October 11th, 2017 - Another clear MRI

I had another MRI scan done and it came back with clear results.  The NS said it is now hard to read them since the surgery and that is normal.  It is hard to see around the scar tissue and other things that are healing.  He had no reason to be alarmed at anything.

Thanks again for the support.

September 22nd, 2017

My next MRI is scheduled for early October.  I am sure there wont be any surprises on that.  

My latest battle is not health related, but health insurance related.  I wont go into details but I am torn.  I am grateful for what has been paid and taken care of but, the things that insurance gets hung up on and either wont pay, or is a pain in the ass to pay.  Out of network, non generic drugs...  grrr.

I am still walking a lot.  I can now do a mile in under 20 minutes.  It isn't pretty but I am getting it done.  I was told the other day that it appears my limp is getting to be less and less.

This past Tuesday was the first time that I have worn pants in 5 months.  No big deal right?  Nerves are a crazy thing.  I have locations on my left leg that if/when touch, cause strange feelings or movements.  When I put my jeans on, my leg was dancing all over the place.  Completely out of my control.  I wore jeans 2 days in a row (when I went into the office).  Once on, it was not too bad.

I have seen a couple of friends that I have not seen in a long time.  In a sick way, I have to thank cancer for that.  I also thank cancer for me taking a little bit more time to appreciate things and do things that I would not normally do.  

Please remember, things can change fast.  Take care of you.  Take it all in.  Enjoy the smallest of things.

Love to all. 

September 11th, 2017

Today is way bigger than me or my issues.

Sept 6th, 2017

All is good with me.
I took a couple of days off last week and took a buddy, Jeremy, around the PNW and gave him a tour.  We hit the gorge (right before it all burned down) and then over to the beach the next day.  It was a blast.  We did a few hikes and lots of sight seeing.  I think we ate our way up the coast but that is not a bad thing. 

After I took Jeremy to the airport, the family loaded up for a few days at the island.  Lots of boating, tubing, rope swinging, berry picking, a lighted boat parade, and of course food. 

Thank you to all of my friends and family that were a part of this to make this a heck of a weekend.

Love to all.

August 24th and doing well.

No blogging is good news.

It has been a couple of weeks since I did an update and that is because I am doing good and every time I think of an update, I get sidetracked.

As it goes right now, I usually have about 5 good days and then a couple of not so great.  That is much better than before when I had 3 good days and 2 bad days.

Even my bad days are not as bad as they used to be.

A lot has gone on since the last update and that is how I like it. 

We took the kids to the fair, went to Oaks Park, drove to a sunflower festival in Hood River, enjoyed the eclipse, went to the lake....  All great things.

Most recently, I went to the fire center for a BBQ.  I smoked 38 lbs of pork butt.  Even better than that though, I got to see 2 outstanding friends that I have met because of fire.  I am lucky to call them friends.  Any of my IT friends will know these guys.

I am the one in the shorts.  The other two shifty looking characters are my buds.  They have helped me out a lot in the past years in fire IT.  I am grateful to have gotten to see them again.

8-3-2017 MRI results are in.

My 3 month MRI results are in.  No sign of tumor.  That is most excellent.
Everything else is coming along well.   I still have not worn my brace since Sunday so that makes it 5 days now.  I have no intention of wearing it unless I go to do something strenuous.

The smoke in the NW is pretty bad right now.  It feels like I am back at fire camp.  I was thinking of going on a hike again but I am not sure how bad the smoke is where I want to go.  Maybe tomorrow I will go. 

Live life to the fullest.

July 31st, 2017

I had my MRI done of my back Thurs.  It was uneventful.  I didn't sleep well the night before so I think I actually fell asleep in the tube.  If you know how loud it is inside that tube, even with earplugs, that was an accomplishment to fall asleep in there.  I wont know the results until an appointment Thursday.  I am confident there is nothing exciting to report on the findings.

I took my brace off Saturday morning and tested out walking with zero assistance of any kind.  It was pretty good!  I walked around the block a few times to test  it out.  I did put it back on for the rest of the day as I was going to be on uneven ground later in the day. 

Sunday, I never put it on.  I mildly stumble on occasion but who doesn't? 

Lori was saying that when she is behind me walking, she can tell my left calf muscle is much smaller. I measured my calfs and my right leg is 2 inches larger.  Wowser!  Hopefully with me not using my brace nearly as much, my left leg will get back in the game.

Knock on wood, I have not had a really bad day in a long time.  Thank goodness for that.  I am so grateful!

The NW is supposed to have a crazy heat wave coming so my step count might suffer as we are hiding inside, trying not to melt.

Have a great week.

July 28th, 2017

It has been a great week.  Knock on wood, the pain seems to finally be manageable.  It has taken 3 months but we are getting there.

I think I key thing for me is that I must be moving.  A lot.  Not doing anything is not good for me.

I have been walking most every day and most nights after the kids go to bed.  I have been wanting to go on a hike at Siouxon Falls in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest.  I had gone there a few years ago with the kids and we didn't make it very far before they wanted to turn around and  head back.  It has been on my radar to hike ever since.

The full trail is some crazy 12 mile hike or something like that.  I did NOT have that as my goal.  I did want to get a couple of miles in though.

Unfortunately, I got a late start from home.  Pesky work stuff.  It is approx. 1.25 hour drive from home.  The last 30 minutes is pretty brutal from road conditions.  I would not take a family sedan up there.  Other people did though.

It was a nice drive and the weather was perfect.  When I got to the trailhead, the parking lot was pretty full.

I new I would be tight on time so I headed right out.  I had my new trekking poles from Costco with me.  I can not say enough about those things.  Probably the best $30 I have spent since surgery.  They were so natural to walk with.  When on flat or relatively flat ground, you just move your arms like normal.  When I got to steep sections, I used them like ski poles and used them to "push" me up like a skier would.  I was instantly in love with them.

There were a few people on the trail.  Just enough to know that if you got into trouble, someone would venture by in a bit but few enough to know that you are a tiny spec in the forest.

I didn't even take any music with me.  I did take my ham radio with me but I could not hit a repeater from where I was at so it was silent the entire time. 

My only regret on the hike is that I got the late start and could not go as far as I wanted to.  I did end up just shy of 1.5 miles each way making it an almost 3 mile round trip.  My plan was to take nice hike on the way out, taking pictures and taking in the sites.  At a set time, I would turn around and high tail it back to my truck.  As I was walking along, I did completely lose track of time.  When I did look at my watch, it was my time to turn around.  I was pretty bummed as I could have gone much much further.  That's OK, I will just have to go back.  And, get a much earlier start to the day.

 

 

Today I have my 3 month MRI.  I wont have the result until next Thurs when I see an oncologist.  I am pretty certain, it will come back with good results and this is just a formality.

Have a great weekend.  Get out and do something you love.