lively fishies. But this past week there has been no activity whatsoever. I'm not sure if it is the seasonal cold that keeps them in hiding or whether perhaps raccoons have been using the pond as a place to hunt for food. There is some evidence of four-legged disturbance: floating plants chewed up and dragged on shore and the pot that holds the lily pads in the middle of the pond was knocked over on its side. But I'm still holding out hope for the fish that their cold-blooded bodies are content to process summer feeding in the deepest part of the pond. An air bubbler will ensure that ice will not cover the entire pond and that I'll discover an active bunch in the spring. Still I would like to see some evidence that a daily feeding is still required. I like the ritual and will try to maintain it as long as weather permits.<br />
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Another ritual that seems to have morphed is my chemo schedule. I still come in every two weeks for an infusion but it is now standard that my platelet count is too low for treatment and it is bumped a week. After the third week it is still low but evidently close enough to the borderline to move forward. So this drags out the total course of 12 infusions. I only have two left of the twelve but that will likely take 6 weeks to get through. I'm confident that it is working and am grateful to have medicine that does what it is supposed to do. It will be nice to have it be over. But who knows what will be on the other side? I have not yet seen my doctor a second time to ask these questions.<br />
<br />In the meantime, September an October will include some travel. I plan on visiting my daughters in their respective cities. I will be driving to Ithaca, New York at the end of September for Abby's 21st birthday and Mary and I will fly out to Los Angeles to visit Alice the second week of October. Towards the end of that month we will be heading to Chicago for the wedding of Mary's brother, Guy to his partner, Rich.<br />
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We had mentioned to Marlee that after she got a job we would help her get a car. So now she works for SaladWorks downtown and drives there in a 2003 Ford Focus. It was a Craig's List gamble and so far it was a bad gamble. We've had to put in over $1000 in repairs and there could be more to come. I'm reminded of the burden of ownership on a kid (not to mention the parents) and also the sense of freedom that comes with having car that you do not have to share with anyone. It is a new era.<br />
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I welcome the cooler days and I know the bone-chilling days are soon to follow. Before you know it, it will be excitement of spring, with the promise of new green and days of short-sleeved shirts and bare feet.Crowwatcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12303372167013019291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6157413549295288380.post-71066238249689784922014-08-22T21:47:00.000-04:002014-08-22T21:47:27.262-04:00Kenneth Krajewski & cuisineSome info about my new, very tall <a href="http://www.chcwm.com/staff/kenneth-krajewski/" target="_blank">doctor</a>, . Here is a 2-minute <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mRQDrthhBwU" target="_blank">video interview</a>. I'll have to let the Lacks Center know that they should get me to do their video interviews in the future. This one is kind of lame. Seriously, they put him right in front of a window and asked kinda routine, uninspired questions. I do like the fact that he specifically mentions new innovations in my specific cancer. I'll have my first appointment with him on Tuesday. Looking forward to it except for the fact that I'll have to come home from my week at Glen Lake after only 3 days. If my platelet count is high enough I'll get chemo right after the appointment and since I'll have the pump, I'll likely stay in Grand Rapids for the duration.<br />
