June 29th

I am now over 2 months post op.  It has been a bumpy road but a road that is getting traveled none the less.

I have had a few highlights this week.
I went up to the fire dispatch office I worked at a few years ago and saw some great friends and co workers.  I have missed them.  It was great to see every single person.

I went for a 6.5 mile ride yesterday.  It was great to do that again.  I also came up with a fix for when my foot comes off of the pedal and then the pedal comes around and takes a chunk of meat off of the back of my leg.  I purchased soccer shin guards and wear one backwards so when my foot does fly off and comes around, it just hits the pad.  What a relief that is.

We also had some great friends over for a BBQ last night.  The kids (and adults) had a great time.

My PT is now done.  I think I was capped out at what they were trying to teach me.  Just being out and about and doing things as normal as possible is the best thing for me.

I am still reaping rewards from acupuncture.  I am so glad that it was recommended to me.  It is not a type of medicine that I would have ever thought of.

I have been having a bad day on weekends.  All we can think of is that I am doing too much right before the weekend and I pay for it later.  I will try to not do too much tomorrow and see how the weekend goes. 

Hug someone that you love. 

June 26th

Sometimes I go back and read so of my old posting from when I was in the hospital.  All I can say is that I was heavily medicated.  My postings are way too happy and positive.  I had no idea how rough of a journey this was going to be.  I know, I have come a long ways and things are progressing but this sucks.  I had a rough day yesterday morning.  It came around some in the afternoon but it is so frustrating at times.  It is between the pain that never seems to end and the realization of how much I could do before the surgery.  The most basic thing like getting on the floor to play Lincoln logs with the kids is a huge effort.  The kids are fantastic about it.  Rielyn said yesterday, "I can bring them to you".  It was sweet but it made me sad at the same time.

That is all I have in me for an update for today. 

Please hug a loved one and be grateful for what you have and what you can do.

June 22, 2017

What are the best words that I have heard in a few months?  "No radiation is needed at this time".  Heck ya!

We met with the oncologist today.  We liked him a lot.  He said, as of now, he would not recommend any radiation.  Since my tumor was graded a 2, he is not overly concerned with it.  He said lets do another MRI in a month. That will be 3 months post surgery and a good time to take a look.  Assuming that one is clear of any growth, we will do another one in approx. 3 more months.  Assuming that one is clean also, maybe stretch it out to 6 months and then a year and so on.

What a monumental relief.  I feel like a huge weight has been lifted off.

June 21, 2017

June 21, 2017.   Two months and a day post op.

Tomorrow I meet with an oncologist/radiologist.  Honestly, I am a little nervous of what he has to say.  I am praying he says no radiation is needed.  If he says otherwise, I will have a lot of questions.  I am not keen on any chance of nerve damage.  I am improving and the pain seems to be manageable if that is possible.  I really don't want to go backwards on anything.

I had a great 2.5 mile bike ride last week.  I am hoping to get out for another ride this week.  Maybe even today after I get off of a conference call is now.

TBall is now over and it makes me sad for a few reasons.  The first, is that I loved coaching and even more, I loved watching Rielyn play.  It is just awesome to see the kids have fun and improve.  Less important, it was a distraction for me and it also made me get out and "exercise" by being on the field and chasing the kids around.

My last acupuncture she did "cupping".  That might sound familiar if you watched the Olympics.  There were many segments on why Michael Phelps back had those mysterious round bruises on his back.  It is a suction cup that is put on your back and moved around.  Does it work?  My pain appears to be less so something is working.

Knock on wood, Summer might be here in the NW.  After many records were broken for rainfall, I hope that is behind us.  Unfortunately Mother Nature is being bipolar this year and our forecast is just shy of triple digits in a few days.  How about a nice 70-80 stint Mother Nature?  Please.

I will try to update after tomorrows appointment.

June 16th

Not too much to update on.  I have good days and I have bad days.  I hope to have more good than bad.  It just comes and goes so often.  I get asked, "what is your pain level?".  I can give an answer but it is different 10 minutes later.  

I have continued with acupuncture.   It is interesting.  It does something.  I wish I could articulate what "something" means.  I think it is better after acupuncture but it is short lived.  I was told to give it 4 sessions. 

I had tested out getting on and off of my bike.  It is difficult to get a dead leg over the top bar but I can do it.  I had ridden around the block 2 different times.  I felt pretty good on my bike.  I discovered that when a person walks (normally), they put 100% of their weight on one foot and then 100% of the weight transitions to the other foot.  But, when riding a bike, you can put as little or as much weight on each foot.  I decided to drive to a pretty flat trail and take a ride.  It was fantastic.  It was 2.5 miles round trip.  Just having the wind in my face was great.  My left leg fell off of the pedal countless times and I tore up the back of my leg with the pedal on at least one occasion but it was worth it.  I had hoped to do another ride but the weather was bad yesterday and I am quickly running out of time today.  Hopefully I will ride next week at least once.

Lastly, a shout out to all of the dads out there.  I hope each and every dad I know, has a fantastic day.  A big thank you to my dad for all that he has done, especially lately with rides to various DR apts and listening to me bitch and complain.  Thanks Dad.  I love you!

Enjoy every little thing.  We have a LOT to be grateful for.

June 12th

I have learned to give up on figuring out what triggers the pain.  There is no rhyme or reason.  I have thought the causes were: sugar, exercise, rest, elevating leg...  Just as soon as I think it is one thing, it is proven wrong.  Nerves are a funny thing.  Funny as in a nightmare at times. 
I have been having many good days in a row followed by many bad days in a row.  None of it makes sense but I am getting used to it if that is possible.  I am currently working on good days so I will stick with that if possible.  I also have acupuncture scheduled in less than an hour so I am excited for that.
On an unrelated note, I have joined many different cancer and spinal cord groups on FaceBook.  One thing that bothers me is people asking for real answers to serious questions that should only be answered by a Doctor.  I am not talking about questions like, "what are ideas to mellow the pain".  I am concerned with people asking things like adjusting meds or other dangerous things.  I would never answer some of the questions being asked.  That is just my side rant is all. 

Below is a picture of Reece and I at a great little RR park that Lori found.

 Love to all.  Appreciate all things, especially the little things.

June 5th

This is frustrating.  Very very frustrating.

The numbness is just a complete pain in the ass.  Yes, yes, I know.  Be positive.  They think they got all of the cancer out.  I am grateful for that but damn this is getting old.  Worse than the completely annoying numbness is the freakin pain.  Every single damn day.  I just need a break from the pain.  It is normally better in the mornings and mid day but come evening, look out. 

When I was in the hospital, they constantly ask you what your pain level is. It is a wildly simply way to say how bad the pain is.  I found myself feeling like I was whining or complaining.  "How is the pain Mike?"  "7".  It just felt like I was bitching or complaining. 

I sometimes feel that way when people ask how I am doing now that I m home.  So, I answer with something like, "it is better every day".  Ya, not so much the truth all of the time.

I repeat, I just need a freakin break from the pain. 

I have found a couple of things help.  Help as in it makes me think about other things.  Coaching t-ball will do that.  Or as all of the coaches say, "hearding cats".  Nothing will make you think about other things than trying to get 4-6 yr old kids try to focus on a game.  I pay for being up that long later but it is worth it. 

I was going to say I am sorry for the negative post but I am not.  People keep asking and I try to put a good spin on things but this is gong to be a long bumpy road.  I kind of want to take a detour sometimes.

Be appreciative for what you have.  Especially the small things.  Things can go to crap in an instant.