Time to blog some good news for a change...

Exercise - getting stronger!

          It's been a while since I wrote a blog but even though I'm still suffering from funny feeling finger tips (my toes feel even worse) and slight chemo-brain problems, (lose my train of thought and make a lot of typo errors) thought I'd give it a try today.

Celebrating the good news!

          I've had many visits to the hospital but the news concerning my cancer infected rectum, after all the test results, my surgeon told me yesterday that he had good news; (first time the doctor smiled during our visits) I'm happy to report I am cancer free and he'll able to put me back together, which means reconnecting my colon and sewing up my belly will soon be happening, possibly before Christmas or in the New Year. However, this doesn't mean I'll be out of the woods, I'm still as weak as a new born kitten. For instance, a few weeks ago, while I was in St. John for my last test, when I stepped out of the truck, a gust of wind blew me over and I found myself lying on my back on the wet sidewalk; rain pelting my face. Good thing the wind eased off or I may have kept going, tumbled down the street and landed in the St. John river. I wouldn't have made much of a splash because I most likely don't weigh much more than a good sized boulder.
          After hearing the doctor's good news, giving me a new leaf in life, as strange as it may seem when I walked out of his office, I still felt somewhat like a broken down old man shuffling down the hallways and then outside to the truck (nothing is an instant cure). It takes time to process the reality - since things were feeling so dire, and we were worried many of my symptoms were the result of more cancer. I am going to improve, but it is still a long road. Of course, the doctors have all told me that it will take a year or two to recover and not to lift anything weighing over 3 pounds, apparently lifting heavy objects can cause a hernia and I still have enough problems to overcome.
          Since I've had to endure quite a few extremely painful days over the past 7 months, and would have been happy to depart this Earth at times, my wife recently asked if I would do it all over again. To which I replied, "If it meant a cure was possible and I would have a decent quality of life, I would somewhat reluctantly, do it again." However, because of my age, if the doctor were to tell me it would only give me another year or two to live, at my age (77), I'd most likely decline. For me, there is a time to die and I've made arrangements that if something were to go terribly wrong with me health wise in the future, for instance a heart attack and I'm unconscious, I'm not to be resuscitated. The last thing I want is to lose the remainder of my mind, to be in a veggie state of existence for the remainder of my life. I have always been independent so, the thought of losing that, anymore than I already have, is not appealing to me at all.
      But for today, although I accept the future can change, I am happy to look forward to getting well and planning to hit the road in the Hippie Hangout with my beautiful Daisy in the Spring of 2019!
Cheers, eh?
Trip