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I also want to report that the smuggled frozen meats from Rob & Joanne's farm have been converted to roast chicken and oxtail stew. Both delicious!! My only August regret is that my stomach size is only good for one ear of sweetcorn per meal. In my mind I could do about 3 or 4 ears. On the plus side, tomatoes at every meal.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rosemary-encrusted, organic chicken with caprese salad (featuring my garden tomatoes and basil) and roasted potatoes</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Oxtail stew rendered from from a grass-fed, Vashon Island ox's southern end</td></tr>
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<br />Crowwatcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12303372167013019291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6157413549295288380.post-45020718663768858492014-08-12T16:39:00.000-04:002014-08-12T16:39:53.467-04:00See! It is August already!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWSu1g-JdjUNMInQbUbupTcbdFbfK29IAw2vZ_Z4d6LaBZQ94pPTT1A1k77c5k4EAI33n4Tak_fgfB5d_WRzj3r6AJyVfna5ryY1Nm9z9VY8m7A0qLkyTypWVhSs81kzRDIadov86yfK6Z/s1600/IMG_4871.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWSu1g-JdjUNMInQbUbupTcbdFbfK29IAw2vZ_Z4d6LaBZQ94pPTT1A1k77c5k4EAI33n4Tak_fgfB5d_WRzj3r6AJyVfna5ryY1Nm9z9VY8m7A0qLkyTypWVhSs81kzRDIadov86yfK6Z/s1600/IMG_4871.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a>I just got back from 8 days in the Pacific Northwest where I had the opportunity to canoe, camp, and participate in family and Farm life with my brother Rob, and his family (Joanne, Mira and Rose). I also squeezed in visits with long-time friends- from high school, Steve Klamer and from college, David Suwal and his wife Katie. We had incredibly beautiful weather: sunny and no rain every day.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUuaM1fSHsHTx8nPbcFUaULWBayZHw_T0Icr6H3xjhCuYHoulftK65MwaV4WjS7ydbAybAkLIX4Oxveqp8mVE6-mtWdHMCJ5z7a2A4gh28qixGF8-3XbQDHCyVfdkHtDGLdZXH9WPfP8G3/s1600/IMG_4863.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUuaM1fSHsHTx8nPbcFUaULWBayZHw_T0Icr6H3xjhCuYHoulftK65MwaV4WjS7ydbAybAkLIX4Oxveqp8mVE6-mtWdHMCJ5z7a2A4gh28qixGF8-3XbQDHCyVfdkHtDGLdZXH9WPfP8G3/s1600/IMG_4863.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a>I was a bit nervous about the physical challenge of keeping up when it came to hiking and canoeing but I am pleased to say I managed OK being "off the grid" and eating dry and non-refrigerated foods for 4 days. It'll drive you a little nuts when you are eating mostly nuts and dried fruit for many meals. But the scenery of North Cascades National Park made you quickly forget creature comforts. Very few bugs and lovely, well-maintained campsites made the experience even easier to handle. After each day of canoeing, my sweet nieces set up the one-man tent for me without prompting. Early bedtimes in wonderful climate left time for napping and reading and listening to wildlife.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5sTJ6cLUWTDOxA2N_nCpgmUhh6VIDRs-bbUpCDz5jNejHHZXybcRyOHFKMgd-UNBBGXZQnnz0-pPfpfGc_Z-WujlCDaTTSYoJZg7ZOdAD06Dj94XI0QEr8eFQP0u0BGSqLtauERbnV416/s1600/photo+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5sTJ6cLUWTDOxA2N_nCpgmUhh6VIDRs-bbUpCDz5jNejHHZXybcRyOHFKMgd-UNBBGXZQnnz0-pPfpfGc_Z-WujlCDaTTSYoJZg7ZOdAD06Dj94XI0QEr8eFQP0u0BGSqLtauERbnV416/s1600/photo+2.JPG" height="239" width="320" /></a> Back on the <a href="http://vigavashon.org/plum-forest-farm/" target="_blank">farm</a>, we had the pleasure of a peach tree in its prime with perfect peaches any time we wanted and we wanted a lot. There is nothing worse than a disappointing peach and nothing better than a perfect peach. We also picked blueberries and Rob made a couple of blueberry pies which we augmented with just a taste of Häagen Dazs Vanilla Bean ice cream. All an important part of a good breakfast. On Saturday, I also accompanied Rob to the <a href="http://vigavashon.org/farmers-market/" target="_blank">Vashon Island Farmers' Market </a>and helped him sell his veggies at their booth.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtTmFBah8vVtlP5mqeXd1se_q0R7qGfBRGObfh9Y9rLuJJ8TTL4f3IlRRXfq6qr4nlQAR-mckiXYpHFBN2VL8NLzEOgnnzbIFSZ3A8QEY6bRk4ZkcXg5WdyKAt2pCPYuaUDbuUiNVko_S8/s1600/photo+1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtTmFBah8vVtlP5mqeXd1se_q0R7qGfBRGObfh9Y9rLuJJ8TTL4f3IlRRXfq6qr4nlQAR-mckiXYpHFBN2VL8NLzEOgnnzbIFSZ3A8QEY6bRk4ZkcXg5WdyKAt2pCPYuaUDbuUiNVko_S8/s1600/photo+1.JPG" height="239" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6mSDaZXlGvv76P1nW8cjBvFtvkTm-vX7OQU7sXZw3598Bv4fb6BpQQOV4l8pLF_T9plrqbhYGyJXO47ISiwVc2UoI1DJOq91im6SfQvVO5MJfXWRjO-knqK2BxvXwTBlYkiPqH-BlGE62/s1600/photo+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6mSDaZXlGvv76P1nW8cjBvFtvkTm-vX7OQU7sXZw3598Bv4fb6BpQQOV4l8pLF_T9plrqbhYGyJXO47ISiwVc2UoI1DJOq91im6SfQvVO5MJfXWRjO-knqK2BxvXwTBlYkiPqH-BlGE62/s1600/photo+2.JPG" height="239" width="320" /></a></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Chicken is still cold in GR</td></tr>
