I am Cured!

I got the call today. Three and a half years, two surgeries.
It's gone without a trace. Cured!

Thanks to everyone for your support, prayers and positive vibes...

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I'm in Isolation

That's right young lady!

A little sugar for Santa goes a long ways...

For those of you who have been around here for a while, you are well aware of my bout with thyroid cancer. For those of you who don't know... I had a couple of surgeries for it about three years ago and I'm hoping to get the all clear (as in cured) in about a week. 

• I had a thyrogen injection on Monday that cost $1,238.00
• I had a thyrogen injection on Tuesday that cost $1,238.00
• I took a single horse pill of radioactive iodine Wednesday that cost $5,000.00
• Wednesday, Thursday and part of Friday, I'm in isolation (cause I'm glowing)

Tomorrow, I spend about an hour under a gamma ray camera that looks for radioactive hot spots. This will be my third annual treatment and scan. If the scan doesn't unearth something (unearthly), I'll get my "cured of cancer" merit badge and be sent on my way.

The shots were easy, the pill was easy, the semi- isolation is easy. The hard part was the prep for it all.

For the last three weeks I've been on the strictest medical diet known to medicine and mankind (in my opinion anyway).  It ends today. I couldn't ingest any:

• Anything from the ocean
• Seaweed (it's in a high percentage of foods)
• Soy of any type (Soy is in more things than seaweed)
• Tofu (this one and the three before it kill me. My wife is Japanese)
• Sea salt
• Regular salt
• Restaurant food
• Fast food
• Water (distilled is okay, blek!)
• Soft drinks
• Processed food of any type
• Spices
• Herbs (other than fresh from my own garden, that I don't have)
• Bread (home baked only is okay. Yeah right!)
• ANYTHING with preservatives in it
• Beef
• Pork
• Cured or corned meats
• No snack foods like chips, etc.
• Dried fruit
• Chocolate
• Crackers
• Sweets

I can eat:

• Canned peaches, pears and pineapple
• Unsalted nuts
• Clear soft drinks
• Matzo crackers
• Plain rice cakes
• Redish vegtables
• Small amounts of fresh chicken or turkey
• Fruit

So between all this stuff, my new sister (yay!) and pre-Christmas stuff, I haven't posted in well over a week. As you know, that's a long time for me.  A couple of days after Christmas, my wife and I are taking off for our favorite mountain top for a couple of weeks. I'll let you know when the good news arrives.

Happy Holidays to everyone!


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You Just Can't Make This Stuff Up!

About 18 months ago I received a Facebook message from a lady who thought I might be an illegitimate member of their family. In fact, her family referred to me as "Uncle Pat." Here is my blog post relating to the incident.

A month or so ago (okay, it was October 27th to be exact),  I received a comment on that post, from a person who though she was my sister.  Okay, but I don't have any sisters! I didn't "approve" the comment to be published because there is too much personal information in it.  I did contact her though...

Quite a few of you have been following my blog for long enough to know that I am from the most dysfunctional of families. For those of you who don't know, this post is yet another entry into my crazy family history.  I have three brothers.  That's all...

Okay, so Christine and I exchanged several emails on the subject.

• She was adopted directly from the hospital she was born in (in my home town). 
• My mom had a friend with the same name as Christine's adoptive mother.
• She saw what she thought was the name of her birth mother when she was a teenager.
• She googled the name she saw (my mom's name) many times over the years with no hits.
• My mom's first name (and our last name) is very unusual.
• Two months ago she finally got a google hit on my mom's name.
• It led her to this post about her.

We emailed and we spoke. This was all adding up to her maybe being right.  I was fourteen the year Christine was born. You would think I would remember if my mom was pregnant at that time. I didn't. This wasn't a very good year in my life and I spent a lot of it "under the influence" of anything I could get my hands on. I even flunked 8th grade that year.

We met about three weeks ago and took a DNA test. We sent it to the lab and waited. Before they sent us the results of the test, they said they would call and let us know. After meeting her and talking to her several times, I was really hoping we were siblings. I have no negative history with her (as I do with my brothers) and she is VERY nice. I like her  a lot.

Today the lab called. Christine and I have the same mother!
See?  You Just Can't Make This Stuff Up!


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Central California Coast - San Simeon

This is last of the posts relative to our little roadie to the central coast of California. We stopped at the little bay of San Simeon.  The wharf there was built by George Randolph Hearst, to make the delivery of materials easier, during the construction of Hearst Castle.  Although it's on a great part of the coast, there isn't really much to see there.  Lucky for us there was some practice sea rescue operations taking place.

A pretty good panoramic shot

The victim (to be rescued) is in the water, to the right.

Here is part of what I love about this part of the coast. Farmland going right down the edge of the ocean. See the awesome old barn in the background?

This is pretty much all there is at San Simeon. The pier and one little store.

The rescue boats made a nice pose for me.

This guy was watching the helicopter also. He wasn't much for chit chat though.

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High Tea

Last week, one of my granddaughters asked me if there really was a Santa Claus. She said that most of her class doesn't believe in him. The kids who do believe, are made fun of. It all starts in elementary school. These things never change.

I remember sitting at the little table in my daughter's room while she served me pretend tea and food made of play dough. Too bad it all gets tarnished as they learn that life isn't perfect and then the little dishes and cups all end up in a cardboard box in the garage.   

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high tea

plastic cups and plates
high tea and cookies
in a little room
full of pretend
and make believe
it's all great fun
right up until the time
that life wears them down
and beats the wonderment
and innocence
out of them

that's how
cynics are made


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