I guess that an explanation would be in order here. I was reluctant to make this post myself because sometimes one will try to get through what life happens to deal them on their own. You can call it pride, or even call it the fear of creating an image of self pity. At any rate I should have known better just because of the many, many, Prayer chains that are out there.
It started with being diagnosed with Diverticulitis in Jan, 07 that resulted in a five day hospital stay. 13 months latter (and with myself being 40 lbs lighter) in Feb, 08 I had another bad attack which send me back to the hospital for two days. One week later I was an outpatient for the Colon Scope and they were alarmed to find a tumor. The Surgeon looked at my latest Cat Scan film and is shocked because he recognized a tumor right away. He called the Doctor who is also very surprised. I don’t really know how all this works but figured that they take the Rad-Tech’s word on the findings without looking at Cat Scan films on their own? At any rate, this is water under the bridge and I hold no grudge. We did have tentative plans to take care of the diverticulitis at the end of May when my work schedule would be much lighter.
My Malignant tumor (the bad kind) was removed just five days after the Scope work and happened on March, 3. They were able to get this removed and splice me back together without the need to install a Colostomy bag which is sometimes needed to collect waste whether it be temporary or permanent. While this tumor was pretty much contained, they did find some bad cells in my lymph nodes. This was a small percentage of a large sampling and my blood test’s were good so my outlook is optimistic from a medical standpoint. I had another outpatient surgery just two weeks after my initial surgery to install a small disk shaped IV port under the skin of my left collar bone. I am happy with this because my veins in the hands and arms are about shot and this will be a no hassle hookup for Chemo.
Well, let me tell you, I really never recovered well from the Feb attack up to the Surgery and feel like I have been hit by a truck for all this sickness and procedures. I am on the upswing though as I was able to get out and do some shooting just last Monday. I will start the Chemo within a week or two and it kind of looks like my summer will be shot in the arse as I will have 12 48hr sessions every other week once the sessions begin. I just hope that I will be one of the many who get through this without nausea or being overly tired.
I am now kind of glad to get this out in the open. While I realize that nothing revolves around me here, I was content with just sending out a few PM’s because sometimes a Graybeard Outdoors member (and ones with a lot more charisma than myself) will fall off the face of the Graybeard world and know one really knows what happened to them. Many thanks to these few members as all have offered great and continued support, and I would like to thank you all for your prayers.