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The flights were all smooth and easy with on-time curbside pick-ups from my friends. The only glitch was that I took off my wristwatch and put it in the x-ray bin before subjecting my self to the metal detector and I somehow neglected to grab it on the other side. Rob sent a farm-raised, organic frozen chicken and an oxtail home with me. I packed them wrapped in plastic, stuffed into a pair of jeans and buried deep in my sleeping bag. I was happy to find them still cold and unmolested by <a href="http://www.tsa.gov/" target="_blank">TSA</a>.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUCQApNi6SqbhnfpKsoHDYkjE3140G0HYVZNVJbHjwnAFp8CQM6ncDUO_ptyOW3jr0ZWLw7I16oHpcUlCrwbh3fumEmuTblg7ZLE2uKtrH6rFmvjPMtCWBxW0SVJlIBcX074G440DBuHiD/s1600/photo+5.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUCQApNi6SqbhnfpKsoHDYkjE3140G0HYVZNVJbHjwnAFp8CQM6ncDUO_ptyOW3jr0ZWLw7I16oHpcUlCrwbh3fumEmuTblg7ZLE2uKtrH6rFmvjPMtCWBxW0SVJlIBcX074G440DBuHiD/s1600/photo+5.JPG" height="239" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIx9NcvmXHCQIhnmYlbJVwWaz1FzLHj0_ioCbxz0DzO5mWk_VkHljYY4qo7ji8fLsX2cF0X1n4KyMi-5eoYDIuw_oKg-Ux-OHt9hjt2bjuxuSD41ACcvmZMfTDZEyB4oLVj5g7M01VFcHB/s1600/photo+4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIx9NcvmXHCQIhnmYlbJVwWaz1FzLHj0_ioCbxz0DzO5mWk_VkHljYY4qo7ji8fLsX2cF0X1n4KyMi-5eoYDIuw_oKg-Ux-OHt9hjt2bjuxuSD41ACcvmZMfTDZEyB4oLVj5g7M01VFcHB/s1600/photo+4.JPG" height="320" width="239" /></a>Still it is good to be back in Grand Rapids in my own bed with my loving homies, cooking in my own kitchen and tending my own tomato plants and goldfish livestock. Our awesome new neighbors, the Verkaiks, kept the plants watered during a very dry Grand Rapids week and I was rewarded with the first batch of ripe tomatoes. A little fresh sweetcorn and I am in heaven!<br />
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Busting my bubble was a scheduled chemo this morning. I had had an extra week off and had kind of forgotten about the whole cancer treatment thing. My blood test still reflected <a href="http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/thrombocytopenia/basics/definition/con-20027170" target="_blank">low platelet counts </a>so they ratcheted down my chemo concentration rather than bump me another week. I've got all kinds of pretty purple bruises to back up that diagnosis.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj7IT9uZ1zZr8-jaVET6HOR6L6yVCkFI2BUBr-0toIX6Qi-LmjqTRKDbZ1ZwQYe3ClDXHHy5CBkDy_iCUppv4DgNretigo9i3aRs9b4NcW2TlfLUXNPak4u70iNAHTUthU-ZdOi0ZZ-XI6/s1600/photo+3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj7IT9uZ1zZr8-jaVET6HOR6L6yVCkFI2BUBr-0toIX6Qi-LmjqTRKDbZ1ZwQYe3ClDXHHy5CBkDy_iCUppv4DgNretigo9i3aRs9b4NcW2TlfLUXNPak4u70iNAHTUthU-ZdOi0ZZ-XI6/s1600/photo+3.JPG" height="298" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dr. Scott can stop working for a moment</td></tr>
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It also happened to be Dr. Scott's last day before retirement. It felt odd to have him be suddenly just gone after 2 and a half years of life-extending treatments. It is kind of an intimate relationship to jut disappear without a goodbye. I expressed this to Linda, my chemo Nurse and she said she would inquire whether he could squeeze in a quick farewell. The man is so busy, he really does need to retire and his bedside manner has always been a bit awkward. But he did manage to stop in the chemo lounge and introduce me to my new Hematologist, <a href="http://mercyhealthgeneralsite.com/finder/physician/?pid=18937427" target="_blank">Kenneth Krajewski</a>. He's younger and even taller than the very tall Dr. Scott. Gonna have to work on pronouncing his name. Dr. Scott was in such a hurry that there was barely time for a satisfying goodbye. I owe his work for keeping me in the top 6 percent of survivors for my type and stage of cancer. I guess I have to write a letter. I had to grab him by the coattails to pull him back for a quick photo (photo credit, Dr. Ken Krajewski).