LETS TRY AGAIN!

Its been awhile since I posted a blog. Actually I wrote a pretty long one several days ago and after reading it I destroyed it.

Things have been a little tough lately and the blog I wrote was pretty negative and I don't like negative so we will bury that blog.

Still having some after affects of the chemo and radiation and just feel drained. I don't feel like doing anything and have been sleeping a lot. My in-house support team, my wonderful wife Mary Marlin, has made life interesting for me in typical wife style. When she thinks I look tired she tells me to take a nap. When she thinks I have slept enough, she - not so inconspicuously, wakes me up. She has the ability of getting up in the morning, getting dressed, leaving the house and I don't even hear a tiny sound. On the other hand, when she thinks I have slept long enough she can't open the door without banging it around a bit. I haven't caught her, but I know that she pulls open any drawer and opens and closes that same door three or four times. She accidentally turns on a light - just long enough to get my attention and turns on the sprinkler system so the sprinklers just outside the patio door are making a whoosh - whoosh sound every few seconds. She has been a great help and asset but wants to make certain I know who is in charge.

She will casually suggest the lawn needs to be mowed, but when I start to do something on my own she will stop me with the advice I shouldn't be doing anything - just resting. I got sick and tired of feeling sick and tired, so the other day while she was gone I went up on the roof and serviced the swamp cooler. You are supposed to do that once a year when you turn on the air. I have already done it once, but I did it again. I took out all the pads and put in new ones, drained it and filled it up again. It was close to 100 degrees outside and probably hotter on the roof and I got a really good workout. However, it proves a point. When you feel like you are really tired you need to do something physically instead of resting. I was worn out but I really felt a lot better.

In the process of servicing the swamp cooler I discovered something that I should patent or copyright or whatever you do with some really smart idea you have. I thought it would be a great idea to add something to the water to help purify it and create a pleasant odor. I heard about someone putting fabric softener in the water which accomplishes this and also does something good to the pads. I couldn't find any fabric softener so I looked in the laundry room and found something that was a whitener and spot remover. I didn't realize it was bottled in a concentrated form and dumped the bottle into the water. Pretty soon I had these huge foam of bubbles coming out all sides of the swamp cooler. I was thinking pretty soon the whole roof of the house would be covered with bubbles and foam and it would be coming out of the vents in the house. Fortunately it didn't get that bad and I forgot to mention that aspect of my servicing the swamp cooler to good wife. I got bawled out anyway for getting up on the ladder and on the roof in the 100 degree heat. Just think what would have happened if foam was dripping off the edge of the roof onto the driveway as she tried to get her car in the garage. Lets say, if nothing else, she keeps me alive just keeping on my toes trying to stay out of trouble.

One of the things that distressed me more than anything else was another fight with Presbyterian this past week. I am scheduled to go back to Houston next week for a re-staging where they will do all the tests and procedures I had on the first visit including a CAT scan, x-rays, blood work, cardiologist etc. Trying to cover all my bases, I called about 10 days ago to make sure this would be covered by Presbyterian. They couldn't reach my representative, whom I don't get along with, but after 45 minutes on the phone they reached someone who said it would be covered. Two days ago my representative did rise from the dead and called me and said it would not be covered. Today I was on the phone all day and went over her head and talked to three different people - all very nice. By the way - my representative is no longer my representative. They are going to try to get it approved but at this point there are no guarantees. So, they either approve it and pay for it, I cancel the appointments, or I pay for it myself which will be between $5,000 and $10,000. Obviously I have been a little stressed over this. They have two days to make a decision, so I have my fingers crossed. I will keep the appointments - regardless.

Met with the Oncologist here in Albuquerque today to set up my chemotherapy. I liked him a lot, l Iike New Mexico Oncology and think everything will be fine here. He is a little independent and changed the orders he received from MD Anderson a little. Their program calls for a four hour long intravenous session. He has added some other stuff to their chemical requirement and a long session of saturating my body with liquids to keep from damaging the kidneys. His session is 7 1/2 hours long including blood tests at the end. I told him there was no way I could sit still for 7 1/2 hours. He said, you won't - you will be getting up frequently to go to the bathroom.

MD Anderson had an outline filled with information about what you could and couldn't do, it was kind of a rule book. Not much to my liking but at least I looked at it. Basically you eat nothing but fruits and vegetables, drink nothing but water and lots of it, get plenty of rest, resist all temptation, brush your teeth after every meal, and don't spit on the sidewalk. Maybe it wasn't quite that bad, but it was along those lines. It was not designed for me. This wonderful doctor told me to eat anything and everything I wanted to eat. This treatment does kind of destroy your appetite and he wants me to maintain my weight and strength more than anything else. He said drink anything you want. I asked about beer and he said - "I told you anything - I want your body filled with liquids." Obviously he doesn't want me sitting in a bar all day, but a beer at night is not a bad thing in his book. It is not a bad thing in my book either. I think I will like this guy except for the 7 1/2 hours. In Albuquerque we have these street people who sit at all the major intersections with cardboard signs telling you their unfortunate stories and asking for handouts. I'm thinking that after I get a feel for this place, I can slip out and get one of these guys to act as a substitute for at least four hours for a couple of bucks. I'm going to give it a try.

By this time next week I should be back from Houston. Hopefully I won't have a big hole in my wallet as a result of this trip. Give me some positive thinking and prayer on this matter if you will please.