<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Brothers reunite</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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Gonna go pick some more tomatoes and try for a goldfish sighting. This will be a week for resting up.Crowwatcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12303372167013019291noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6157413549295288380.post-40737781452964212672014-07-23T16:00:00.001-04:002014-07-23T16:00:43.817-04:00Apparent progressPreferring to goldfish pond or CT scans? Well, both really. <br />
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The pond seems to be supporting at least some fish for a reasonable amount of time. I added ten more a while back and I have only pulled out two dead ones. There are about 5, distinctive fish that I can tell are getting larger and they regularly play in the bubbler, darting in and out of the bubbles seeming to be having fun. Algae is now growing and I decided to let it grow because I think plant life is healthy for the environment. It is harder to see the fish anywhere but in the froth of the bubbler.<br />
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I had a CT scan last week Monday. It was supposed to be the Friday before but I forgot to take one of my pre-meds for allergy to dye contrast and I made the mistake of telling them that. They rescheduled the procedure but not before I had drunken a bottle of barium and taken a heavy dose of Benedryl that made me foggy for the rest of the day. But Monday scans went easy and yesterday I got the result: Stable. No change in size, most importantly, no growth. The blood tests that accompanied the scan showed the "tumor marker" figures still dropping. That is very good news. The liver tumors are producing less and less of the growth pattern that activates the marker. This is not a surprise to me because I feel a healing in my gut.<br />
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I'm back on chemo this week but I'll have an extra week off because I will be heading to Seattle August 2-10. One more dose at least as soon as I get back.Crowwatcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12303372167013019291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6157413549295288380.post-9848632843240833222014-06-13T21:43:00.003-04:002014-06-13T21:51:47.743-04:00Speeding summer blues<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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It's June. One of the things I hate about June is that it is suddenly July and summer is half over. I still need to exchange all the long sleeve flannel shirts in my closet for the short sleeve madras shirts hanging in the transitional closet in the basement. Oh, to be able to slow down time and savor the warm months!<br />
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I guess I should be leading with the boring, predicable results of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transesophageal_echocardiogram" target="_blank">transesophageal echocardiogram</a> (TEE) . They were negative as expected. My heart is in good shape and not the source of any stroke. It was a relatively short and easy procedure. Mary accompanied me. I was given <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Midazolam" target="_blank">Versed</a>, the drug that makes you sleep, or at least forget everything that happened while you were quasi-awake. I was really a little afraid because I was told I would need to be awake enough to swallow an ultrasound probe. I remember getting the spray that anesthetizes the throat but the rest, fortunately, is a blank. They decided to use a pediatric probe because of my messed-up esophageal anatomy and the possibility of some narrow passages.<br />
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With WMCAT over and my summer threatening to turn into autumn, I jumped into a couple of seasonal home projects. Number one was getting the pool open. That was easily accomplished by hiring a teenager to mop out the winter detritus and a pro to get all the mechanics going with all the proper maintenance tweaks that I otherwise might overlook. It always feels good to have a bubbling pool with clear water instead of a gaping hole littered with 8 months worth of tree debris. The second project was to finally convert that concrete, kidney-shaped, cracked wreck of a potential pond into a similar but functional pond that holds water, goldfish and maybe a turtle or two. I had attempted this a couple times before in previous using self conceived methods for patching cracks that seemed to make sense to a person who knows nothing about these sorts of things. This time, after powerwashing I invested in the over-priced pond-certified products that guarantee success; primarily, three coats of fish-safe, rubberized paint. It looked fantastic! But would it hold water? I could barely stand to wait the prescribed curing period.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA8ldfaE0LcJiYEGc0M4BdfTPrWOKAqna4mJKbF2nacsYK35D1cYTlVmqB0_bL9I7b3ZzJ0XcaXnitA8S9UUzTC3rvaES9uIGVO0i9LN6N45Ixp5qs1zl_an0yprp1hovtnRJDS6bmzQzK/s1600/photo(29).JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA8ldfaE0LcJiYEGc0M4BdfTPrWOKAqna4mJKbF2nacsYK35D1cYTlVmqB0_bL9I7b3ZzJ0XcaXnitA8S9UUzTC3rvaES9uIGVO0i9LN6N45Ixp5qs1zl_an0yprp1hovtnRJDS6bmzQzK/s1600/photo(29).JPG" height="476" width="640" /></a><br />
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The good news is that it holds water. The bad news is that it kills goldfish in relatively short order. I first tried three grocery store "feeder" goldfish. They cost 28 cents each but still they represented a life in my hands. They seemed so happy, exploring every inch of the pond, separating and regrouping in a mini-school. I watched them for a couple hours. After several hours break, I came back to find them all belly up. It was devastating! I talked to a friend who has worked in a pet store for 15 years and she offered to test the water. I brought in a sample and it passed all the tests with flying colors. We speculated that I might have gotten sick fish or maybe the city water was too fresh and full of chlorine, that now had clearly evaporated. She picked out 4, extra-healthy-looking and pretty "feeder" goldfish that I would be rescuing from a fate of being fed to pet piranhas. At the same time, Marlee brought home from school two large goldfish from her teacher's pond. They already had names so there was a bit of extra pressure there to succeed. This time, I followed a temperature adjusting procedure of floating the bags of water in the pond for 20 minutes. Once again, it was a joy to see them go from their claustrophobic little containers to the sprawling Ponderosa in my back yard. My friend Dave Hast was with me to witness. Four hours later, the little goldfish were dead. One more hour and the big ones were lying upside-down on the bottom. All I can figure is that the slotted concrete blocks i had placed in the bottom for raccoon shelter had been impregnated with some kind of poison during their tenure as lawn tripping hazards. So my plan is to pump out the water, remove the bricks, rinse out the pond, refill it, add some water plants and try again. Any fish lovers want to try and stop me?<br />
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I also accomplished my goal of getting my 83-year-old dad back on motorized wheels. We delivered a 50cc scooter to him and after a brief practice ride, followed him in a car to his local haunts. It felt like a success. His balance is still great and he can't get into too much trouble at a maximum of 25mph.<br />
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Chemo continues to be a drag on my energy levels but I am grateful that the side effects are minimal. Blood platelet levels continue to drop but not to serious levels yet. One side-effect of that is that I am subject to bleeding and bruising. I have some pretty sweet bruises commensurate with my klutziness. I also have about 8 days where ice-cold food and beverages are somewhat uncomfortable. I'm seeking out as much cold beer or ice cream as possible for the remaining days before the next infusion. The nausea is only slight and I still have my glorious locks of hair and robust appetite.Crowwatcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12303372167013019291noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6157413549295288380.post-12095445411428805702014-05-27T22:51:00.002-04:002014-05-27T22:52:55.731-04:00Summer vacationDr. Scott led with the good news at this morning's appointment:<br />
"It's working!"<br />
The chemotherapy is effective according to the results of last Friday's CT scan. All the liver tumors are shrinking. But at the same time the toxicity is high and he had to cancel this morning's infusion because my blood platelet count was too low to treat me. So I get another week off chemo. It may mean that I am now one week on and two weeks off. I guess I'll take that even though I am anxious for the drugs to do their work.<br />
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Still one more hospital test next Monday; a trans-esophageal something or other. They will induce sleep and put some scanner down my throat to look at my heart to make sure that the source of my stroke is not originating there. This was ordered by the Neurologist, Dr. Santos. Dr. Scott suspects the stroke was triggered by migraines. But the heart must be ruled out.<br />
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My classes at WMCAT ended last week and I have to say that it felt just like that old feeling from grade school at the beginning of summer vacation. But it was bittersweet saying goodbye to the kids.<br />
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Time to work a little travel into my schedule.Crowwatcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12303372167013019291noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6157413549295288380.post-37625307172278569782014-05-19T18:12:00.002-04:002014-05-27T22:52:02.424-04:00StrokeIt was a weird week last week. I was having visual problems and lightheadedness that I chalked up to migraines. That may still be the source of the visual symptoms but the problems led to an MRI on Friday and I just got a phone call telling me I had a stroke. Must be a very small one because I don't seem to have stroke symptoms but it means getting back on a daily aspirin regimen.<br />
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When I had my appointment with Dr. Santos, the Neurologist/ Ophthalmologist, to see why large fields of vision were disappearing, he ran a battery of tests that indicated the possibility of something in the brain. The fear was that it would be a brain tumor from metastasized cancer. There was an unexplained spot on my retina and a visual field test that hinted something was not right. He ordered the MRI, this time at the <a href="http://www.spectrumhealth.org/cancer-treatment-center" target="_blank">Lemmen Holton Cancer Center </a>(part of Spectrum Health) so I was able to do some comparison shopping. Their MRI machine seemed smaller and less frightening and they didn't offer music (a ridiculous salve for the loud MRI noises) and they did offer a cool blindfold and an array of snacks at the end. I think points go to Lemmen Holton. A "wet read" was ordered, which meant my Dr. would get results within the hour.<br />
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Somehow, Dr. Santos was unreachable and I waited all evening for the call. Finally at 10:30pm the phone rang it was Dr. Mohr, a partner of my primary care physician, Dr. Hazle. When they couldn't reach Dr. Santos, they bumped down to the next guy on the list and since Dr. Hazle was not the guy on call, it was bumped again to Dr. Mohr, who I guess I would say <i>I like</i> based on our conversation. He did not blurt out the results. He said he did not know me and wanted first for me to set up the story as to why I was having an MRI. After hearing my story he said, "Well I guess this is good news". No tumor. The bad news being that I'd had a stroke. The further good news being that I did not have any horrible stroke symptoms or evidence of permanent damage.<br />
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A bunch of new tests have been added to this Friday's CT scan looking for the source of the clot. The doctors say I am too young to be having a stroke and it is undoubtedly related to cancer. I still feel light headed but am somewhat relieved that this is my last week of classes.Crowwatcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12303372167013019291noreply@blogger.com0